by another, as a gross violation of the most precious and sacred rights
of human nature; as utterly inconsistent with the law of God, which
requires us to love our neighbors as ourselves; and as totally
irreconcilable with the spirit and principles of the gospel of Christ,
which enjoins that all things 'whatsoever ye would that men should do to
you, do ye even so to them.' Slavery creates a paradox in the moral
system; it exhibits rational, accountable, and immortal beings in such
circumstances as scarcely to leave them the power of moral action. It
exhibits them as dependent on the will of others, whether they shall
receive religious instruction; whether they shall know and worship the
true God; whether they shall enjoy the ordinances of the gospel; whether
they shall perform the duties and cherish the endearments of husbands
and wives, parents and children, neighbors and friends; whether they
shall preserve their chastity and purity, or regard the dictates of
justice and humanity.
"Such are some of the consequences of slavery,--consequences, not
imaginary, but which connect themselves with its very existence. The
evils to which the slave is always exposed often take place in fact, and
in their very worst degree and form, and where all of them do not take
place, as we rejoice to say that in many instances, through the
influence of the principles of humanity and religion on the minds of
masters, they do not, still the slave is deprived of his natural right,
degraded as a human being, and exposed to the danger of passing into the
hands of a master who may inflict upon him all the hardships which
inhumanity and avarice may suggest."
An Address from the Synod of Kentucky, in 1835, to the Presbyterians of
that State, is much more specific in its delineations of the evils of
slavery, and in its denunciations of the system, and adopts language far
more severe than many northern Christians would think it expedient to
use. It presents a picture of its actual workings which could be drawn
only by one who had seen the original. If you have not read this
address, I beg that you will do so. It is altogether a southern
document. I have room only for a short extract.
Slavery is characterized as "a demoralizing and cruel system, which it
would be an insult to God to imagine that he does not abhor; a system
which exhibits power without responsibility, toil without recompense,
life without liberty, law without justice, wrongs without redress,
infamy without crime, punishment without guilt, and families without
marriage; a system which will not only make victims of the present
unhappy generation, inflicting upon them the degradation, the contempt,
the lassitude, and the anguish of hopeless oppression; but which even
aims at transmitting this heritage of injury and woe to their children
and their children's children, down to their latest posterity. Can any
Christian contemplate, without trembling, his own agency in the
perpetuation of such a system?"
Coincident with the judgment of these two most respectable and revered
ecclesiastical bodies is the testimony of one of the most prominent and
honored sons of the southern church, the Rev. Dr. R. L Breckenridge.
Says he:--
"What then is slavery? for the question relates to the action of certain
principles of it, and to its probable and proper results; what is
slavery as it exists among us? We reply, it is that condition enforced
by the laws of one half of the States of this confederacy, in which one
portion of the community, called masters, are allowed such power over
another portion called slaves, as----
"1. To deprive them of the entire earnings of their own labor, except so
much as is necessary to continue labor itself by continuing healthful
existence: thus committing clear robbery.
"2. To reduce them to the necessity of universal concubinage, by denying
to them the civil rights of marriage, thus breaking up the dearest
relations of life, and encouraging universal prostitution.
"3. To deprive them of the means and opportunities of moral and
intellectual culture, in many States making it a high penal offence to
teach them to read, thus perpetuating whatever of evil there is that
proceeds from ignorance.
"4. To set up between parents and their children an authority higher
than the impulse of nature and the laws of God, which breaks up the
authority of the father over his own offspring, and at pleasure
separates the mother at a returnless distance from her child, thus
abrogating the clearest laws of nature, thus outraging all decency and
justice, and degrading and oppressing thousands upon thousands of
beings, created like themselves in the image of the most high God! This
is slavery as it is daily exhibited in every slave State."
Yes, such is the nature and character of an institution in this
enlightened Christian republic, claiming to be the freest nation on
earth, calling itself "an asylum for the oppressed," inviting the
downtrodden subjects of all the despots of the old world to come to this
happy land, and place themselves under the protection of the American
eagle, and in this "eyrie of the free" taste and enjoy the sweets of
liberty!
