The New England Anti-Slavery Society, 1832--More Newspapers and
Tracts--New York City Anti-Slavery Society and the Incidents of Its
Organization--The American Anti-Slavery Society and its Creed--The Extent
and System of their operations--Abolition Riots in New York--An Era of
Excitement--Negro Conspiracy in Mississippi--George Thompson, the English
Abolitionist--Riot at Alton, Ill., and Death of the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy.
In the year 1832, January 30, the New England or Massachusetts
Anti-Slavery Society went into operation, but with limited means. From
this society have sprung the American Anti-Slavery Society and all its
numerous auxiliaries. It was the first organized body that attacked
slavery on the principle of its inherent sinfulness, and enforced the
consequent duty of "immediate emancipation." All the events of a
historical character which have marked the annals of the last thirty
years, may be traced directly to the agitation which this society first
set on foot in this country. Men have been forced to throw aside their
disguises and stand forth either as the open defenders of slavery or as
propagators of the abolition movement. The two great antagonistic parties
of the present day are the children of its vile creation. It has excited
the very fury of antagonism; it has shaken the pulpit with excommunicating
thunders; it has indulged in the most bitter invective, deluged the
country with invented instances of Southern barbarity, denounced the
Constitution as a "league with hell," and scattered its venom in every
household of the free States, until men, women and children have become
imbued with its contaminating infection. Their discourses have all been
tirades; their exordium, argument and peroration have turned on epithets,
slanders, inuendoes; Southerners have been reviled as "tyrants,"
"thieves," "murderers," "atrocious monsters," "violators of the laws of
nature, God and man," while their homes have been designated as "the
abodes of iniquity," and their land "one vast brothel."
More abolition papers sprang into existence. The New York Evangelist, then
conducted by the Rev. Samuel Griswold, espoused the cause. Through the
influence of the Tappans, millions of anti-slavery tracts were circulated
monthly, and sent by mail to all portions of the country, and especially
to clergymen. These publications were likewise scattered through the
South, their direct tendency being to stir up the slaves to further
insurrection. Recruits of all ages and professions came forward, and the
cause numbered amongst its adherents many of the theologians and
professional men of the period.
THE NEW YORK CITY ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.--1833.
On the 2d of October, 1833, a New York City Anti-Slavery Society was
organized, though not without some demonstrations of opposition. In fact,
a large majority of the most respectable citizens were opposed to the
enterprise, and they accordingly determined, if possible, to crush the
dangerous project in the bud. The meeting was advertised to be held in
Clinton Hall, but during the course of the day the public feeling was
excited by the posting through the city of a large placard, of which the
following is a copy:--
"NOTICE--TO ALL PERSONS FROM THE SOUTH: All persons interested in the
subject of a meeting called by J. Leavitt, W. Green, Jr., W. Goodell,
J. Rankin and Lewis Tappan, at CLINTON HALL, this Evening, at 7
o'clock, are requested to attend at the same hour and place.
"New York, Oct. 2d, 1833.
"MANY SOUTHERNERS."
Southerners, however, had nothing to do with the meeting. At an early hour
people began to assemble in crowds in front of Clinton Hall, but the
trustees, or some others, had closed the premises. The throng, however,
still increased, and it soon became evident from the execrations mutually
indulged in by the people, that the authors of the projected meeting were
acting with discreet valor in staying away. William Lloyd Garrison, who
had then just returned from England, where he had been engaged in
fomenting excitement against this country, traducing its people and
institutions, and who was expected to take part in the proceedings of the
meeting, was an especial object of popular abhorrence and disgust, and it
is said that many grave and respectable citizens would have gladly
assented to his decoration in a coat of tar and feathers. Notwithstanding
the notification of "No meeting," Clinton Hall was opened and crowded to
suffocation. Speeches were delivered by a number of citizens, and a series
of resolutions, prepared by Mr. F. A. Tallmadge, were adopted, deprecating
any interference in the question of slavery, and expressing a
determination to resist every attempt on the part of the abolitionists to
effect their object.
