chairman of the Committee of Correspondence of the Virginia
Society, was presented and read. By this letter it appeared that
Samuel Pleasants and Israel Pleasants, of Philadelphia, were
appointed to represent that society in the convention; and in
case of their declining, or being prevented from acting, the
convention were at liberty to nominate two other persons as their
representatives. In the letter was inclosed "an authentic account
of several vessels lately fitted out in Virginia for the African
slave-trade." The convention, after considering the proposition
of the Virginia Society, adopted the following resolution:
"_Resolved_, That as information, and an unreserved comparison of
one another's sentiments, relative to the important cause in
which we are severally engaged, are our principal objects; and as
the persons appointed by the Virginia Society are not citizens of
that State, nor members of that Society, to admit them, or,
according to their proposals for us to elect others as their
representatives, would be highly improper."
The president was directed to acknowledge the receipt of the
letter, to inform the Virginia Society of the above resolution,
and to thank them for the important information contained in the
letter.
Benjamin Rush, William Dunlap, Samuel Sterett, William Rawle, and
Warner Mifflin, were appointed a committee to report the objects
proper for the consideration of the convention, and the best
plan for carrying the same into execution. Under the direction of
this committee, memorials were prepared to be sent to the
legislatures of the several States which had not abolished
slavery; a memorial to Congress asking for the enactment of a law
making the use of vessels and men in the slave-trade a penal
offense; and an address to the citizens of the United States,
already printed in a note, pp. 60-63. It was also voted "to
recommend to the different Abolition societies to appoint
delegates to meet in convention, at Philadelphia, on the first
Wednesday of January, 1795, and on the same day in every year
afterward, until the great objects of their original association
be accomplished."
I was so fortunate as to find, also, in the New York Historical
Society's library, the minutes of the conventions of 1795 and
1797. The convention of 1795 met in the City Hall, at
Philadelphia, January 7, and continued in session till the 14th
of that month. The societies represented, and delegates, were as
follows:
_Rhode Island Society_--Theodore Foster. The credentials from the
president of the society stated that George Benson was also
appointed to represent the society; but he did not appear.
_Connecticut Society_--Jonathan Edwards, Uriah Tracy, Zephaniah
Swift.
_New York Society_--John Murray, Jr., William Johnson, Lawrence
Embree, William Dunlap, William Walton Woolsey.
_New Jersey Society_--James Sloan, Franklin Davenport. Other
delegates appointed, Joseph Bloomfield, William Coxe, Jr., and
John Wistar, did not appear. It was explained to the convention
that the absence of Mr. Bloomfield was occasioned by sickness.
_Pennsylvania Society_--William Rawle, Robert Patterson, Benjamin
Rush, Samuel Coates, Caspar Wistar, James Todd, Benjamin Say.
_Washington (Pa.) Society_--Thomas Scott, Absalom Baird, Samuel
Clark.
_Delaware Society_--Richard Bassett, John Ralston, Allen McLane,
Caleb Boyer.
_Wilmington (Del.) Society_--Cyrus Newlin, James A. Bayard,
Joseph Warner, William Poole.
_Maryland Society_--Samuel Sterett, Adam Fonerdon, Joseph
Townsend, Joseph Thornburgh, George Buchanan, John Bankson,
Philip Moore.
_Chester-town (Md.) Society_--Edward Scott, James Houston.
Dr. Benjamin Rush was elected President; Walter Franklin,
Secretary; and Joseph Fry, Door-keeper.
Jonathan Edwards, William Dunlap, Caspar Wistar, Cyrus Newlin,
Caleb Boyer, Philip Moore, and James Houston were appointed the
committee on business. Memorials were prepared, and adopted by
the convention, to be sent to the legislatures of South Carolina
and Georgia, as both States still persisted in the importation of
slaves. An address to the Abolition Societies of the United
States was also adopted, the spirit of which may be inferred from
the following extract:
"When we have broken his chains, and restored the African to the
enjoyment of his rights, the great work of justice and
benevolence is not accomplished. The new-born citizen must
receive that instruction, and those powerful impressions of moral
and religious truths, which will render him capable and desirous
of fulfilling the various duties he owes to himself and to his
country. By educating some in the higher branches, and all in the
useful parts of learning, and in the precepts of religion and
morality, we shall not only do away the reproach and calumny so
unjustly lavished upon us, but confound the enemies of truth, by
evincing that the unhappy sons of Africa, in spite of the
degrading influence of slavery, are in nowise inferior to the
more fortunate inhabitants of Europe and America."