The views presented in the above extracts may be taken, it is to be
presumed, as an exponent of the southern Christian sentiment on domestic
slavery. There are, indeed, exceptions. It is painful to notice that
within a few years some men of reputed piety and worth have been
attempting to maintain that American slavery is a "divine and
patriarchal institution," "sanctioned by the Bible,"--is "necessary to
the highest state of society," and is "to be perpetuated;" but I am
happy to believe that the number of those who hold such views,
repudiating those of the Presbyterian church, and at the same time call
themselves disciples of Him who said, "whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them," is comparatively small.
I close this long letter by subscribing myself, as ever,
Your affectionate
Friend and Brother.
LETTER VIII.
THREE QUESTIONS SUGGESTED.--1. MUST SLAVERY BE PERPETUAL?--2. DOES
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST SUSTAIN ANY RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS MATTER?--3.
WHAT SHALL WE DO?
MY DEAR CHRISTIAN FRIEND,--I fear I shall make myself tedious to you by
dwelling so long upon this, to me, painful subject,--slavery. I will,
therefore, in the present letter, finish what I have to say for the
present, hoping that our future correspondence may be on more grateful
themes.
There are a few questions which are suggested to us by the brief view we
have taken of this most important subject. The first is, Must slavery,
with all its attendant evils, be perpetuated? Must this blot rest upon
our beloved country, and tarnish its escutcheon forever? I am persuaded
that the spontaneous answer from the Christian heart of this nation is,
_No!_ It was never contemplated by Washington nor Jefferson nor Adams,
nor by the framers of our Constitution, nor by the great mass of noble
patriots who perilled their all for the independence of their country,
that slavery was to be handed down to posterity. If you will look at the
writings of the leading public men of the last century, you will find,
that, almost without exception, they looked upon slavery in the United
States as a temporary evil, to be removed as soon as circumstances would
permit. They regarded it not only a wrong inflicted upon the slave, but
an incubus upon the nation, soon to pass away.
The great body of Christians in our land have been looking forward to
the time, and praying for its arrival, when all the oppressed within our
borders shall go free. That the time will come when slavery shall cease
in our land, I as fully believe as I believe that there is a God who
presides over and directs the destinies of men. You and I may not live
to see the day; but it will come.
Another question suggested is, Does the church of Christ in this country
sustain any responsibility in regard to slavery, and has she any duty to
discharge in relation to it? By the church of Christ, I mean the great
mass of Christians of every name who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity,
both North and South.
This question is easily answered. There are no evils existing in the
Christian's field of labor--the world--in regard to which he has not
some responsibility, and for the removal of which he is not bound to do
something. As a general truth, the nearer the evils come to our own
firesides and bosoms, the weightier those responsibilities become. The
hundreds of millions of heathens in foreign lands lying in sin and
degradation appeal to our sympathy and efforts, and that appeal we may
not disregard. But the heathen in our own land have on us much stronger
claims, and our obligations to put forth efforts in their behalf are
more imperious.
Slavery is a great evil and sin, which affects not only individuals, but
our country; and, both as Christians and patriots, we ought to be
sensibly alive to every thing that affects our common weal. You who live
at the South, it may be, have more responsibility in this matter than we
at the North; but none of us can say, "because I am not personally
implicated in inflicting wrongs upon the slave, therefore I have nothing
to do for their removal." Should this become the universal sentiment of
the church, Satan's kingdom in our world would never come to an end, and
wickedness would prevail forever. The spirit of Christianity, although
preëminently mild, gentle, patient, and long-suffering, is nevertheless,
in an important sense, aggressive. It has ever claimed the right of
interesting itself in the welfare of every human creature--to exert its
influence to check the progress of sin in every form--to attack error in
principle and in practice--to "loose the bands of wickedness,"--"undo
heavy burdens,"--"break every yoke,"--"deliver the poor and needy,"--and
to "remember them that are in bonds as bound with them." This, by some,
may be called officiousness, but we cannot help it; it is a part of the
Christian's legitimate business to volunteer his influence and his
services (in every proper way) in opposing wrong, and to stand up and
plead the cause of those who suffer it the world over. He cannot refrain
from doing so, without proving himself false to his Master and his
Master's cause.
