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FROM THE
BRIGHT LEGACY
One half the income from this Legacy, which was re-
ceived in 188o under the will of
JONATHAN BROWN BRIGHT
of Waltham, Massachusetts, is to be expended for books
for the College Library. The other half of the income
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benefit of descendants of
HENRY BRIGHT, J.R.,
who died at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1686. In the
absence of such descendants, other persons are eligible
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ment shall be made in every book added to the Library
under its provisions.








AN
A D D R E S S
delivered in the
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, IN MIDDLEBURY,
by REQUEST of THE
vermont ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY,
ON
WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 18, 1835.
BY O L I W E R J O HNS ON .
M O N T P E L I E R :
KNAPP AND JEweTT, PRINTERs.
1835.


At the Annual Meeting of the VERMonT ANTI-SLAvERY SocIETY, l/
holden in Middlebury, February 18, 1835, it was unanimously ~
* Voted, That the thanks of this Society be presented to Mr. Oliver
Johnson for his Address, delivered on the present occasion, and that
he be requested to furnish a copy for the press.”
Attest, CHAUNCEY L. KNAPP,
Recording Secretary.


A D D R E S S.
MANKIND in general love to be praised for their good deeds,
rather than to be censured for their bad ones; to be lauded on
account of their virtues, rather than to be plainly told of their
vices.
Hence arises the prevailing opposition to associations for
moral reform. It is the avowed object of such associations to
expose and condemn public and prevailing sins; to bring to
light the hidden corruptions of the times; and to shame them
out of existence by a righteous public sentiment. Foreseeing
the effect of such measures upon their reputation in society,
the guilty will generally make a desperate effort to arrrest their
progress, by misrepresenting the objects and impugning the
motives of those concerned in urging them forward. This is
done to divert public attention from the main point—the ques-
tion of their own guilt or innocence—and with the hope of di-
viding the friends of reform upon some consideration of minor
importance; thus enfeebling their efforts, by inducing them to
quarrel among themselves.
It is believed that no society for moral reform has ever en-
countered more violent opposition than the associations which
have been formed in this country, within the last three years,
for the abolition of slavery. The primitive Christians were
not more universally reviled, or malignantly misrepresented
than are the prominent members of these associations. They
are stigmatized as mad-men and fanatics, and reviled as incen-
diaries; they are accused of holding principles the most cor-
rupt and of advocating measures the most revolting and dam-
gerous. These accusations and these epithets are uttered by
men of every grade, and of every complexion of moral character,
from the minister of the gospel down to the most degraded
tenant of the grog-shop. They are uttered in places high and


4
low—in the pulpit, the legislative hall, and from the press*—
and industriously circulated in social and private circles.
Much of this opposition is doubtless the fruit of ignorance
and misapprehension. Multitudes join in the general ‘hue
and cry’ against abolitionists, who know nothing of their prin-
ciples and purposes. They have heard it confidently affirmed,
by men who ought to be good authority in such matters, that
they contemplate a dissolution of the Union and an amalga-
mation of the whites and blacks; and without stopping to in-
quire into the truth of these grave charges, they have thrown
themselves into the ranks of the opposition.
There are others, whose fear of excitement and want of
moral courage keep them in an attitude of hostility to the meas-
ures of the abolitionists. They are alarmed at the threats of
slaveholders, and tremble lest, somehow or other, if the ques-
tion is agitated, the Union will be sundered. They do not so
much doubt the correctness of our principles as call in question
the expediency of our measures.
There are others whose love of popularity prevents them
from joining our ranks. They are convinced, in their own
minds, that our principles are correct; but their love of popu-
lar applause induces them to remain silent while they are
accounted our opponents.
Again, there are many whose pride of opinion prevents them
from joining us. They have thought themselves wise, and are
unwilling to confess that they have been mistaken.
The two classes last mentioned are chiefly composed of men
in public life, who prefer to lead rather than follow the multi-
tude in any important enterprise ; and who are envious of the
distinction which must be awarded to others, if the cause suc-
ceeds. Exclusive of these, there are large numbers of almost
every class in the community, who need only to be accurately
informed in relation to the principles and designs of Anti-Slave-
* Among the numerous slanders which have been put in circulation by a pro-
slavery press, designed to bring odium upon abolitionists and their cause, no one
appears to have been uttered with a more reckless disregard of truth, than the
assertion of the Vermont Chronicle, that they hold the corrupt and disorganizing
principles of the French Jacobins. It was utiered not only without evidence, but
against evidence. It is owing, in a great measure, to this misrepresentation, so
generally circulated among the religious portion of community, that so many of
the pulpits in this State are closed against our Agents, and the minds of multitudes
filled with the most bitter and unrelenting prejudices against our cause. The
Chronicle must be regarded as wholly ...ſ. of confidence on any subject con-
...? with Abolition, while its editors continue to hold this ‘1.1F in their right
land."
One of the gentlemen who conducted the Chronicle at the time this slander
was first promulged, is now the editor of the Boston Recorder, and appears to be
the presiding genius in the newly-formed ‘American Union.” He has said inuch
of what, with affected contempt, he is pleased to call the Garrisonism of the
American Anti-Slavery Society. Query—ls the above slander to be regarded as a
specimen of the Tracyism of the American Union "


