After one of these handsome entertainments, where we had been
attended by negro slaves, I observed a cloud upon the brow of my
young friend, for which I could not account, till he confessed,
that the sight of men who were the property of their fellow
creatures, and subject to every indignity, excited such painful
reflections, that he could not banish them from his mind. I
endeavoured to soothe him, by representing that their treatment
here is gentle, compared with that exercised in the southern
states, and in the West Indies; though the efforts that have been
made for the abolition of slavery, have improved their conditions
every where.
It is indeed to be regretted, that men, so ardent in the love of
liberty for themselves as the Americans are, should continue, in
any degree, to tolerate the slave trade. Many amongst them,
however, have used every endeavour to abolish it, particularly
Anthony Benezet. He was born at St. Quintin, in Picardy, in 1712.
France, at this time, suffered from religious persecution; which
drove the parents of Benezet to England, where he embraced the
doctrines of the Quakers. He went to America in 1736, and settled
at Philadelphia, in a commercial line of business; but that
employment being unsuitable to his turn of mind, he quitted it
for the instruction of youth, and undertook the management of a
school, belonging to the society whose principles he had adopted.
From that period, he devoted the chief part of his life to public
instruction, to the relief of the poor, and the defense of the
unhappy negroes.
The amiable Benezet was warmed with universal philanthropy: he
felt a brotherly affection for all men, of all countries, and of
all colours. Not contented with persuasion, he composed many
books, in which he collected authorities from Scripture and other
writings, to discourage and condemn the slave-trade and slavery.
The first influence of his works was perceived amongst the
Quakers. Many of them determined to emancipate their slaves; and
the society since has been very active in promoting the
abolition. Benezet knew that instruction was necessary for those
blacks whose liberty he had procured; and finding few willing to
undertake a task, that prejudice had rendered contemptible, he
determined to devote his own time to the glorious occupation of
enlightening the ignorant and neglected, and his little fortune
to the establishment of a school for the negroes. The influence
of a good example is powerful. Those who had not courage to
begin, cheerfully assisted the work; and the school now enjoys a
revenue of two hundred pounds per annum. This good man died in
1784; honoured by the tears of the blacks, and the regrets of
every friend to humanity. John Woolman, also a member of the same
society, remarkable for the simplicity of his manners, and his
opposition to the slave-trade, united with Benezet and others, in
application to the British government for the abolition. Their
efforts were ineffectual. America after gaining her independence,
has listened, more favourably, to the cause of humanity. Most of
the northern and middle states have proscribed for ever, the
importation of slaves; and in some others, the prohibition is
limited to a certain time. Georgia is the only state that
continues to receive transported slaves. Rhode Island had a great
traffic in slaves, but has totally prohibited it. The abolition,
and amendment in the condition of the negroes, certainly advance,
though by slow degrees; and it is to be devoutly wished, that in
time these improvements will extend to all parts of the world,
where slavery prevails. It will be interesting to you, my dear
brother, to know the steps that have procured these advantages.
In 1780, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania abolished slavery
for ever; compelled the owners of slaves to have them registered;
declared their children free at the age of twenty-eight; placed
them, while under that age, on the footing of hired servants; and
assured to them the privilege of trial by jury. But this was not
sufficient to secure to them all the intended advantages: by a
second act it was ordained, that no negro could be sent into a
neighbouring state without his consent; that all vessels and
cargoes employed in the slave trade should be confiscated; and
that all stealers of the negroes should be condemned to the
public works. The little state of Delaware followed this noble
example. New York has sanctioned nearly the same regulations in
their favour as Pennsylvania. A society, connected with one in
London, and others in the American states, formed for the express
purpose of promoting the abolition, has greatly ameliorated their
condition, in all respects; especially by affording numbers of
them a degree of instruction in religion, and the useful arts of
reading and writing, which they acquire with as much facility as
white men brought up in the same manner. From this information we
may encourage the hope, that the time approaches when their
shackles shall be removed, and they shall participate with the
other races of mankind, in the common benefits of liberty and
independence: that instead of the treatment of beasts of burthen,
they shall be considered as rational beings, and co-heirs with us
of immortality: that a conscientious care of educating their
children in the great duties of Christianity, will produce a
happy change from the vices in which, from ignorance and a
combination of unfavorable circumstances, they now live, to the
practice of religion and morality, and entitle them to rank on an
equality with their fellow-creatures. Besides these public acts
in favour of the negroes, many individuals have generously given
liberty to their slaves; amongst others that have fallen under my
notice, I shall mention the instance of Messrs. David and John
Barclay, respectable merchants in London, who received, as an
equivalent for a debt, a plantation in Jamaica, stocked with
thirty-two slaves. They immediately resolved to set these negroes
free; and that they might effectually enable them afterwards to
provide for themselves, the surviving brother, David, sent an
agent from England to manage the business, and convey them to
Philadelphia, having first supplied them with all necessaries;
where, under the fostering hand of his friends in the city, with
the assistance of the Abolition Society, they were apprenticed to
mechanic trades, and the children sent to school to be properly
instructed. This benevolent act was rewarded with extraordinary
success. Except two, these liberated slaves prospered, and became
useful members of the community.
Many of those who are free, gain a great deal of money; as I
conclude, from a ball given among themselves, at which we were
present, where, though all of a sooty black, the company was well
dressed, came in coaches, and were regaled with a good supper and
variety of refreshments.--Priscilla Wakefield, _Excursions in
North America_, 1806, p. 16 et seq.