It appears, however, that the purposes for which the meeting was
originally called were indirectly attained. Finding it much easier to
raise a popular whirlwind than to ride securely upon it, they prudently
and privately changed their place of meeting to Chatham street chapel.
Here the New York City Anti-Slavery Society was duly organized, having for
its object the "total and immediate abolition of slavery in the United
States." Its first officers were:--
_President_--Arthur Tappan.
_Vice-President_--Wm. Green, Jr.
_Treasurer_--John Rankin.
_Corresponding Secretary_--Elizur Wright, Jr.
_Recording Secretary_--Rev. Chas. W. Dennison.
_Managers_--Joshua Leavitt, Isaac T. Hopper, Abraham Cox, M.D., Lewis
Tappan, William Goodell.
The proceedings of the night appear to have terminated in a broad farce,
for after the breaking up of the citizens' meeting, the crowd proceeded to
Chatham street Chapel to see what was going on there. They found the doors
open and the lights burning, but the meeting had suddenly dispersed. The
dignified philosophers, unable to "stand fire," had retreated "bag and
baggage," through the back windows. To have the frolic out, a black man
was put upon the stage, a series of humorous resolutions were passed,
good-natured speeches on the burlesque order were made, and, instead of
the angry frowns with which the evening was commenced, the whole affair
terminated amid the broad grins of a numerous multitude. Precisely one
week after the above occurrence, another meeting of the citizens was held,
over which the Mayor of the city presided. Among the orators was Hon.
Theodore Frelinghuysen, then United States Senator from New Jersey,
afterwards a candidate for Vice-President of the United States on the
ticket with Henry Clay, and he directly charged the abolitionists with
"seeking to dissolve the Union;" declared that nine-tenths of the horrors
of slavery were imaginary, and that "the crusade of abolition was merely
the poetry of philanthropy." Chancellor Walworth was likewise in
attendance, and denounced their efforts as unconstitutional, and the
individuals instigating them as "reckless incendiaries."
THE AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.--1833.
On the 4th, 5th and 6th of December, 1833, a National Anti-Slavery
Convention was held in the city of Philadelphia, when, pursuant to
previous notice, sixty delegates from ten States assembled, viz:--Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Beriah Green, President of Oneida
Institute, was chosen President, and Lewis Tappan and John G. Whittier,
Secretaries. The resolutions were prepared in committee by William Lloyd
Garrison. This convention organized the American Anti-Slavery Society, of
which Arthur Tappan was chosen President; Elizur Wright, Jr., Secretary of
Domestic Correspondence; William L. Garrison, Secretary of the Foreign
Correspondence; A. L. Cox, Recording Secretary, and William Green, Jr.,
Treasurer. The Executive Committee was located in New York city, the seat
of the society's operations, which were now prosecuted with vigor. The
Emancipator became the organ of the society. Tracts, pamphlets and books
were published and circulated; a large number of agents were employed in
different guises to promote the work throughout the country, North and
South; State, county and local anti-slavery societies were organized
throughout the free States; funds were collected; the New England
Anti-Slavery Society became the Massachusetts State Society, and the whole
machinery of agitation was put in thorough working order.
Among the earliest principles adopted by the abolition societies was the
following:--
"Immediate and unconditional emancipation is eminently prudent, safe
and beneficial to all parties concerned.
"No compensation is due to the slaveholder for emancipating his
slaves; and emancipation creates no necessity for such compensation,
because it is of itself a pecuniary benefit, not only to the slave,
but to the master."
So perfect was this system of operations, that in 1836 the society
numbered two hundred and fifty auxiliaries in thirteen States. In eighteen
months afterwards it had increased to one thousand and six. In one week
alone, $6,000 were raised in Boston and $20,000 in the city of New York.
To such an extent was the abolition furor carried at this time, that many
prominent individuals had their dinner service, plates, cups, saucers,
&c., embellished with figures of slaves in chains, and other emblems of
the same character.