5 -
ry Societies, to become their firm and unwavering supporters.
Indeed it is believed, that a vast majority of those in the free
States, who are at present either opposed to our efforts or
indifferent concerning them, might be induced to join us, if we
could reach their minds and hearts by our arguments and ap-
peals. The truth is, we have been condemned without a hear-
ing. The pulpits have been extensively closed against us;
editors of newspapers, both religious and political, have, for the
most part, refused to open their columns, or opened them only
to revile us: and being thus extensively shut out from all the
ordinary avenues to the public mind, it is no wonder that our
principles have been misunderstood, and our objects misrep-
resented.
In view of these circumstances, I have thought that I could
not do the cause a better service on the present occasion, than
by endeavoring to answer the most prominent objections to our
principles and measures. I shall therefore speak,
I. Of objections to THE PRINCIPLEs of ANTI-SLAvery
SocietIEs ; and
II. OF OBJECTION's To THEIR MEASUREs.
It will be necessary, however, in the first place, to state,
concisely, what are the fundamental principles of these socie-
ties. And
1. They maintain, that slavery, which consists in holding
and treating human beings as property, is, in all circumstances,
altogether sinful; that it is a heinous and aggravated crime,
for which there is and can be no more excuse than for robbery
or murder. Hence,
2. They maintain, that the masters are solemnly bound in-
stantly to emancipate their slaves; to afford them the protec-
tion of law; and to treat them, not as merchandize, but as men.
3. They maintain, that the people of color have a right to
a home in this country; that such of them as “possess the qual-
ifications which are demanded of others, ought to be admitted
forthwith to the enjoyment of the same privileges, and the ex-
ercise of the same prerogatives, as others; that the paths of
preferment, of wealth, and of intelligence, should be opened as
widely to them as to persons of a white complexion;' and that
to make the color of their skin a pretext for excluding them
from these privileges, is a violation of the law of love.*
There are but few persons—at least in New England—who
will withhold their assent from the general statement, that
slavery is wrong and ought to be abolished; but multitudes
contend, that there are insuperable difficulties in the way of
* Sec the ‘Declaration of Scntiments, adopted by the Convention which formed
the American Anti-Slavery Society.


6
immediate emancipation—difficulties which justify the reten-
tion of the slaves in bondage for a limited period. As
1. Their ignorance disqualifies them for freedom.—What
then becomes of the principle asserted in our Declaration of
Independence, ‘that all men are created equal;’ and that the
right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ is inaliena-
ble 7 . Is ignorance a crime on the part of the slave? Or is it
the fault of the master? If it be a sin, let punishment fall
upon the guilty and not upon the innocent. Let not the lace-
rated and bleeding slave suffer for that which is not his fault.
It is dangerous to adopt principles which we cannot define.
Let those who say, that one man may innocently enslave an-
other on account of his ignorance, tell us how much knowledge
a man must possess to entitle him to his liberty. Shall he
simply be required to understand the letters of the English
alphabet Or must he be able to read intelligibly Or must
he understand Latin and Greek, and have a perfect knowledge
of the various branches of English literature? These are ques-
tions, which those who make the objection under consideration
are bound to answer. The principle, too, when defined, they
must apply to men of all complexions—the whites as well as
blacks. Alas! how many men, whom the God of nature has
clothed with a white skin, would never again taste the sweets
of liberty, if their ignorance were to be admitted as a valid
excuse for enslaving them 1 -
If it is right to retain the slaves in bondage on account of
their ignorance; would it not also be right, on the same prin-
ciple, to enslave all, of every complexion, who are as ingorant
as they Where is the difference 2
But this objection to immediate emancipation will appear
still more absurd, when it is considered, that the ignorance of
the slaves is the natural and inevitable consequence of slavery.
How can you prevent the effect without annihilating the cause:
Are the slaves to be educated by the same process which has
made them ignorant :
Ever since the organization of our government, the doctrine
has been maintained by slaveholders, and echoed by their
apologists, that the slaves ought not to be emancipated until
they are prepared by education. Now I ask, what has been
done within this period by way of instructing them : Are they
any better prepared for freedom now, than they were fifty
years ago? And what reason have we to hope, that they will
be any better prepared fifty years hence than they now are :
The ignorance of the slaves, so far from excusing the mas-
ters for retaining them in servitude, is one of the strongest rea-
sons which can be urged in favor of their emancipation. The


