Britons, I again call upon you to take these things into your
consideration; it is time, a remorse of conscience had seized upon
you; it is time, you were apprised of your danger: Behold the
thousands that are annually lost to your governments, in the
prosecution of an unlawful and iniquitous trade.
View the depredations that you commit upon a nation, born equally free
with yourselves; consider the abyss of misery into which you plunge
your fellow-mortals, and reflect upon the horrid crimes you are hourly
committing under the bright sunshine of revealed religion.--Will you
not then find yourselves upon a precipice, and protected from ruin,
only because you are too wicked to be lost?
What Empire, or what State can have the hope of existing, which
prosecutes a trade, that proves a sinking fund to her coffers, and to
her subjects, tramples the human species under foot, with as much
indifference as the dirt, and fills the world with misery and woe?
Let not a blind hardness of opinion any longer bias your judgments,
and prevent you from acting like Christians.
View the Empires amongst the ancients; behold Egypt in the time of
Secostris, Greece in the time of Cyrus, and Rome in the reign of
Augustus; view them all, powerful as enemies, patterns of virtue and
science, bold and intrepid in war, free and independent; and now see
them sacrificed at the shrine of luxury, and dwindled into
insignificance. When in power, they usurped the authority of God, they
stretched out their arms to encompass their enemies, and bound their
captives in iron chains of slavery.
Vengeance was then inflicted, their spoils became the instruments of
pride, luxury and dissipation, and finally proved the cause of their
present downfall.
Then look back at home; view your degeneracy from the times of Louis
the 14th and Charles the 2d, and if a universal blush don't prevail,
it will argue a hardness of heart, tempered by a constant action of
wickedness upon the smooth anvil of religion.
For such are the effects of subjecting man to slavery, that it
destroys every human principle, vitiates the mind, instills ideas of
unlawful cruelties, and eventually subverts the springs of government.
What a distressing scene is here before us. America, I start at your
situation! The idea of these direful effect of slavery demand your
most serious attention.--What! shall a people, who flew to arms with
the valour of Roman Citizens, when encroachments were made upon their
liberties, by the invasion of foreign powers, now basely descend to
cherish the seed and propagate the growth of the evil, which they
boldly sought to eradicate. To the eternal infamy of our country, this
will be handed down to posterity, written in the blood of African
innocence.
If your forefathers have been degenerate enough to introduce slavery
into your country, to contaminate the minds of her citizens, you ought
to have the virtue of extirpating it.
Emancipated from the shackles of despotism, you know no superior; free
and independent, you stand equally respected among your foes, and
your allies.--Renowned in history, for your valour, and for your
wisdom, your way is left open to the highest eminence of human
perfection.
But while with pleasing hopes you may anticipate such an event, the
echo of expiring freedom cannot fail to assail the ears, and pierce
the heart with keen reproach.
In the first struggles for American freedom, in the enthusiastic
ardour for attaining liberty and independence, one of the most noble
sentiments that ever adorned the human breast, was loudly proclaimed
in all her councils--
Deeply penetrated with a sense of _Equality_, they held it as a fixed
principle, "_that all men are by nature and of right ought to be free,
that they are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, amongst which are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness_."
Nevertheless, _when_ the blessings of peace were showered upon them,
when they had obtained these rights which they had so boldly contended
for, _then_ they became apostates to their principles, and rivetted
the fetters of slavery upon the unfortunate Africans.
Deceitful men! who could have suggested, that American patriotism
would at this day countenance a conduct so inconsistent; that while
America boasts of being a land of freedom, and an asylum for the
oppressed of Europe, she should at the same time foster an abominable
nursery for slaves, to check the shoots of her growing liberty?
Deaf to the clamours of criticism, she feels no remorse, and blindly
pursues the object of her destruction; she encourages the propagation
of vice, and suffers her youth to be reared in the habits of cruelty.
Not even the sobs and groans of injured innocence, which _reek_ from
every State, can excite her pity, nor human misery bend her heart to
sympathy.
Cruel and oppressive she wantonly abuses the _Rights of Man_, and
willingly sacrifices her liberty at the altar of slavery: What an
opportunity is here given for triumph among her enemies? Will they not
exclaim, that upon this very day, while the Americans the anniversary
of Freedom and Independence, abject slavery exists tn all her States
but one.[37]
How degenerately base to merit the rebuke. Fellow-countrymen, let the
heart of humanity awake and direct your counsels; reflect that
slavery gains root among you; look back upon the curses which it has
heaped upon your ancestors, and unanimously combine to drive the
_fiend Monster_ from your territories; it is inconsistent with the
principles of your government, with the education of your youth, and
highly derogatory to the true spirit of Christianity.