Similar prints, or pictorial illustrations of the natural equality before
God of all men, without distinction of color, and setting forth the happy
fruits of a universal acknowledgment of this truth by the exhibition of a
white woman in no equivocal relations to a black man, were circulated in
the South. The infection also broke out on Northern pocket handkerchiefs
made for Southern children, candy wrappers, fans and anti-slavery seals,
all being made to represent the prevailing idea. The reaction shortly
took place. Laws were passed forbidding the reception or circulation of
these incendiary articles in the Southern States. Mobs broke into the
post-offices and burned all abolition prints that could be found, and
rewards were offered for the detection and punishment of any person found
tampering with the slave population. Nor was this reaction confined to the
Southern section of the country; it was largely developed in the North.
Churches soon began to be the theatres of discussions on the subject, and
a conservative spirit sprang into life among all the principal religious
sects. Merchants began to suffer in their business; manufacturers found
their wares of no avail for the Southern market; and, in short, a strong
spirit of opposition to the revolutionary doctrines of the abolitionists
was manifested throughout the Northern States.
THE FIRST ABOLITION RIOT IN NEW YORK.--1834.
This excited feeling soon culminated in an outbreak. On the 8th of July,
1834, the New York Sacred Music Society attempted to assemble, as was
their wont, in Chatham street Chapel, for the purpose of practising sacred
harmony. They found the place, however, filled with an audience of whites
and blacks who had gathered to listen to an abolition address, and who
obstinately refused to remove. But this was not all. The anger of the
negroes was aroused in consequence of the request to remove, and they
attacked several of the gentlemen with loaded canes and other implements,
knocking some down and severely injuring others. The alarm was raised,
crowds assembled, a fight ensued in the church, the congregation were
expelled, and the building was closed. As Mr. Lewis Tappan was returning
to his house, the mob, supposing him to have been instrumental in
producing the disorder, followed him home and threw stones at his house.
On the 9th, three more riots occurred. The crowd proceeded to the Bowery
Theatre, took possession of the house, and put an end to "Metamora,"
without waiting the tragic conclusion to which it was destined by the
author. A great number then proceeded to the house of Lewis Tappan, in
Rose street, broke open the door, smashed the windows and threw the
furniture into the street. A bonfire was lighted, and beds and bedding
made the flames. Fuel was added to the excitement by publications in the
Emancipator, over the signature of Elizur Wright, Jr., in which
intimations were thrown out covertly, inviting to a forcible resistance to
the laws which authorize the recapture of runaway slaves. Placards were
posted through the streets in great numbers, and the demon of disorder
appeared to have taken possession of the city.
On the night of the 10th, the crowd again assembled and made their way to
Dr. Cox's church, then on the corner of Laight and Varick streets, which
they assaulted with stones, breaking the windows and doing a variety of
mischief. They then proceeded to Dr. Cox's house, No. 3 Charlton street,
but, anticipating an attack, he had packed up and sent away his furniture,
and removed with his family into the country on the previous afternoon.
The mob commenced the work of destruction by breaking in the two lower
windows; but they had scarcely effected an entrance before they were
driven from the premises by the police officers and a detachment of horse.
They were thenceforward kept at bay, but as far east as Thompson street,
the streets were filled with an excited multitude, armed with paving
stones, which they smote together, crying "All together." A fence was torn
down and converted into clubs, and a barricade of carts was built across
the street to impede the horsemen. After a while order was gradually
restored and the tumult subsided for the night.
On the 11th, it broke out again, when an attack was made on the store of
Arthur Tappan, in Pearl street. The rioters were driven away, however, by
the police, without further damage than the smashing of a few windows. A
second attack was likewise made on Dr. Cox's church, and also on the
church of Rev. Mr. Ludlow, in Spring street. The latter was almost
completely sacked, nearly the entire interior being torn up and carried
into the street to erect barricades against the horse and infantry which
had assembled at various rendezvous at an early hour, in compliance with
the proclamation of the Mayor. The excitement continued to increase. The
bells were rung, and the Seventh (then the Twenty-seventh) regiment, under
Col. Stevens, charged upon the rioters, driving them from their position
and clearing Spring street. The crowd next proceeded to the residence of
Rev. Mr. Ludlow, whose family had retired, and after breaking the windows
and doors, left the ground. Later in the night an immense riot occurred in
the neighborhood of the Five Points. St. Phillip's Episcopal Church
(colored), in Centre street, was nearly torn down, while several houses
occupied by negroes in the vicinity were entirely demolished. Several days
elapsed before quiet was effectually restored. All the military of the
city during this time were under arms.