7
system of slavery, which shrouds its victims in the grossest
darkness—putting out as it were the eyes of the soul—which
denies them the privilege of reading the Word of Life, and
makes it a crime to teach them the lowest rudiments of know-
ledge—must be annihilated, before it will be possible to en-
lighten their minds. How long, think you, the slaves would
remain in bondage, if they were taught to read, and allowed
free access to books? Slaveholders know, that their safety
depends entirely upon the ignorance of their victims; that if
they were instructed, they would not wait for the tardy process
of voluntary emancipation, but would seek their liberty at the
expense of blood: hence they never will allow them to be in-
structed while they continue to hold them as property. The
history of the world does not furnish a single instance of a race
of men who have been educated while in a state of slavery,
and it never will. Speculate about it as we may—the thing is
impossible. The light of knowledge will never illumine the
mind of the slave until his fetters are broken.
The wisdom of the objection under consideration was admi-
rably illustrated by the father who told his son that he should
never go into the water until he had learned to swim 1 for it is
not more necessary for a man to go into the water to learn the
art of swimming, than it is that he should be free in order to
be educated.
2. It is said, that the slaves are in a better condition now
than they would be if they were immediately emancipated.
Let us see. We will first look at their present condition; and
then at what it probably would be, if they were allowed the
peaceable enjoyment of their rights.
Now they are regarded as property—as mere goods and
chattels;*—
Now the masters have unlimited control over their bodies,
and may starve or torture them at pleasure;f—
Now they have no means of redress against any white man
who may choose to invade their rights; for the law deprives
them of the privilege of being witnessess in any case where a
white man is the accused;f-
* “Slaves shall be deemed, sold, taken, reputed and adjudged in law to be chat-
tels personal in the hands of their owners and possessors, and their executors, ad-
ministrators and assigns, to all intents, constructions and purposes whatsoever.’—
Civil Code of S. C.—See Stroud’s ‘Sketch of the Laws relating to Slavery,’ p. 23.
# A law in North Carolina, which prescribes the punishment for killing a slave,
contains the following proviso: , ‘ Provided always, this act shall not extend to the
person killing a slave outlawed by any act of Assembly of this State, or to any
slave in the act of resistance to his lawful owner or master, or to any slave Dying
under MoDERATE correction '—See Mrs. Child's Appeal, p. 48
How “moderate' must be that ‘ correction’ under which a slave should DIE |
#, “A white man may, with impunity, if no other white be present, torture,
maim, and even murder his slave, in the midst of any number of negroes and mulat-
toes.”—Stroud, p. 66.
~


8
Now they can hold no property, real or personal;”—
Now they are compelled to toil solely for their masters,
without compensation;–
Now they may be sold separately, or in lots to suit purchas-
ers; the husband and wife, the parent and child, and lover and
friend, may be separated at the pleasure of their owners;f—
Now they are unprotected in their domestic relations; the
virtue of more than a million females is at the mercy of licen-
tious masters and overseers;f-and
Now they are kept in brutal ignorance both of their relations
to God and to their fellow men.]]
In lieu of this complicated system of oppression—this com-
bination of all that is odious and corrupt in principle and cruel
in practice, we propose—
That they shall be treated as men, and not as property;-
That the masters shall be deprived of the power to punish
them at discretion—to exact their labor without compensation
—to sell them, the husband from the wife, the wife from the
husband, and parents from their children;–
That they shall be placed under the protection of wise and
equitable laws, which shall secure to them the enjoyment of
all their rights on the one hand, and restrain them from the
commission of crime on the other;-
That they shall be employed as free laborers, and paid justly
for their labor; or if they should refuse to be thus employed,
and become disorderly or turbulent, that the law shall punish
them in the same way that it now does white people of the
same character;--
That the law shall regard the virtue of colored females as
sacred as that of their white sisters;–and
That, all, both old and young, male and female, shall be
taught the rudiments of knowledge—allowed to read the Bible,
and be instructed in its heavenly truths.
Who can doubt that a transformation like this would add to
** All that a slave P. belongs to his master—he possesses nothing of his
own.”—Civil Code of Louisiana—Stroud, p. 48.
# In the winter of 1833, an auction flag was hoisted in Richmond, Virginia, with
the following curious advertisement: “On Monday the 11th inst; will be sold in
front of the High Constable's office, one bright mulatto woman, about twenty six
years of age; also, some empty barrels, and sundry old candle bores!’-Mrs. Child's
Appeal, p. 11.
ł James A. Thome of Kentucky, in his speech at the annual meeting of the
American Anti-Slavery Society, said—'I have facts; but I forbear to state them-
facts which have fallen under my own observation, startling enough to arouse the
moral indignation of the community.’ ‘Let it be felt in the North and rolled back
upon º outh, that the slave States are Sodoms, and almost every village family
a brothel !”
| In Georgia, the teaching of a colored person to read or write is punished by
fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, and imprisonment at the discretion of the
court. The laws of the other slaveholding States are similar.





AN
A D D R E SS
delivered in the
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, IN MIDDLEBURY,
by REQUEST of THE
VERMONT ANti-slav ERY society,
on
WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 18, 1835.
--- ---------
BY () I., I W. F. H. J () H N 3 () N.
M O N T P P, I, I P, H:
kwarº Ani, if wett, print frºs,
1 * 3:, .