Admitting, then, that all Christians have some kind of responsibility
and duty devolving on them, a most important question comes up. Thirdly,
what shall they do? There are certainly some things which it is
perfectly evident we should not do,--though we should rebuke this and
every sin, we should not give vent to our hatred of the system in
ebullitions of wrath, invective, and abuse toward slaveholders. Thus did
not Christ nor his apostles. This is not in accordance with the
Christian spirit, and could be productive only of evil.
Neither should we endeavor to exert an influence over the slaves to make
them restive and disobedient; none but an enemy to the true interests,
both of the slave and his country, would do that, unless under some
hallucination.
Neither should we interfere politically with slavery beyond the
boundaries of our own State, in States where it now exists by the laws
of the land. I might go on indefinitely, and specify what we should not
do; but this does not meet the case;--what shall we do? It would be
arrogance in me to attempt a full answer to a question that has engaged
the attention of many abler heads and better hearts than mine, but there
are some things which have already been said by others, that cannot be
too frequently repeated.
In the first place, we can commit this whole matter to God in humble,
earnest prayer. Here is something which we can all do, North and South,
and in which we shall all be agreed. However much we may differ in
regard to the safety and expediency of other measures to moderate the
condition of the slave and bring about his ultimate emancipation, we are
of one mind in regard to the safety and efficacy of prayer. One effect
of this will be to unite our own hearts more closely in sympathy and
love. There will be no danger of calling each other hard names, bandying
unchristian epithets, and biting and devouring one another, if we are in
the habit of meeting daily at the throne of grace to pray for a cause in
which we take a mutual interest.
By prayer we may hope to be enlightened more fully in regard to our
duty. "If any man lack wisdom," and surely we all do on this subject,
"let him ask of God."
In answer to prayer, we have reason to hope that God will open the eyes
to teach the hearts of all slaveholders, and lead them to "do justly and
love mercy," and also that he will, in his holy and wise Providence,
redress the wrongs of his oppressed children, and prepare the way for
their ultimate emancipation.
Prayer is the Christian's first and last resort. Let us, then, my dear
brother, pray over this subject continuously, and with an earnestness
commensurate with its importance, and then, I doubt not, we shall
ourselves be more enlightened than we now are as to our future course.
A second duty, hardly less obvious than prayer, is to use all the
influence we possess to prevent the extension of the domain of slavery.
To this end, we should utter our voices long and loud in remonstrance
against any such measure. If we and our legislators may not politically
interfere with slavery in States where it now exists, we may interfere
to prevent it from exerting its baleful influence over territory now
free. We should do many things for the sake of peace and conciliation.
We have heretofore made concessions and compromises--perhaps too
many--on this subject; but here is where the people of God, North and
South, should make a stand, and declare before heaven and earth, and
with an emphasis which cannot be misunderstood, that not another inch of
our public domain shall be cursed with slavery for any consideration
whatever, if our influence can prevent it. In our remonstrances, we will
be respectful, but firm. Let our politicians know that all persons who
are governed by Christian principle, through the length and breadth of
the land, have taken their position, and that the mountains shall be
removed out of their places, ere they will swerve from it, and there
will be but little danger of slave extension.