Similar outbreaks also occurred at Norwich, Conn., Newark, N. J., and
other places, where the negroes, under the effect of abolition teachings,
grown bold and impudent, were compelled to leave town. In Norwich the mob
entered a church during the delivery of an abolition sermon, took the
parson from the pulpit, walked him into the open air to the tune of the
"Rogue's March," drummed him out of the town, and threatened if he ever
made his appearance in the place again they would give him "a coat of tar
and feathers."
Similar scenes were enacted in Philadelphia, where a large hall was
burned, and other public and private buildings in which the negroes and
abolitionists were in the habit of meeting, were either injured or
demolished.
NEGRO CONSPIRACY IN MISSISSIPPI.
On the 28th of June, 1835, it was discovered that the negroes of
Livingston, in Madison county, Miss., under the lead of a band of white
men, contemplated a general rising. A committee of safety was instantly
organized, and two of the white ringleaders were arrested, tried, and,
after a confession, forthwith hanged. By this confession, it appeared that
the plan was conceived by the notorious John A. Murrel, a well known
Mississippi pirate at that time, and that it embraced the destruction of
the entire population and liberation of the slaves in the South generally.
For two years the disaffection had thus been spreading, and, with few
exceptions, adherents existed on every plantation in the county. Arms and
ammunition had been secreted for the purpose, and everything made ready
for a general outbreak. The confession involved numerous white men and
black, many of whom were arrested and suffered for their diabolical
designs. Among these was one Ruel Blake, of Connecticut. The summary
proceedings adopted, however, had the desired effect, and in a few months
tranquillity was restored to the unsettled and excited district.
AN ERA OF EXCITEMENT.
The year 1835 was one of the most exciting eras of agitation in the early
history of anti-slavery. The events of the preceding few months had
aroused the entire country to a realizing sense of the dangerous tendency
of the abolitionists and the rapid progress of their cause. In Congress
the subject had again begun to be agitated, through petitions presented by
various individuals and bodies in the free States, praying the
interference of the government in the abolition of slavery, and in society
at large a more decided sentiment was evidently being formed _pro_ and
_con._ than had previously been manifested.
In the South, incendiary publications were circulated to such an alarming
extent, that the press and people of that section rose _en masse_ to put
down the growing evil. Following the insurrection to which allusion has
been made above, at a public meeting held in the town of Mississippi, it
was unanimously resolved that any "individual who dared to circulate
incendiary tracts or publications, likely to excite the slaves to
rebellion, was justly worthy, in the sight of God and man, of immediate
death." And at a similar meeting in Williamsburgh, Va., no less a
personage than General John Tyler, afterwards President of the United
States, endorsed a resolution to the effect that the circulation of these
incendiary documents was an act of treasonable character, and that when
offenders were detected in the fact, condign punishment ought and would be
inflicted upon them without resort to any other tribunal. In this state of
alarm, the gallows and stake soon found victims, and within a period of a
few months, no less than a dozen individuals, white and black, who were
found among the slaves, inciting them to insurrection, received the just
award of their crime. Efforts were also made at this time by several
Southern communities to get some of the prominent abolitionists in their
power, so that an example might be made of those who were too cowardly to
appear in the field of this species of missionary labor themselves. Among
others, a reward of five thousand dollars was offered by the Legislature
of Georgia for the apprehension of either of ten persons named in a
resolution, citizens of New York and Massachusetts, and "one George
Thompson, a subject of Great Britain." An offer of ten thousand dollars
was likewise made for the arrest of Rev. A. A. Phelps, a clergyman of New
York, and fifty thousand dollars was offered to any one who would deliver
into their hands the famous Arthur Tappan or Le Roy Sunderland, a well
known Methodist minister.