10
bestowed upon the slaves. This evidence is ſound in the ſact,
that when they wish to reward a slave for some noble and dis-
interested act, they break his fetters / For example, the legis-
lature of Georgia recently bought of his master, for $1,800,
a slave who had saved a valuable public building from destruc-
tion by fire, and gave him his liberty Did they mean to
inflict a curse, or to bestow a blessing? What is this act but a
confession, on the part of the masters, that emancipation would
be happy for the slave 2
If there is a class of persons in the world whom I could
endure to see made slaves, it is those who maintain that liberty
would be a curse to the colored man. Mayhap a year's ser-
vice under a southern task-master—a few sales at auction with
‘other live stock'—and a few floggings with a slave-driver's
whip, might restore them to their reason, and convince them
that, after all, liberty is better than slavery. A trial of a sin-
gle month might be sufficient, perhaps, to induce them to say
with full sincerity—
“O ! massa, he is fool or knave,
And his heart is sealed to me,
Who says de poor afflicted slave
Is happier dan de free.
But if he be not fool or knave,
If he speak de truth of me,
Den let him come and be de slave,
And I will be de free.”
3. It is said that an immediate emancipation of all the
slaves would be dangerous—an evil of greater magnitude than
slavery itself—and that of two evils we must choose the least.
But we have not the right of choice between moral evils.
The principle of choosing the least of two evils is applicable
only to those evils which are merely physical. Take a famil-
iar illustration: Suppose there is a rock in the highway, so that
the traveler cannot pass without great difficulty. Now it is
proper to say of this rock that it is an evil, and ought to be
removed. But we can easily conceive of circumstances in
which its immediate removal would produce a still greater evil.
Now we have a right to exercise our judgment in choosing
the best time to remove that rock from the highway; because
it is a physical evil, which does not involve the violation of
God’s law. But slavery is a moral evil—a sin—and cannot
be continued a moment without guilt.
That immediate emancipation would be attended with per-
fect safety, may be argued from the nature of the human mind,
and from historical facts.


12
operate to induce the slaves to fight, but furnish them with the
strongest motives for gratitude and contentment. After having
been so long treated as merchandize, how would it console and
comfort them to think, that they were at last to be regarded as
men | no longer to be bought and sold—no longer to be com-
pelled to toil without compensation, or kept in ignorance of
their relations to God and their fellow-men. O, it would bind
around their hearts a ‘cord of love' stronger than death, by
which they might be led in the paths of virtue and peace
I have said, that the safety of emancipation might be argued
from historical facts; and I now challenge the advocates of
gradual emancipation to produce from the history of the world
a single instance in which the liberation of slaves has caused
the evils which their imagination has depicted. I challenge
them to point to a single drop of human blood, which has been
shed by slaves in consequence of their emancipation.
Do they point to St. Domingof Let them know, that the
horrible scenes enacted there were the bitter fruits of oppres-
sion. For eight years, more than half a million of emancipated
slaves continued to labor peaceably and quietly for their former
masters; and ‘the colony,’ to use the language of an accredited
historian,” “marched, as by enchantment, towards its ancient
splendor; cultivation prospered; every day produced percept-
ible proofs of its progress.’ It was when Bonaparte attempted
to restore slavery—to fasten again the iron yoke of bondage
upon five hundred thousand freemen, that those scenes occur-
red, which struck the whole civilized world with horror.
In July, 1828, thirty thousand Hottentots were emancipated
in Cape Colony, in South Africa, by the British Parliament;
and admitted by law to all the rights and privileges of the white
colonists. Although the masters protested that there would
be no security to life or property, yet were their flocks not pil-
laged nor their throats cut.f
Passing by a score of facts of the same nature, which we
might mention, if time would permit, we refer to the experi-
ment now going on in the British West Indies for evidence of
the most decisive character of the entire safety of immediate
emancipation. While the people of Great Britain were dis-
cussing the subject of slavery in their Colonies, and while a
vast majority of the philanthropists of that country were urging
Parliament to abolish it at once and forever; the same predic-
tions of ruin and massacre were uttered by the planters, which
are now uttered by the friends of gradual reform in this coun:
try. It was said there, as it now is here, that the emancipated
slaves would pillage and burn the houses of their former mas-
ters, and fill the land with mourning and wo!
* General Lacroix. # See the ‘Oasis,' by Mrs, Child, p. 163.