In the third place, we should use every endeavor to disseminate the
gospel of Christ, and bring its principles to bear upon all classes of
persons, North and South. If we can do this effectually, it is all
sufficient. The Gospel, if faithfully applied, is a sure remedy for
every social and moral evil that ever existed. We at the North should
demonstrate to our slave-holding friends whom we wish to influence, that
we ourselves are governed by its spirit, and actuated by its principle,
in all that we do in relation to this subject. It is not ambition, a
lust for power, sectional jealousy, a spirit of censoriousness or
ill-will, that prompts us to what they have been in the habit of
regarding as intermeddling with their affairs, in which we have no
concern, but a spirit of love,--love not less to them than to their
slaves. And then, in the temper of Christ, we will bring the Gospel to
bear on the slaveholder's conscience and sense of justice. We will hold
up and keep before his mind the great rule of life given by Him who
spake as never man spake,--"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to
you, do you even so to them." Let this rule be once adopted and carried
out, and it is enough. Human beings would no more be sold as beasts in
the market, and driven to unrequited toil; the minds of men would no
longer be kept in ignorance; the domestic circle would never again be
invaded by the hand of sordid avarice separating husbands and wives,
parents and children, doing savage violence to the noblest affections
of our nature; the Bible would be put into the hands of every slave, and
he would be taught to read it; common schools and Sabbath schools would
be everywhere established and maintained, as well for the slave as for
the white child; the master would regard those whom he now holds as
property as his own brethren, going with him to the same judgment, and
destined finally to dwell with him as his equals, in the same heaven,
and to wear as bright crowns and sing as rapturous a song as he. He
would immediately set himself about preparing his slaves for
emancipation, and for the enjoyment of those natural rights, of which
they have for so long a time been most unjustly deprived. In short,
slavery, as the term is now understood, would cease instantly, and a
kind, parental guardianship would take its place, and every southern
plantation would be transformed into a moral garden of beauty and
happiness, and universal and entire emancipation would follow with the
least possible delay. And, finally, we should if possible bring the
Gospel to bear upon the great body politic, upon our presidents, our
governors, our National and State legislators. It would seem that some
of our lawmakers are much better acquainted with Blackstone and Vattel,
than they are with the Lord Jesus Christ, or they would not disgrace
our statute-books with laws which ignore the "higher laws" of God. We
should often remind them that this is a Christian, and not a heathen or
infidel republic; and that every enactment, not consistent with the
gospel of Christ and inalienable human rights, does violence to the
Christian sentiment and Christian conscience of the nation, and must be
repealed. If they will not hear us, we have only to appoint more
faithful servants, who will do as they are told. We have no idea of
"uniting church and state," but to infuse as much of the Gospel into the
state as possible is both a privilege and duty; and when all our affairs
and institutions, public, domestic, and private, are administered on
gospel principles, we shall become a free, prosperous, and happy people,
and not till then.
And now, may God bless you, my dear brother, and guide you, and guide us
all, to pursue such a course in regard to the three and a half millions
of slaves in our professedly free republic as will afford us the most
satisfaction when we meet them as our equals at the judgment-seat of
Christ.
With high esteem and much affection,
I remain your Christian brother,
A. C. BALDWIN.
AN ESSAY,
BY
REV. TIMOTHY WILLISTON.
IS AMERICAN SLAVERY AN INSTITUTION WHICH CHRISTIANITY
SANCTIONS, AND WILL PERPETUATE? AND, IN VIEW
OF THIS SUBJECT, WHAT OUGHT AMERICAN
CHRISTIANS TO DO, AND REFRAIN
FROM DOING?
Homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum puto.--TERENCE.
Bear ye one another's burdens.--PAUL.
ESSAY.
A great moral question is, in this nineteenth century, being tried
before the church of Christ, and at the bar of public sentiment. It is,
Whether the system of servitude known as American slavery be a system
whose perpetuity is compatible with pure Christianity? Whether, with the
Bible in her hand, the church may lawfully indorse, participate in, and
help perpetuate, this system? Or whether, on the other hand, the system
be, in its origin, nature, and workings, intrinsically evil; a thing
which, if, like concubinage and polygamy, God has indeed tolerated in
his church, he never approved of; and which, in the progress of a pure
Christianity, must inevitably become extinct? I feel assured that the
latter of these propositions will, without argument, command the assent
of the mass of living Christians. But there are those in the church who
array themselves on the other side. While they would not justify the
least inhumanity in the treatment of slaves, they profess to believe
that slavery itself has the approbation of Jehovah, and may with
propriety be perpetuated in the church and the world. At their hands I
would respectfully solicit a patient hearing, while I proceed to assign
several reasons for differing with them in opinion.
