I consider slavery an evil, an individual evil, a national calamity;
but I believe that the evil falls more heavily on the master, than on
the slave. In order to understand this subject correctly, we must
contemplate the African in his native ignorance and destitution; his
brutal barbarism and his savage ferocity. We need but contrast the
African in his original state, with the well housed, well clothed, and
well fed slave of the United States. I am well aware, that an
objection will be urged against this view of the subject, on the
ground, that when brought to this country they were deprived of their
liberty; and this with some persons is proof positive, that their
individual happiness was curtailed thereby. The argument then resolves
itself into this; is the happiness of individuals, under all
circumstances, diminished by depriving them of their liberty? I have
already attempted to prove, that the happiness of slaves in this
country is diminished by attempting to restore them to liberty, and I
may again recur to this subject before I close this essay. For this
reason, I shall waive, at the present time, the refutation of what I
conceive a gross error, unless the objector is satisfied with a few
general remarks on the subject. I assert, without fear of successful
contradiction, that neither the happiness of individuals, nor yet of
nations, is always augmented by what is sometimes falsely called
liberty. It depends wholly on the virtue and intelligence of
individuals, and nations, as to whether liberty or servitude will
conduce to their happiness and general welfare. We have no doubt, that
the condition of the Mexican Republic would be greatly bettered at
this time, by placing over them, a humane and politic king. Whoever is
incompetent to take care of himself, is fortunate indeed, when he
finds a competent individual, who, will perform that office for him.
Show me a nation who are so debased by vice and ignorance, that they
are incapable of self-government, and you show me a nation who ought
to be ruled by a king or an emperor. Show me an individual, who is
incompetent to provide for, and take care of himself, and you show me
an individual whose happiness would be augmented by subjecting him to
a humane man. Abolitionists, propagandists, and filibusters, would do
well to bear these facts in mind. Servitude is sometimes a grievous
calamity to the unfortunate slave, for the cruelty and brutality of
some masters, better entitle them to the appellation of demons than
men. There are, and ever have been, and ever will be such, but I am
happy to believe, that there are comparatively few such monsters among
the slaveholders at the present time. I am well aware that but few
masters, in the treatment of their slaves, have complied with the
requisitions of Divine revelation, but cruelty to slaves is by no
means common among slaveholders at the present time.
I have said that I regarded the evils of slavery as falling most
heavily on the slaveholders; in other words, on the white population.
Slavery begets idleness; idleness begets vice; and vice plunges
individuals into-wretchedness, degradation and infamy. In some of the
slave States, the slaves perform most of the labor, consequently
children are brought up in idleness. The inevitable consequence is,
that a large majority of them, long before they arrive to adult age,
are deplorably vicious. It is in the extreme Southern States, that
this evil is most apparent.
The demoralizing influence of slavery is not so great in Tennessee,
Kentucky, Missouri, and Western Virginia. The evil falls mostly on the
male population; females not being exposed to the same temptations.
The boy is let loose at an early age, and runs into all manner of
excesses; not so with the girl; for from childhood to adult age, she
is ever under the eye of her mother; and I do not suppose, that for
intelligence, beauty and refinement, the world can produce a set of
females superior to the Southern ladies; though, the manner in which
they are brought up, their habits and modes of life, too often
incapacitate them for the active duties incumbent on mothers.
It has been stated as one of the effects of slavery, that it renders
men proud, haughty and tyrannical. There may be some truth in the
remark, but I am well satisfied, that there is not so much as some
suppose. In contrasting the character of the white population in the
slave and free states, it is somewhat difficult to ascertain the
precise influence of the institution of slavery, in moulding and
shaping Southern character. We must, in an investigation of the
subject, take into consideration the influence of climate North and
South, and various other influences less obvious, though not less
certain to leave their impress on human character. I have neither
time, nor space, for a thorough examination of the subject, and must,
therefore, after stating some facts, leave the reader to arrive at his
own conclusions. Southern people are proverbially liberal and
hospitable. No Southerner can fail, after a short residence in the
North, to observe opposite traits of character in Northern people; and
the Southerner, after emigrating to the North, is soon forced, in self
defence, or rather prompted by the laws of self preservation, to close
up the avenues of his liberality, and assume an attitude, or rather
take a position in society, unknown to him while a resident of a
Southern clime. The liberality of Southern people too often leads them
into recklessness in the management of their pecuniary transactions,
which frequently results in embarrassment and ruin. A Southerner to
his friend, never says _no_. He promptly and cheerfully complies with
his request, and, truly, the giver, if not more "blessed," appears to
be more happy than the receiver. Whatever they do, they seem to do it
cheerfully. They act as if they esteemed it a singular favor, to have
it in their power to relieve a friend. A Southern man will part with
his last dime to aid a friend, though, he may be forced, in less than
twenty four hours, to borrow money himself. I long lived among them,
embarrassed by a series of unprecedented misfortunes, and their
generosity I shall never forget. I shall carry the recollection of it
to my grave; it will, no doubt, soothe me on my dying bed. Dear
friends of the sunny South, in an evil hour I was separated from you,
and what I have suffered since both in body and mind, God only knows.