14
4. It is said by way of objection, that the laws deprive the
masters of the power of emancipating. This reminds me of a
story, very simple indeed, but yet illustrating the fallacy of this
excuse so well that I cannot forbear to relate it. A lady once
left home, and commanded her daughter to perform a certain
piece of laborin her absence. Finding on her return, that the
work had not been done, she interrogated the daughter as to
the cause. ‘Mother,’ said she, “I was tied.” “Who tied you ?’
‘O, I tied myself!’ And this is just what the slaveholders do
—they make laws prohibiting emancipation, and then gravely
plead those laws as an excuse for their oppression
I was conversing, not long since, with a student, in a Theo-
logical Seminary in New-England, from Virginia. He declared
positively, that the masters in that State were generally very
anxious to emancipate—mourning over their unfortunate condi-
tion, and the difficulties which prevented the accomplishment
of their benevolent desires. I asked him to tell me what were
the difficulties which rendered it necessary for slaveholders to
oppress their sable victims, and disregard the plain demands of
the law of love. And what do you suppose was the first diffi-
culty which he brought forward by way of palliation for their
heaven-daring crimes : Why, that the laws deprived them of
the power to “undo the heavy burdens !’ But have you not
told me that there exists among them a strong public sentiment
in favor of emancipation ? ‘Yes.’ And they would generally
be glad to emancipate, if the laws were repealed 2 “Yes.’
Why then do they not repeal the laws 2 “Because,’ added
he, with as much gravity as if he supposed this hypocritical sub-
terfuge would effectually silence all further argument—" because
they regard the laws as essential to their safety P Truly has it
been said, ‘error is fated to run crooked'!
But it is asked, what shall those individuals do, who would
be glad to emancipate, if the laws did not exist? I reply, let
them obey God rather than men. God says, “break every
yoke—let the oppressed go free,’ and they can no more be
excused for refusing to comply, on account of the laws in ques-
tion, than Daniel could have been excused for neglecting to
pray on account of the law of his king. But it is said, that if
they do this, those who are set at liberty will be again enslaved
by the public authorities. And what of that ? Must they
continue in crime to prevent its perpetration by others? Let
them fearlessly obey God, and do all in their power to protect
the emancipated; and then if the State reduces them to bon-
dage, on the State be the responsibility.
5. It is objected that immediate emancipation is not the
doctrine of the Bible. In support of this objection it is said,


15
that slavery existed under the ancient dispensation, and in the
time of Christ and the Apostles, who did not inculcate the duty
of letting the slaves go free at once. I shall not go into an exten-
ded examination of these points. It is a subject for an elaborate
treatise. In regard to the children of Israel I will only say,
that allowing that their servants were slaves, in the proper
sense of the word, they were held by express authority from
God. It would be just as reasonable to say, that we have a
right to make war upon surrounding nations with a view to
exterminate them, because God authorized the Israelites to do
it, as it would be to plead their example in justification of
slavery.
Although the slavery which existed in the time of Christ and
the Apostles was very different from that which exists at the
present day, the New Testament is far from justifying it. Much
stress has been laid upon the fact, that Paul commanded ser-
vants to be obedient to their masters; but this no more proves
that the masters had a right to retain them in bondage, than the
command, ‘Love your enemies, implies that men may
innocently be enemies to one another. Our Savior has said,
“If a man Smite thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other
also ;' but does this justify him who smites ? Neither does the
exhortation to servants to be obedient to their masters imply
that the relation was an innocent one.
But what did Paul say to the masters ? Did he tell them
that their servants were their property—mere goods and chat-
tels, which they might starve or sell at pleasure? Did he say
that they might be kept in brutal ignorance as the slaves are
kept at the south 2 Listen to his words: “Masters,” said he,
‘give unto your servants that which is just and equal.” When
it can be shown that the holding of men in slavery, selling
them at auction with horses and cattle, and compelling them to
labor without hire, is “just and equal, then it will be time
enough to assert that Paul justified it. -
The case of Onesimus, whom Paul sent back to Philemon,
is so often referred to in justification of slavery, that I need
make no apology for quoting what follows from a lecture deliv-
ered in England, by that noble champion of the slave, GEORGE
Thompson, who is now in this country.
Yes! resumed Mr. Thompson, this is all very beautiful: but then,
St. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon | Well, then, about this
Onesimus. In the first place, does the gentleman know that this Ones-
imus was a slave in the sense that the negroes in the West Indies
[United States] are slaves? Second. Did Philemon possess a proper-
ty in his life and limbs, as the West India [American] slave owners say
they have in the life and limbs of the negroes P. He should have prov-
* Colossians, iv. 1.