In despotic governments, says Montesque, where they are already in a
state of political slavery, civil slavery is more tolerable than in
other governments; for there the minds of masters and servants are
equally degenerate and act in unison.--But in America, this cannot be
the case; here the pure forms of Republicanism are established, and
hold forth to the world the enjoyment of Freedom and Independence.
Her citizens have thrown off the load of oppression, under which they
formerly laboured; and elated with their signal victories, have become
oppressors in their turn.
They have slaves, over whom they carry the iron rod of subjection, and
fail not to exercise it with cruelty, hence their situations become
insupportable, misery inhabits their cabins, and persecution pursues
them in the field.
I would wish to be partial to my country, and carry a hand of lenity;
it is more pleasing to celebrate than to detract, but whoever takes a
view of the situation of its slaves, will find it even worse than this
description.
Naked and starved, they often fall victims to the inclemencies of the
weather, and inhumanly beaten; sacrifices to the turbulent tempers of
their cruel masters.
Unfortunate Africans! born in freedom and subjected to slavery! How
long will you remain the spoils of despotism, and the harbinger of
human calamities? Cannot your distresses awaken the heart of
sensibility, and excite her pity? Cannot your unlawful treatment call
forth the voice of humanity to plead your cause?
Americans! step forward; you have already diffused a spirit of Liberty
throughout the world; you have set examples of heroism; and now let me
intreat you to pave the way to the exercise of humanity: an
opportunity is offered to raise yourselves to the first eminence among
mankind.
Rouse then from your lethargy, and let not such torpid indifference
prevail in your councils.--Slavery, the most implacable enemy to your
country, is harboured amongst you; it makes a rapid progress, and
threatens you with destruction.
Already has it disturbed the limpid streams of liberty, it has
polluted the minds of your youth, sown the seeds of despotism, and
without a speedy check to her ravages, will sink you into a pit of
infamy, where you shall be robbed of all the honours you have before
acquired.
Let it viewed either morally or politically, and no one argument can
be adduced in its favour.
The savage mind may perhaps be reconciled to it, but the heart of the
Christian must recoil at the idea.--He sees it forbidden in Holy Writ,
and his conscience dictates to him, that it is wrong.
"_He that stealeth a man_," says Exodus, "_and selleth him, of if he
be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death._"
Oh my countrymen! are there any of you who can con over this elegant
passage of Scripture, without trembling; or can you stand before the
great Author of your existence, with an arm uplifted to subject his
creatures to slavery, without dreading an execution of this divine
threat.
"_The nation, to whom they shall be in bondage, will I judge, said
God_"--and what that judgment may be, is beyond the suggestion of
mortals. We may be hurled amidst the elements of woe to expiate the
guilt, for he who holdeth men in slavery liveth in sin.
In a civilized country, where religion is tolerated in all its purity,
it must be the fault of ignorance, stubborn indifference to
Christianity, to rebel against divine sentiments; and considering
slavery in a political view, it must appear equally as destructive to
our terrestrial happiness, as it endangers our enjoyment of heavenly
bliss.
For who is there, unless innured to savage cruelties, that hear of the
inhuman punishments daily afflicted upon the unfortunate Blacks,
without feeling for their situations?
Can a man who calls himself a Christian, coolly and deliberately tie
up, thumb screw, torture with pincers, and beat unmercifully a poor
slave, for perhaps a trifling neglect of duty? Or can any one be an
eye witness to such enormities, without at the same time being deeply
persuaded of its guilt?
I fear these questions may be answered in the affirmative, but I hope
by none of this respectable audience; for such men must be monsters,
not of the regular order of nature, and equally prone to murder, or to
less cruelties.
But independent of these effects, which the existence of slavery in
any country has over the moral faculty of man, it is highly injurious
to its natural oeconomy; it debars the progress of agriculture, and
gives origin to sloth and luxury.
View the fertile fields of Great Britain, where the hand of freedom
conducts the plowshare, then look back upon your own, and see how mean
will be the comparison.
Your labourers are slaves, and they have no inducement, no incentive
to be industrious; they are cloathed and victualled, whether lazy or
hard-working; and from the calculations that have been made, one
freeman is worth almost two slaves in the field, which makes it in
many instances cheaper to have hirelings; for they are incited to
industry by the hopes of reputation and future employment, and are
careful of their apparel and their instruments of husbandry, where
they must provide them for themselves, whereas, the others have little
or no temptation to attend to any of these circumstances.