The fourth annual convention of the Abolition Societies of the
United States was held in the Senate Chamber, at Philadelphia,
May 3, 1797. The societies represented, and delegates, were as
follows:
_New York Society_--Willett Seaman, Thomas Eddy, Samuel L.
Mitchell, William Dunlap, Elihu Hubbard Smith.
_New Jersey Society_--Joseph Bloomfield, Richard Hartshorne,
Joseph Sloan, William Coxe, Jr., William Carpenter.
_Pennsylvania Society_--Benjamin Rush, William Rawle, Samuel P.
Griffitts, Casper Wistar, Samuel Coates, Robert Patterson, James
Todd.
_Maryland Society_--Francis Johonnett, Jesse Tyson, Gerrard T.
Hopkins.
_Choptank (Md.) Society_--Seth Hill Evitts.
_Virginia Society_ (at Richmond)--Joseph Anthony.
_Alexandria (Va.) Society_--George Drinker.
Joseph Bloomfield was elected President; Thomas P. Cope,
Secretary; and Jacob Meyer, Door-keeper.
Communications from the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Choptank (Md.), Virginia, and Alexandria (Va.)
Abolition Societies were read. The minutes of the convention of
1797 are more elaborately compiled, and contain more statistics
than the previous reports. Among other papers adopted by the
convention, was an "Address to the Free Africans." Besides the
seven societies, which sent delegates, the eight societies
following, which sent none, were reported, viz: Rhode Island,
Connecticut, Washington (Pa.), Delaware (at Dover), Wilmington
(Del.), Chester-town (Md.), Winchester (Va.), and Kentucky
Societies. Among the memorials presented to Congress, in 1791,
was one from the Caroline County (Md.) Society. Besides the
Maryland Society, at Baltimore, there appear to have been three
local societies on the Eastern Shore of that State.
The several societies reported their membership, in 1797, as
follows: New York Society, two hundred and fifty; New Jersey
Society, "compiled partially;" Pennsylvania Society, five hundred
and ninety-one; Maryland Society, two hundred and thirty-one;
Choptank (Md.) Society, twenty-five; Wilmington (Del.) Society,
sixty; Virginia Society, one hundred and forty-seven; Alexandria
(Va.) Society, sixty-two. From the other societies no reports of
membership were received. The Choptank (Md.) Society, formed in
1790, reported having liberated more than sixty slaves; the
Wilmington (Del.) Society, reported having liberated eighty since
1788; and the Alexandria (Va.) Society reported having made
twenty-six complaints under the law against the importation of
slaves. By votes of previous conventions, the Abolition Societies
were required to sustain schools for the education of Africans.
The minutes for 1797 contain interesting reports from the several
societies of their success in this department of benevolence.
Before the year 1782, it was illegal in Virginia for a master to
liberate his slaves without sending them out of the State. The
Assembly of Virginia then passed an act permitting the
manumission of slaves. Judge Tucker of that State, in his
"Dissertation on Slavery," estimated that, from 1782 to 1791, ten
thousand slaves were liberated in Virginia by their masters.
Of the anti-slavery literature of this period, which has not
already been noticed, there is in the New York Historical
Society's library, "An Oration spoken before the Connecticut
Society for the Promotion of Freedom, and the Relief of Persons
unlawfully held in Bondage, convened at Hartford the 8th of May,
1794. By Theodore Dwight.[35] Hartford, 1794." 8vo, 24 pp. Also,
a "Discourse delivered April 12, 1797, at the Request of the New
York Society for the Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, and
protecting such of them as have been or may be liberated. By
Samuel Miller, A. M. New York, 1787." 8vo, 36 pp.
In the Boston Athenæum library are the following tracts:
"A Dissuasion to Great Britain and the Colonies from the Slave
Trade to Africa. By James Swan. Revised and abridged. Boston,
1773." 8vo, 40 pp. The original edition was printed in 1772.
"A Forensic Dispute on the Legality of Enslaving the Africans,
held at a Public Commencement in Cambridge, N. E., July 21, 1773,
by the Candidates for the Bachelors' Degrees. Boston, 1773." 8vo,
48 pp.