Even the clergymen added their voice to the general cry of indignation
that rose from the Southern heart; and when, in July, 1835, a few days
after the forcing of the Post-office, and the destruction of the abolition
publications there found, by a crowd in Charleston, S. C., a public
meeting was held for completing measures of protection, the clergy of all
denominations attended in a body to lend their sanction to the
proceedings. About this time one of the Methodist preachers of South
Carolina addressed the following novel letter to Rev. Le Roy Sunderland,
editor of Zion's Watchman of New York:--
"If you wish to educate the slaves, I will tell you how to raise the
money, without editing Zion's Watchman. You and old Arthur Tappan
come out to the South this winter, and they will raise one hundred
thousand dollars for you. New Orleans itself would be pledged for it.
Desiring no further acquaintance with you, I am, &c.,
"J. C. POSTELL."
Laws of the most stringent character were passed by nearly all the
Southern States to prevent the further dissemination among the Southern
people of abolition doctrines, and an appeal was made to the Legislatures
of the North to do the same thing. Indeed, the entire policy of that
section as regards the previous license allowed to slaves and free negroes
was changed so as to render it difficult, if not impossible, for any
future influence of an insurrectionary character to be exerted upon them.
Public meetings were also held, at which resolutions were passed
declaratory of the determination to put down at all hazards these repeated
attempts on the part of abolitionists to deluge their families and
firesides in blood. In many of the principal cities a list of all persons
arriving and departing was kept, that it might be known who were and who
were not to be regarded with suspicion.
The effect upon the North was not less marked, and this prompt action on
the part of their Southern brethren found thousands of sympathizers.
Indignation was almost universal. The press teemed with articles upon the
subject, and among the majority of the order-loving journals of the day,
it was generally agreed that if the madmen who were scattering firebrands,
arrows and death, could not be persuaded or rebuked to silence, no other
alternative was allowed to the slaveholding States to protect themselves,
except by the system of passports, examinations and punishments, which to
some extent they had adopted, and in which they were justified.
The people, too, were smarting under the insults that were poured out upon
the nation by the English emissaries and agents who were in the country
lending their assistance to the prevailing mischief. Among these
individuals was the famous George Thompson, an agent and orator of the
British Anti-Slavery Society. Such was the excitement produced by his
opprobrious language towards the South, that in many places where he
appeared he was greeted with demonstrations of anything but a
complimentary character. At Lynn, Mass., he was assaulted by females with
rotten eggs and stones, and driven off the ground; and at New Bedford, in
the language of the poet,
"When to speak the man essayed,
Gods! what a noise the fiddles made."
He was emphatically "sung down." At Boston the matter was still more
serious. It having been announced that Garrison and Thompson would speak
before a female anti-slavery meeting, the following hand-bill was
circulated:--
"THOMPSON THE ABOLITIONIST.--That famous foreign scoundrel, Thompson,
will hold forth this afternoon, at the Liberator office, No. 48
Washington street. The present is a fair opportunity for the friends
of the Union to 'snake Thompson out!' It will be a contest between
the abolitionists and the friends of the Union. A purse of $100 has
been raised by a number of patriotic citizens to reward the
individual who shall first lay hands on Thompson, so that he may be
brought to the tar-kettle before dark. Friends of the Union, be
vigilant."
It is needless to say that Thompson did not appear. Garrison did, however,
or rather he was found ensconced, martyr-like, under a pile of shavings in
a carpenter's shop. A rope was then fastened around his neck, and he was
gently lowered out of a window to the ground. A general exclamation from
the assembled crowd, "Don't hurt him," indicated the gentleness of the
mob, and, pale and convulsed, he was thus led to the Mayor's office in the
City Hall. Afterwards he was conducted to jail, and, as he sank exhausted
into his place, he made the remark, "Never was man so rejoiced to get
into jail before." The rabble, which by the by, was of an unexceptionable
character, soon after dispersed, their object having been effected, and
the next morning Garrison was liberated from confinement. In Utica and
Rochester, N. Y., Worcester, Mass., Canaan, N. H., and at various places
in the New England States, the abolitionists met with similar treatment.