But this, the prejudiced mind is scarce able to scan, the pride of
holding men as property is too flattering to yield to the dictates of
reason, and blindly pushes on man to his destruction.
What a pity is it, that darkness should so obscure us, that America
with all her transcending glory, should be stigmatized with the
infamous reproach of oppression, and her citizens be called Tyrants.
Fellow-countrymen, let the hand of persecution be no longer raised
against you.--Act virtuously; do unto all men as you would they should
do unto you, and exterminate the pest of slavery from your land.
Then will the tongues of slander be silenced, the shafts of criticism
blunted, and America enter upon a new theatre of glory.
But unless these things shall be done, unless the calamitous situation
of the slaves shall at least be alleviated, what is America to expect?
Can she think that the repeated insults to Divine Authority will pass
off with impunity? Or can she suppose, that men, who are naturally
born free, shall forever sweat under the yoke of ignominious slavery,
without making one effort to regain their liberty?
No, my countrymen, these things are not to be expected.--Heaven will
not overlook such enormities! She is bound to punish impenitent
sinners, and her wrath is to be dreaded by all! Moreover, the number
of slaves, that are harboured amongst you holds forth an alarm; in
many parts of the continent they exceed the whites, and are capable of
ransacking the country.
What then, if the fire of Liberty shall be kindled amongst them? What,
if some enthusiast in their cause shall beat to arms, and call them to
the standard of freedom? Would they fly in clouds, until their numbers
became tremendous, and threaten the country with devastation and
ruin?--It would not be the feeble efforts of an undisciplined people,
that could quell their fury.
Led on by the hopes of freedom, and animated by the aspiring voice of
their leader, they would soon find, that "a day, an hour of virtuous
liberty, worth a whole eternity of bondage."
Hark! Methinks I hear the work begun, the Blacks have sought for
Allies, and found them in the wilderness; they have called the rusty
savages to their assistance, and are preparing to take revenge of
their haughty masters.[38]
A revenge, which they consider as justly merited; for being no longer
able to endure their unnatural and unlawful bondage, they are
determined to seek Liberty or Death.
Why then is there not some step to be taken to ward off the dreadful
catastrophe?
Fellow countrymen, will you stand and see your aged parents, your
loving wives, your dutiful children butchered by the merciless hand of
the enthusiast, when you have it in your power to prevent it?
In this enlightened period, when the Rights of Man is the topick of
political controversy, and slavery is considered not only unnatural
but unlawful, why do you not step forward and compleat the glorious
work you have begun, and extend the merciful hand to the unfortunate
Blacks? Why do you not form some wise plan to liberate them, and
abolish slavery in your country?
If it should be deemed injudicious or impolitic to effect it at once,
let it be done gradually; let the children for one or two generations
be liberated at a certain age, and less than half a century will the
plague be totally rooted out from amongst you--then will you begin to
see your consequence--thousands of good citizens will be added to your
number, and your arms will become invincible: Gratitude will induce
_them_ to become your friends; for the PROMISE alone of freedom to a
slave ensures his loyalty; witness their conduct in the second Punic
war which the Senate of Rome carried on against Hannibal; not a man
disgraced himself, but all with an intrepidity peculiar to veterans
met their foes, fought and conquered.
Witness also the valour of a few Blacks in South-Carolina, who under
the promise of freedom, joined the great and good Colonel JOHN
LAURENS; and in a sudden surprised the British, and distinguished
themselves as heroes.
I remember it was said, they were foremost in the ranks, and nobly
contended for their promised reward.
At this critical juncture, when savage cruelties threatened to invade
your peaceful territories, and murder your citizens, what great
advantage might be derived from giving freedom to the Africans at
once. Would they not all became your Allies; would they not turn out
hardy for the wilderness, to drive the blood-thirsty savage to his
den, and teach him it were better to live peaceably at home, than to
come under the scourge of such newly liberated levies.
Americans arouse--It is time to hear the cause of the wretched sons of
Africa, enslaved in your country; they plead not guilty to every
charge of crime, and unmeritedly endure the sufferings you impose upon
them.
Yet, like haughty Despots, or corrupt judges, you forbid a trial.
Justice however to yourselves and humanity toward your fellow mortals,
loudly demand it of you, and you ought not to hesitate in obeying
their sacred mandates.