16
ed this before he justified slavery, because St. Paul sent Onesimus back
to Philemon. We find in the 18th chapter of Matthew, that a cer-
tain king would take account of his servants. Now the word doulos,
translated servant there, is the same which is translated servant in the
epistle to Philemon; and we find there that one unfaithful doulos owed
his master ten thousand talents. How could an abject slave owe ten
thousand talents? But mark the conduct of his master. He orders
the slave and his family to be sold, that he may be repaid. He sells his
own property to pay himself! I may perhaps illustrate the folly of
this conduct, supposing doulos to mean slave, by a homely simile. A
horse in a stable slips his halter, and eats some beans out of a sack, and
the master says, “Oh thou wicked and ungrateful horse!, did I not give
thee hay enough 2 and yet thou hast broken loose and eaten up this
sack of beans! Though thou art mine, and though thou hast cost me
fifty pounds, I will punish thee for this. I will sell thee to-morrow,
though I should lose by thee, that I may repay myself for the beans
thou hast eaten.”
Suppose this doulos—this slave according to West Indian translation,
runs away and becomes a convert to principles that he knew not be-
fore—that he is recognized and sheltered, as St. Paul kept Onesimus—
and that he is sent back with a message, ‘I send you back your runa-
way.” In such a case, no doubt the slave owner would say, ‘Ay, to
be sure, let me have him.’ But what does St. Paul say? Does he bid
Philemon take Onesimus, and treat him as the poor boy was treated
for running away with his own naked body? No! Does he say,
‘Take him and hang him? No! Does he say, ‘Flog him?” No 1
Does he say, ‘Chain him P' No! Does he say, “Put a collar on him?”
No! He says, “Receive him not as a servant, BUT As A BROTHER.’
He bids him esteem him as more than a servant—as a brother beloved.
One thing is certain; the Bible does not say a word about
gradual emancipation, or the duty of preparing the slaves for
freedom by educating them: consequently, if the argument
attempted to be drawn from Scripture in support of slavery
proves any thing, it proves that the system may be perpetual
The objector can take which horn of the dilemma he chooses:
he may say the Bible justifies slavery, and therefore all
attempts to promote emancipation are unscriptural: or else
candidly admit, that be perverts the sacred volume and slanders
the character of those who ‘spake as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost.”
Those who resort to the Bible to find apologies for slavery
consider themselves slandered when they are spoken of as the
friends of the system. They can talk very calmly of Abra-
ham, as a pious slaveholder—and of Paul as vindicating the
just claims of the masters, &c. But ask them whether they
support the system, and they will reply, “O no, we are as
much opposed to slavery as the abolitionists:’ as if they were
more holy than Paul more benevolent than God! and as if
their morality were purer than that of the Bible ! O, shame!
that men—that Christians should thus ‘wrest the Scriptures,’
and give occasion for the enemy to blaspheme !


17
I have spoken thus far of objections to PRINCIPLES: I will
now proceed to answer, as was proposed,
II. OBJECTION's To THE MEASUREs of ANTI-SLAvery
SocIETIEs. And
1. It is said they are exciting the free States on a subject
which does not concern them. And is it true, that the people
of the free States have no concern with slavery Suppose the
slaves should universally rebel against their masters, and seek
revenge for the wrongs which they have suffered; would the
South be willing then that we should have nothing to do with
the matter? Do we flatter ourselves that such a crisis will
never come 2 that the slaves will always remain peaceable, and
submit to their fate 2 Let us not delude ourselves with such a
hope. Unless they are voluntarily emancipated, the day of
retribution will come! In all the anguish of hope deferred,
they will make such an effort to secure their rights as will
baffle the skill of their oppressors and fill the land with mourn-
ing and wo! And where would the South look for succor in
such a crisis, but to the people of the free States ? Would she
not point to the constitution—‘the sacred national compact'—
and demand our assistance under its solemn stipulations? And
have we then no concern with slavery no right to utter a
note of warning and expostulation ? To whom, moreover,
does the South look for assistance in recovering her “fugitives,”
but to the officers of justice in the free States ? Must we stain
our hands with the guilt of oppression, and become partners
with them in perpetrating the highest of all crimes? and have
we no right to remonstrate 2 Are we slaves ourselves, hav-
ing no right to utter a word, when we are required to assist
in fastening the yoke of bondage on those who fly to us for
protection ?
I maintain, that so far from having nothing to do with slavery,
the free States are under the most solemn obligations to seek
its removal by united and persevering exertion. The groans
of the oppressed, waſted to us on every breeze—the guilt of
the oppressor rising up to Heaven and calling for vengeance—
our solemn Declaration of Independence, disregarded in the per-
sons of more than two millions of manacled and bleeding slaves
—the bleeding reputation of our country, and the solemn in-
junction of Holy Writ, to “remember them that are in bonds
as bound with them’—lay us under an obligation, as weighty as
any which was ever pressed on the conscience of man, to seek
the removal of this mighty evil. -
I know it is said, that the free States are already opposed to
slavery. There is a sense, doubtless, in which this is true;
3