"A Short Account of that Part of Africa inhabited by the Negroes.
[By Anthony Benezet.] Philadelphia, 1772." 8vo, 80 pp.
"An Address to the British Settlements in America upon
Slaveholding. Second edition. To which are added Observations on
a Pamphlet entitled 'Slavery not forbidden by Scripture; or, a
Defence of the West Indian Planters.' By a Pennsylvanian [Dr.
Benjamin Rush]. Philadelphia, 1773." 8vo, pp. 28 + 54. Also,
another edition issued the same year, with the title somewhat
varied; the second part being termed, "A Vindication of the
Address to the Inhabitants," etc. The pamphlet entitled "Slavery
not forbidden by Scripture," etc., was written by R. Nisbet, and
is in the Library of Congress.
"Memorials presented to the Congress of the United States, by the
different Societies instituted for promoting the Abolition of
Slavery, in the States of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania, Mary, and Virginia. Published by the Pennsylvania
Society for promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Philadelphia.
Printed by Francis Bailey, 1792." 8vo, 31 pp.
This tract contains the memorials which were presented to the
House of Representatives, December 8, 1791, and which were read
and referred. The Rhode Island memorial is signed by David
Howell, President, and dated December 28, 1790. Connecticut--by
Ezra Stiles, President; Simon Baldwin, Secretary; January 7,
1791. New York--by Matthew Clarkson, Vice-President; December 14,
1790. Pennsylvania--by James Pemberton, President; John McCrea
and Joseph P. Norris, Secretaries; October 3, 1791. Washington
(Pa.)--by Andrew Swearingen, Vice-President. Maryland, in
Baltimore--"Signed by the members generally;" but the names of no
members are given. Chester-town, Maryland--by James M. Anderson,
President; Daniel McCurtin, Secretary; November 19, 1791.
Caroline County, Maryland--by Edward White, Vice-President;
Charles Emery, Secretary; September 6, 1791.
Of the sixteen Abolition Societies existing in the United States
during this decade, it appears that six were in States which, at
the outbreak of the late rebellion, were non-slaveholding; and
ten were in slaveholding States.
FOOTNOTES:
[35] The "Dwight" to whom, with others, Bishop Grégoire inscribed his
"Literature of Negroes," was probably Theodore Dwight, and not
President Timothy Dwight, as stated on page 31.
DR. GEORGE BUCHANAN'S
ORATION ON SLAVERY,
_BALTIMORE_, _July 4, 1791_.
AN
ORATION
UPON THE
MORAL AND POLITICAL EVIL
OF
SLAVERY.
DELIVERED AT A PUBLIC MEETING
OF THE
MARYLAND SOCIETY
FOR PROMOTING THE
ABOLITION of SLAVERY,
And the RELIEF of _FREE NEGROES_, and
others unlawfully held in BONDAGE.
BALTIMORE, July 4th, 1791.
By GEORGE BUCHANAN, M. D.
Member of the _American Philosophical Society_.
BALTIMORE: Printed by PHILIP EDWARDS.
M,DCC,XCIII.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At a special meeting of the "MARYLAND SOCIETY _for promoting the
Abolition of Slavery, and the Relief of free Negroes and others
unlawfully held in Bondage_," held at _Baltimore, July 4th,
1791_,--
"UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED
THAT the President present the Thanks of this Society to Dr.
_George Buchanan_, for the excellent ORATION, by him delivered
this Day--and at the same time request a copy thereof in the Name
and for the Use of the Society."
_Extract from the Minutes._
JOSEPH TOWNSEND, Secretary.
_President_, SAMUEL STERETT,
_Vice President_, ALEXr McKIM.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TO THE HONORABLE
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Esq.
SECRETARY OF STATE,
WHOSE Patriotism, since the American Revolution, has been uniformly
marked, by a sincere, steady and active Attachment to the Interest of
his Country; and whose literary Abilities have distinguished him
amongst the first of Statesmen and Philosophers--
THIS ORATION
Is respectfully inscribed, as an humble Testimony of the highest
Regard and Esteem, by
THE AUTHOR.
ORATION
CITIZENS _and_ FELLOW-MEMBERS,
SUMMONED by your voice, I appear before you with diffidence; the
arduous task you have imposed upon me, would have been better executed
by some one of greater abilities and information, and one more versed
in public speaking.