First. Slavery is a condition of society not founded in nature. When
God, in his Word, demands that children shall be in subordination to
their parents, and citizens to the constituted civil authorities, we
need no why and wherefore to enable us to see the reasonableness of
these requirements. We feel that they are no arbitrary enactments, but
indispensable to the best interests of families and of society, and
therefore founded in nature. We are prepared, too, from their obvious
necessity and utility, to rank them among the permanent statutes of the
Divine Legislator. But can as much be said of slavery? Is there such an
obvious fitness and utility in one man's being, against his will, owned
and controlled by another, as to prepare us to say that such an
ownership is founded in the very constitution of things? None will
pretend that there is. Not only is slavery not founded in nature, but,
Second. It is condemned by the very instincts of our moral constitution.
These instincts seem to whisper that "all men are born free and equal;"
equal, not in intellect, or in the petty distinctions of parentage,
property, or power; but having, as the creatures of one God, an equal
right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Job's moral
instincts taught him, that the fact of all men's having one and the same
Creator gave his servants a right to contend with him, when wronged; and
that, if he "despised their cause," he must answer it to his God and
theirs. That men of all races and grades are essentially equal before
God; that every man has a right to himself, to the fruits of his toil,
and to the unmolested pursuit of happiness, in all lawful ways; and
hence, that slavery, as existing in these States, is a gigantic system
of evil and wrong,--are truths which the moral sense of men is
everywhere proclaiming with much emphasis and distinctness. If it be not
so, what means this note of remonstrance, long and loud, that comes to
our ears over the Atlantic wave? Why else did a Mohammedan prince,[I]
(to say nothing of what nearly all Christian governments have done,)
put an end to slavery in his dominions before he died? And how else
shall we account for that moral earthquake which has for years been
rocking this great republic to its very centre? One cannot thoughtfully
observe the signs of the times,--no, nor the workings of his own heart,
methinks,--without perceiving that slavery is at war with the moral
sense of mankind. If there be any conscience that approves, it must be a
conscience perverted by wrong instruction, or by a vicious practice. And
can that be a good institution, and worthy of perpetuity, which an
unperverted conscience instinctively condemns?
Third. The bad character of slavery becomes yet more apparent, if we
consider the manner in which it has chiefly originated and been
sustained. Did God institute the relation of master and slave, as he did
the conjugal and parental relations? It is not pretended. In what, then,
did slavery have its beginning? Doubtless the first slaves were
captives, taken in war. In primitive ages, the victors in war were
considered as having a right to do what they pleased with their
captives; and so it sometimes happened that they were put to death, and
sometimes that they were made to serve their captors as bondmen. Thus
slavery was at first the incidental result of war. But as time rolled
on, the love of power and of gain prompted men to make aggressions on
their weaker neighbors, for the very purpose of enslaving them; and,
eventually, man-stealing and the slave-trade became familiar facts in
the world's history. Upon these has slavery, for centuries past,
depended mainly for its continuance. And, although these feeders of
slavery are now by Christian nations branded as piracy and strictly
vetoed, they are far from being exterminated. Indeed, it seems to be
well understood, that, if all commerce in slaves, foreign and domestic,
ceases, slavery itself must soon become extinct.
Now if man-stealing be an act which the Word of God and the moral
instincts of men do most pointedly condemn,--and I will attempt no
demonstration of this here,--what shall we say of that which is its
legitimate offspring and dependant? Far be it from me to affirm, that,
circumstanced as our southern brethren are, it is just as criminal for
them to hold slaves as it would be to go now to Africa and forcibly
seize them. But, in the spirit of love, I would ask my slave-holding
brother, Can that be a justifiable institution, and deserving to be
upheld, which has so bad a parentage? "Do men gather grapes of thorns?"
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"
Fourth. There are, in the Scriptures, many clear indications that
slavery has not the approbation of God, and hence has not the stamp of
perpetuity upon it. Under this head, let us notice several distinct
particulars.