A few years may be sufficient to make you repent of your unrelenting
indifference, and give a stab to all your boasted honors; then may
you, pitiable citizens, be taught wisdom, when it will be too late;
then may you cry out, Abba Father, but mercy will not be found, where
mercy was refused.
Let all the social feelings of the soul, let honour, philanthropy,
pity, humanity, and justice, unite to effect their emancipation.
For eternal will be the disgrace of keeping them much longer in the
iron fetters of slavery, but immortal the honour of accomplishing
their FREEDOM.
* * * * *
_To the_ SOCIETY.
Such were the sentiments, my friends, that first induced you to form
yourselves into this Society.
For seeing human nature debased in the most vile manner, and seeing
also that your country deeply suffered from the iniquitous custom of
holding man in slavery, you have justly concluded "that at this
particular crisis, when Europe and America appear to pay some
attention to this evil, the united endeavours of a few, might greatly
influence the public opinion, and produce from the transient sentiment
of the times, effects, extensive, lasting and useful."--But however
great have been your exertions; however much they have been guided by
the precepts of humanity and religion, your public reward has been
censure and criticism; but let not such airy weapons damp your ardour
for doing good; your _just reward_ is in Heaven, not on earth.
Yours is the business of mercy and compassion, not of oppression. You
forcibly rescue from the hands of no man his property, but by your
examples and precepts you promote the Abolition of Slavery, and give
relief to free Negroes, and others unlawfully held in bondage.
You have shown an anxiety to extend a portion of that freedom to
others, which GOD in his Providence hath extended unto you, and a
release from that thraldom to which yourselves and your country were
so lately tyrannically doomed, and from which you have been but
recently delivered. You have evinced to the world your inclination to
remove as much as possible the sorrows of those who have lived in
undeserved bondage, and that your hearts are expanded with kindness
toward men of all colours, conditions and nations; and if you did not
interest yourselves in their behalf, how long might their situations
remain hard and distressing.
Numbers might passively remain for life in abject slavery from an
ignorance of the mode of acquiring their emancipation, notwithstanding
they may be justly entitled to their freedom by birth and by the law.
If the hand of prosecution is now raised against you, for relieving
your fellow mortals from the distresses of unlawful slavery, and
restoring them to liberty, it is to be hoped it will not be of long
duration; the principles of your institutions will be daily made more
known, and others will begin to think as you do; they will find upon
reflection, that they have no just power or authority to hold men in
slavery, and seeing that your actions are charitable and
disinterested, will cordially inlist under your banners, and aid your
benevolent exertions.
Already have you reason to suppose, that your good examples have been
influential; you humbly began with a few, and you now see your numbers
hourly encreasing.
It may be the effusions of a youthful fancy, solicitous of
aggrandizing your merit, but I fear not to say, that the operations of
similar institutions will date one of the most splendid æras of
American greatness.
Go on then, my friends, pursue the dictates of an unsullied
conscience, and cease not until you have finished your work--but let
prudence guide you in all your undertakings, and let not an
enthusiastic heat predominate over reason. Your cause is a just one,
consistent with law and equity, and must finally be advocated by all
men of Humanity and Religion.
* * * * *
"_For, 'tis Liberty alone which gives the flower
of fleeting life its lustre and perfume,
And we are weeds without it._"
TASK.
FOOTNOTES:
[36] _A whip with nine tails._
[37] Massachusetts.
[38] This was thrown out as a conjecture of what possibly might
happen, and the insurrections in St. Domingo tend to prove the danger,
to be more considerable than has generally been supposed, and
sufficient to alarm the inhabitants of these States.
FINIS.
[Transcriber's Notes:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other
inconsistencies.
The transcriber noted the following issues and made changes as
indicated to the text to correct obvious errors:
1. p. 15, "tendto" --> "tend to"
2. p. 18, "partiotism" --> "patriotism"
3. p. 30, Footnote #9, "Litterature" --> "Littérature"
4. p. 33, Footnote #10, Elliot's Debates, Va. p. 452:
(page number is indecipherable, possibly 452.)
5. p. 37, Footnote #11, "contray" --> "contrary"
6. p. 40, Footnote #12, April 23, 178?, (year is indecipherable)
7. p. 41, Both "Ralph Sandiford" and "Ralph Sandyford" appear in
main text and Footnote #13
8. p. 76, Both "Adam Fonerdon" and "Adam Fonerden" appear in
main text and Footnote #21
9. p. 99, "terrestial" --> "terrestrial"
10. p. 18, "peceably" --> "peaceably"
Also, many occurrences of mismatched single and double quotes remain
as published.
End of Transcriber's Notes]