However, my feeble executions shall not be wanting to promote the
intentions of so laudable an institution; and while I endeavour to
fulfil the purport of this meeting, I shall hope not to fail in
proving its utility.
Too much cannot be offered against the unnatural custom that pervades
the greatest part of the world, of dragging the human race to slavery
and bondage, nor of exposing the ignominy of such barbarity.
Let an impartial view of man be taken, so far as it respects his
existence, and in the chain of thought, the _white_, _swarthy_ and
_black_, will be all linked together, and at once point out their
equality. God hath created mankind after his own image, and granted to
them liberty and independence; and if varieties may be found in their
structure and colour, these are only to be attributed to the nature of
their diet and habits, also of the soil and climate they may inhabit,
and serve as flimsy pretexts for enslaving them.
In the first rudiment of society, when simplicity characterised the
conduct of man, slavery was unknown, every one equally enjoyed that
peace and tranquility at home, to which he was naturally born: But
this equality existed but for a time; as yet no laws, no government
was established check the ambitious, or to curb the crafty; hence
reprisals were made upon the best by the strong and robust, and
finally subjected the weak and indigent to poverty and want.
Here then arose a difference in the circumstances of men, and the poor
and weak were obliged to submit themselves to the control of the rich
and powerful; but although the authority exercised was at first mild,
and ensured to the bondsmen almost the same privileges with their
masters, yet the idea of power soon crept in upon the mind, and at
length lenity was converted into rigidity, and the gall of servitude
became insupportable; the oppressed, soon found that _that liberty_,
which they had just given up, was an inalienable privilege of man, and
sought means to regain it: this was effected,--but not until a time
when ignorance began to decline, when improvements were made in the
arts, commerce and governments, and when men could seek protection
from the law, or by industry could ward off the bitterness of poverty,
and ensure to themselves an independence.
Happy circumstance! To feel oneself emancipated from the chains of
slavery, must awaken every delicate sensation of the soul, and
transport the gloomy mind into a region of bliss; for what is life,
without an enjoyment of those privileges which have been given to us
by nature? It is a burden, which if not awed by Divine Providence,
would be speedily cast off, by all who sweat under the yoke of slavish
servitude, and know no alternative but an unceasing submission to the
goads of a brutal master.
Ages have revolved since this happy condition of human affairs; and
although mankind have been gradually verging from a state of
simplicity to a more social refinement, yet the governments of those
primitive times laid open an analogy for licentiousness; and we find,
by pursuing the history of man, that slavery was again introduced, and
stained the annals of all the powers of Europe.
The idea of possessing, as property, was too lucrative to be totally
eradicated; it diffused itself into Egypt and Cyprus, which became the
first and most noted markets for the sale and purchase of slaves, and
soon became the cause of rapine and bloodshed in Greece and Rome:
there it was an established custom to subject to slavery all the
captives in time of war; and not only the Emperors, but the nobility,
were in possession of thousands--to them they served as instruments of
diversion and authority.
To give an idea only of the amphitheatrical entertainments, so
repugnant to humanity, would make the most obdurate heart feel with
keen sensibility. For to hear with patience of voracious animals
being turned loose among human beings, to give sport to the rich and
great, when upon reflection, he may be assured, that the merciless jaw
knew no restraint but precipitately charged upon its prey whom it
left, without remorse, either massacred or maimed.
Such was the practice among the ancients, and to charge the modern
with like enormities, would by many be deemed criminal.
But I fear not to accuse them--the prosecution of the present
barbarous and iniquitous slave trade affords us too many instances of
cruelties exercised against the harmless Africans. A trade, which,
after it was abolished in Europe by the general introduction of
Christianity, was again renewed about the fourteenth century by the
mercenary Portuguese, and now prosecuted by the Spaniards, French and
British, in defiance of every principle of justice, humanity and
religion.
Ye moderns, will you not blush at degenerating into ancient barbarity,
and at wearing the garb of Christians, when you pursue the practices
of savages?
Hasten to reform, and put an end to this unnatural and destructive
trade--Do you not know that thousands of your fellow-mortals are
annually entombed by it? and that it proves ruinous to your
government? You go to Africa to purchase slaves for foreign markets,
and lose the advantages of all the proper articles of commerce, which
that country affords. You bury your seamen upon the pestiferous
shores; and, shocking to humanity! make monsters of all you engage in
the traffic.