Ah! I could tell a _tale_, but I forbear. There is a marked contrast
in the manner in which strangers are treated North and South. Every
stranger in the South is presumed to be an honest man, until he proves
himself to be a rogue. Every stranger in the North, is presumed to be
a rogue, until he proves himself an honest man. Another Southern
peculiarity is, that no one can attack the character of another,
without incurring the risk of loosing his life. The slanderer in the
South is an outlaw, and the injured party incurs but little more risk
in stabbing, or shooting him, than he would in shooting a mad dog; for
public opinion justifies the deed, and a jury of his fellow citizens
will acquit him. This is literally and emphatically true, if the
female is the injured party. In the latter case, any relation or
friend is at liberty, to silence forever the tongue of the slanderer.
If he that slanders a female is in danger, he that seduces her runs a
risk tenfold. A few days previous to my leaving the city of Knoxville,
Tenn., an old man, by name M., walked into the court-house, (court in
session) and deliberately shot down a gentleman, by name N. He lived
after the discharge of thirty-six buckshot into his body, but a few
minutes. N. was an official character, and one of the most popular men
in the county, and though I remained in the city but a few days after
the perpetration of the atrocious act, I discovered that nine-tenths
of the community justified him in the horrible deed. It was not long
before I received information, that the murderer of N. was acquitted.
The crime of N. was seduction. Similar occurrences are frequent in the
South.
Swearing, gambling and drunkenness, are the most common vices among
Southern men; and slander, detraction, and a species of low detestable
swindling in business transactions, are the vices most obvious in the
North. The better part of Southern society are regulated and
controlled, to a great extent, by certain laws of honor and rules of
social etiquette. A Southerner is more likely to inquire, is it
honorable or dishonorable, than is it morally right or wrong? They
rigidly observe those rules and regulations which govern society, in
their social intercourse. I will close this chapter with some remarks
on slave labor; its effects on the agricultural interests of the
South, &c.
It is a trite remark that slave labor is unproductive, when compared
with labor performed by free white citizens; and that the agricultural
interests of the country have suffered by the introduction of slave
labor, &c.
The fact is admitted by all, but the reason is not very clear to every
one. Many cannot comprehend, why it is, that the farmer who pays his
laborers nothing, should be less prosperous than his neighbor, who
pays his laborers from ten to fifteen dollars per month. The idea that
those who work slaves, pay nothing for their labor; or in other words,
that slave labor costs a man nothing, is incorrect. If a farmer breeds
and raises slaves, it is at a cost of at least a thousand dollars per
slave. If he purchases a slave with his money, the slave frequently
costs him one thousand dollars. If we suppose his money worth ten per
cent interest, per annum, the amount of the interest on the purchase
money, is one hundred dollars per annum. Here is eight dollars and
thirty-three and one-third cents per month, that the farmer is paying
for labor. To this add fifty dollars per annum for clothing, viz.,
four dollars and sixteen and two-third cents per month; making an
aggregate of twelve dollars and fifty cents per month, that the farmer
expends for slave labor. During a residence of forty four years in the
South, I never knew the time when white laborers could not be procured
for that amount, and frequently for less. To this we may fairly add at
least twenty-five per cent for loss of time by sickness, loss of slave
property by death, physician's bills, &c., so that we may put down
slave labor at fifteen dollars per month. Fifty per cent more, than
white labor ordinarily costs in the slave states. This is a fair
statement of the case. But the disadvantages of slave labor do not
stop here. As a general rule, land cultivated by white laborers, will
produce from twenty-five to fifty per cent more than land cultivated
by slave labor. This is owing to the careless, slovenly manner in
which slave labor is performed. To this we may add the destruction of
farming utensils and implements of husbandry, over and above what
occurs in the hands of white laborers; and also the injury inflicted
on horses, mules and oxen; the loss of stock for the want of proper
attention, regular feeding, &c.
None can comprehend the force of my remarks so well, as the practical
farmer. Well does he understand the vast expense incurred, and the
loss that is sustained, by the careless and reckless wear and tear,
and destruction of farming utensils and machinery--the improper
treatment of horses--inattention to hogs, cattle, &c. Slaves are
remarkable for their listlessness and indolence, and the little
interest they manifest in anything. Many of them perform their round
of labor with as little apparent concern or interest, as the horses or
mules which they drive before them. There are, I admit, exceptions,
but as a general rule, my remarks hold good. I never owned a negro,
but I frequently employed them as cooks, washerwoman, &c., and many
years observation satisfied me, that as a general rule, that when left
to themselves, they consumed, or rather wasted, one-third more
precisions than would have sufficed for my family under the management
and supervision of an economical white woman.
It is a notorious fact, well known to every one who has had
opportunities of making observations, that in those parts of the
United States where the operations of farming have been confided
mostly to slaves, the lands are exhausted of their fertility and have
become barren and unproductive. Some lands are now in this condition,
which were originally the finest in the United States. Eastern
Virginia is a good sample of the effects of slave labor on the
fertility of lands. This all results from the ignorance, carelessness
and inattention of those to whom the operations of farming are
confided. All soils are capable of improvement by judicious culture,
and the interests of farmers, individually and collectively, as well
as the interest of every American citizen, requires at their hands to
so cultivate their lands as to augment their fertility; and not solely
with a view to their present productiveness. It is a duty incumbent on
them as good citizens; a duty they owe to themselves; to their
posterity; to the nation; to the world.