- 18
but there is another sense, far more important, in which it is
false. The free States opposed to slavery ! Why then are
the mouths of the people filled with apologies for the sin
Why do we hear one crying out, that it is a necessary evil?
another, that its removal would be a curse both to the master
and slave? and another, that the Bible sanctions it? Why do
they tolerate the domestic slave-trade—a traffic, fraught with
misery as great, and with guilt as enormous, as that which
marks the steps of the kidnapper on the coast of Africa?” But
above all, why do they permit the existence of slavery in the
District of Columbia ºf Why do they allow human beings to
be bought and sold in the very place where stands the Temple
of Liberty Why are our Representatives in Congress silent,
when they hear the clanking of the prisoner's chains, and the
hammer of the auctioneer, as he knocks off to the highest bid-
der the bodies and souls of men, women and children, within
a stone's throw of that very building where talent and elo-
quence are exhausted in lofty speeches concerning “inalienable
rights?’í. The free States opposed to slavery : Their practice
gives the lie to their professions. Their hands are stained
with innocent blood, and on them rests the deepest guilt 1
Slavery at this very moment is supported at the South, in no
small degree, by northern excuses and apologies, and more than
all by the national example.|| How can we reasonably expect
that the South will wash out her deep-stained guilt, while we
are crying, “Peace, peace;’ and while the nation itself lends
the sanction of its high example to encourage them in their
course : Let us annihilate slavery in the District of Columbia,
elevate the people of color in our midst, and bear a faithful tes-
timony against the sin of the South; and then the mighty fab-
ric of oppression, which renders us the reproach and scorn of
the whole civilized world, will speedily crumble and fall. We
cannot neglect to do this and be innocent. If we fail to use
the moral power which God has placed in our hands—a power
amply sufficient to accomplish this glorious result—the same
judgments which will, we have reason to fear, be visited upon
the South, will be visited also upon us; and our glorious insti-
tutions, the envy of the world, will be swallowed up in the
mighty ruin! The same God who brought Israel out of the
* Appendix B. # Appendix C. | Appendix D.
# Since this Address was written, the long and guilty silence has been broken
Let the friends of humanity thank God and take couage | Let petitions be sent
to Congress from every city, town and village in the free States!, Let a voice of
remonstrance be heard from every pulpit, from every hall of legislation, and from
every human dwelling ! Let not the press keep silence—but let it speak out in
tones of thunder, .# this iniquity be put away, and our country no longer suffer
the reproach of tolerating a traffic in human flesh within sight of her temples of
justice


22
vated in this country, and ‘of whom it were a blessing to soci-
ety to be rid';*— -
Because the people of color themselves, wherever they have
the liberty of speech, declare its influence to be prejudicial to
their interests;f— -
Because many of those whom the Society colonizes are
made willing to be exported, by oppressive laws, which are
enacted through the agency of the members and friends of the
Society;f—
Because it denounces abolitionists as enemies of their coun-
try—as mad-men and fanatics;||—
Because its friends, in their efforts to secure for it the pat-
ronage of different portions of the country, have practised the
grossest deception;"|— ~
Because it justifies those laws which keep the slaves in ig-
norance; $–
* “They constitute a large mass of human beings, who hang as a vile excrescence
upon society.’—African Repository, vol. vii. p. 230.
# The º, of color, in the principal cities and villages in the free States, have
published resolutions declaring their confirmed hostility to the society.
f : A. they sent out two ship-loads of VAGABoxDs not fit to go to such a
place, and that were coerced away as truly as if it had been done with a cART-
whip !'—Speech of R. J. Breckenridge before the Am. Col. Soc. in 1834.
| ‘The scope of the society is large enough, but it is in no wise mingled or
confounded with the broad sweeping views of a few fanatics in America, who
would urge us on to the sudden and total abolition of slavery.”—African Reposito-
ry, vol. iii. p. 197.
T In proof of this, we refer to the gross falsehood concerning Clarkson's letter,
which was published in the African Repository by the Rev. R. º Gurley. Clark-
son, the modern apostle of emancipation, wrote a letter to Elliott Cresson, the
agent of the Colonization Society in England, expressing his views of the society
and the reasons why he supported it. In that letter, he says that he understands
the ‘F1RST’ object of the society to be, “to assist in the emancipation of all the
slaves in the United States;' and with this understanding he approved of it. The
letter found its way to this country—to Washington. Mr. Gurley wished to add
the name of Clarkson to the long catalogue of distinguished men who supported
the society; but he dared not let it be known, that that worthy man supported it
from a belief that its object was, to “emancipate all the slaves;’ first, because he knew
he had been grossly deceived by Cresson—and secondly, because he knew that the
people of the South would be indignant at such an annunciation. He therefore
omits Clarkson's introduction, and inserts an editorial paragraph in place of it,
misrepresenting entirely the reasons which induced that good man to support the
scheme. That the people of Vermont may see this deception, and no longer be
gulled into a support of this ungodly conspiracy against an oppressed and down-
trodden people, we insert in parallel columns the paragraphs to which we refer.
Look on tPI is Pictur E, AND on this .
Extract from Clarkson's Letter. Mr. Gurley's False Substitute.
‘This society seems to me to have two “He [...] considers the object of
objects in view—first. To Assist IN THE the society two-fold; first, to proMoti.
EMANcipATION OF A LI, th E Si. AW ES THE Volu NTARY EMIG frat ION TO A FRI-
Now IN THE UNITED states; and sec-|cA of THE color ED population of
ondly, by sending these to Africa, to do|THE UNITED states; and secondly, the
away the slave trade, and promote civili-suppression of the slave-trade, and the
zation among the natives there.” civilization of the African tribes.”
The author of this base forgery is still Secretary of the American Colonization
Society Will the people of Vermont support that society 7
. A ‘It is a well established point, that the public safety forbids either the eman-
cipation or the general instruction of the slaves.”—Seventh Annual Report.