Who are more brutal than the Captains of vessels in the slave trade?
Not even the tawny savage of the American wilds, who thirsts after the
blood of the Christian, and carries off his scalp the trophy of
splendid victory!
They even countenance the practice of the ancients, in seeing a sturdy
mastiff tear in pieces some poor wretch of their hateful cargoes, or
in viewing their wreathes and tortures, when smarting under the lash
of a seasoned cat.[36]
It is time to abolish these enormities, and to stay such repeated
insults from being offered to Divine Providence: Some dreadful curse
from heaven may be the effect of them, and the innocent be made to
suffer for the guilty.
What, will you not consider that the Africans are men? that they have
human souls to be saved? that they are born free and independent? A
violation of which prerogatives is an infringement upon the laws of
God.
But, are these the only crimes you are guilty of in pursuing the
trade? No--you stir up the harmless Africans to war, and stain their
fields with blood: you keep constant hostile ferment in their
territories, in order to procure captives for your uses; some you
purchase with a few trifling articles, and waft to distant shores to
be made the instruments of grandeur, pride and luxury.
You commit also the crime of kidnapping others, whom you forcibly drag
from their beloved country, from the bosoms of their dearest
relatives; so leave a wife without a husband, a sister without a
brother, and a helpless infant to bemoan the loss of its indulgent
parent.
Could you but see the agonizing pangs of these distressed mortals, in
the hour of their captivity, when deprived of every thing that is dear
to them, it would make even the heathenish heart to melt with sorrow;
like a noble Senator of old, death is their choice in preference to
lingering out their lives in ignominious slavery--and often do we see
them meet it with a smile.
The horrors of the grave intimidate not even the delicate females; too
many melancholy instances are recorded of their plunging into the
deep, and carrying with them a tender infant at their breast; even in
my own recollection, suicide has been committed in various forms by
these unhappy wretches, under the blind infatuation of revising the
land of their nativity.
Possessed of Christian sentiments, they fail not to exercise them when
an opportunity offers. Things pleasing rejoice them, and melancholy
circumstances pall their appetites for amusements.--They brook no
insults, and are equally prone to forgiveness as to resentment; they
have gratitude also, and will even expose their own lives, to wipe off
the obligation of past favours; nor do they want any of the
refinements of taste, so much the boast of those who call themselves
Christians.
The talent for music, both vocal and instrumental, appears natural to
them: Neither is their genius for literature to be despised; many
instances are recorded of men of eminence amongst them: Witness
Ignatius Sancho, whose letters are admired by all men of
taste--Phillis Wheatley, who distinguished herself as a poetess--The
physician of New Orleans--The Virginia calculator--Banneker, the
Maryland Astronomer, and many others whom it would be needless to
mention. These are sufficient to shew, that the Africans, whom you
despise, whom you inhumanly treat as brutes, and whom you unlawfully
subject to slavery, with the tyrannizing hands of Despots, are equally
capable of improvements with yourselves.
This you may think a bold assertion, but it is not made without
reflection, nor independent of the testimony of many, who have taken
pains with their education.
Because you few, in comparison to their number, who make any exertions
of abilities at all, you are ready to enjoy the common opinion, that
they are inferior set of beings, and destined by nature to the
cruelties and hardships you impose upon them.
But be cautious how long you hold such sentiments; the time may come,
when you will be obliged to abandon them--consider the pitiable
situation of these most distressed beings; deprived of their liberty
and reduced to slavery; consider also, that they toil not for
themselves, from the rising of the Sun to its going down, and you will
readily conceive the cause of their inaction.
What time, or what incitement has a slave to become wise? there is no
great art in hilling corn, or in running a furrow; and to do this,
they know they are doomed, whether they seek into the mysteries of
science, or remain ignorant as they are.
To deprive a man of his liberty, has a tendency to rob his soul of
every spring to virtuous actions; and were slaves to become fiends,
the wonder could not be great. Nothing more assimilates a man to a
beast, says the learned Montesque, than being among freemen, himself a
slave; for slavery clogs the mind, perverts the moral faculty, and
reduces the conduct of man to the standard of brutes.
What right then have you to expect greater things from these poor
mortals? You would not blame a brute for committing ravages upon his
prey, nor ought you to censure a slave, for making attempts to regain
his liberty even at the risque of life itself.