Their assemblages were either disturbed or broken up, and they often found
it required a large amount of determination to resist the indignation
which their fanaticism had aroused against them. Meetings were also held
in every portion of the North, at which influential citizens attended to
denounce the policy of the abolitionists as subversive of the Union and
Constitution, and to express their sympathy for the South. Several of the
post-masters of the North, participating in this reactionary sentiment, on
their own responsibility, even refused to allow the incendiary documents
to pass through the mails. Such was the activity of the abolitionists,
however, that in the month of August alone over 175,000 copies of their
publications were circulated through the United States; and their presses,
under the direction of the Tappans and Garrison & Co., were employed night
and day to foment the excitement. It was said that these individuals had
then planned an insurrectionary movement throughout the South, which was
to have been developed on a certain day; but the whirlwind they raised in
every section of the country rendered this impossible, and they were
compelled to change their programme of operations.
Though somewhat modified by the restrictions with which public opinion had
surrounded the abolitionists, this state of affairs continued through the
year 1836. The subject of excluding from the mails the whole series of
publications came under the consideration of government, and the
proposition of the President, Andrew Jackson, regarding the propriety of
passing a law for this purpose, being acted upon in Congress, resulted in
a bill rendering it unlawful for any deputy postmaster to deliver to any
person any pamphlet, newspaper, handbill or pictorial representation,
touching the subject of slavery, where, by the laws of the State,
Territory or District their circulation was prohibited. This healthy
measure was defeated, however, on the final vote.
THE RIOT AT ALTON, ILL., AND DEATH OF REV. E. P. LOVEJOY.
The principal anti-slavery event of the year 1837 was a riot at Alton,
Ill. For a long time the community of that town had been agitated by the
abolitionists, and finally, on an attempt being made to resuscitate the
Alton Observer, a newspaper previously edited by the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy,
(brother of Owen Lovejoy, the present member of Congress from Illinois,) a
journal which, in his hands, had become conspicuous for the violence of
its denunciations against the South and its institutions, a terrible riot
ensued. It had been announced for several days that a printing press was
hourly expected to arrive, intended for the purpose above named. This gave
rise to an intense excitement and to open threats, that its landing would
be resisted, if necessary, by force of arms. It was landed, however, and
placed in a warehouse, under the protection of a guard of twenty or thirty
gentlemen who had volunteered for the purpose. Almost immediately there
were indications of an attack. The press was demanded by the mob, who
insisted that they would not be satisfied with anything less than its
destruction. The party in the building determined it should not be given
up, and during the angry altercation which ensued, a shot was fired from
one of the windows, which mortally wounded a man named Lyman Bishop. The
crowd then withdrew, but with the death of Bishop the excitement increased
to such an extent that they shortly appeared in greater numbers, armed
with guns and weapons of different kinds, more than ever intent upon
carrying out their original purpose. A rush was made upon the warehouse
with the cries of "Fire the house," "Burn them out," &c. The firing soon
became fearful. The building was surrounded, and the inmates threatened
with extermination and death in the most frightful form imaginable. Fire
was applied, and all means of escape by flight were cut off. The scene now
became appalling.
About the time the fire was communicated to the building, Rev. E. P.
Lovejoy received four balls in the breast, near the door of the warehouse,
and fell a corpse. Several persons engaged in the attack were also
severely wounded. The contest raged for more than an hour, when the party
in the house intimated that they would abandon the premises and the press,
if allowed to pass out unmolested. This was granted, and they made their
escape, though several shots were fired in the act. A large number of
persons then rushed into the building, threw the press upon the wharf,
where it was broken in pieces and thrown into the river. The fire was then
extinguished, and without further attempts at violence, the mob dispersed.
No further indications of disorder were manifested.
For a long time this outbreak served as a check upon the aggressive policy
of the abolitionists, and, though not thoroughly cowed, both principals
and agents found that the agitation of the subject was like the handling
of a sword whose double edges cut in both directions. After this event,
with the exception of the burning of a hall in 1838, in which they held
their meetings, in Philadelphia, the country for a number of years became
comparatively quiet, and the agitators took good care not to give occasion
for further public demonstrations.
THIRD EPOCH.