23
z
Because it is managed chiefly by slaveholders, who do not
repent of their sin, but continue to trade in human flesh;"—
Because its colony is no benefit to Africa, and multitudes
of the emigrants wish to return to this country;f-and finally,
Because its principles are such that it receives the support
and countenance of many of the vilest men in the land, even
of those who contrive and execute plans for mobbing the abo-
litionists.|
These are the reasons why we oppose the Colonization
Society. For the truth of our charges against it we appeal to
its official documents. We ask no man to take our assertions
instead of proof. We invite discussion; we challenge investi-
gation; and we will not shrink from the issue.
This Society, like Popery, has endeavored to silence our
objections by pointing us to its long calender of Saints. But
the question is not, whether good men have supported it 2 but
whether its principles are in accordance with religion and hu-
manity ? And this question we shall continue to press upon
the public mind, uninfluenced by flattery and unawed by
threats.
5. Finally, it is objected to Anti-Slavery Societies, that
their measures tend to exasperate slaveholders, and confirm
them in sin. This objection has been made to reformers in
every age of the world, from the time that Noah preached re-
pentance to the antedeluvians down to the present period. It
was made against the Apostles—against Luther—and it has
been made against the friends of temperance in our day. Why
have such multitudes of Christian ministers fallen martyrs to the
cause of their blessed Lord? Simply because they were faith-
ful in declaring the truth; because they told men that they
* : About twelve years ago, some of the wisest men of the nation, mostly slave-
holders, formed in d: city of Washington, the present American Colonization So-
ciety.’—Af. Rep. vol. iv. p. 274.
Bushrod Washington, #: President of the Society, while he held his office,
sold 60 of his slaves to be driven off to the southern market! And Charles Car-
rol, who was President of the Society at the time of his death, left, if we mistake
not, nearly 1000 slaves, which he ‘entailed' on his relatives |
# ‘Of all misery and poverty, and all repining that my imagination had ever con-
ceived, it had never reached what my eyes now saw, and my ears heard. Hun-
dreds of poor creatures, squallid, ragged, i. with cut employment—some ac-
tually starving to death, and all praying most fervently that they might get home to
America once more. Even the emancipated slave craved the boon of returning
again to bondage that he might once more have the pains of hunger satisfied.
There are hundreds there who say they would rather come back and be slaves,
than stay in Liberia. They would sit down and tell us their tale of suffering and of
sorrow, with such a dejected and wo-begone aspect. that it would almost break our
hearts. They would weep as they would talk of their sorrows here, and their joys
in America; and we mingled our tears freely with theirs . This part of the popu-
lation included, as near as we could judge, two thirds of the inhabitants of Mon-
rovia.”—Samuel Jones’ Journal of a visit to Liberia—Birney's Letter.
| The mobocracy of New York passed resolutions the last year in favor of the
society, after having broken up a meeting of abolitionists in Chatham Street
(Thanol.


24
were sinners, and must repent or perish. Why were Baxter
and his associates forbidden to preach the gospel, and persecu-
ted from city to city Simply because they attempted to re-
form the vices of their times—because they told men plainly
and fearlessly that they were sinners—rebels against God and
exposed to utter destruction. There was one condition on
which they might all have escaped persecution—by ceasing to
preach against sin so as to exasperate sinners.
How was Pharaoh exasperated, when Moses, in the name
of the Lord, commanded him to let Israel go? If Moses had
only urged him on the ground of expediency—if he had only
told him it was very unfortunate that the people of Israel were
his slaves—if he had failed to urge upon him the duty of im-
mediate repentance, and told him that he ought to let them go
free as soon as existing difficulties were removed ; Pharaoh
would doubtless have been ready to assent to it all. It was
an exhibition of his awful guilt in rebelling against God that so
exasperated him and made him tremble with rage 1
TRUTH is the grand instrument by which to prosecute every
kind of moral reformation. If truth is yielded up, out of regard
to the feelings of those whom it offends, the reformation will
stop, and we shall “labor in vain and spend our strength for
nought.” The question then is, whether Anti-Slavery Socie-
ties in the prosecution of their object, do any thing more than
wield this mighty weapon. If they do not, then the fact that
they offend slaveholders is no objection to their measures.
On this question we are ready to join issue. We assert that
we say nothing of slaveholders which is not strictly true. We
call them men-stealers; and this we are told is abusive and
slanderous. But why If a man steals a horse, is he not at
once branded as a horse-thief? If he steals a sheep, what do
men call him but a sheep-stealer? And why should not those
who steal men be called men-stealers ? We maintain, that ev-
ery person who retains in his possession as property, a human
being, is guilty of the highest kind of theft. We care not what
may be his station in society; whether he be rich or poor; a
minister or layman; a magistrate or a private citizen; we
charge him with the guilt of man-stealing. And we do it not
for the purpose of offending him, but to make him sensible of
the enormity of his guilt.
But, asks the objector, do you really mean to say, that min-
isters and church members who hold slaves at the South are
men-stealers? Yes; and we say that their guilt is enhanced
by their high professions. The churches at the South are
stained with blood | They are corrupt, both ministers and peo-
ple ! With the word of God in their hands, which says,


28
ways in which this can be done; by the employment of agents
and the distribution of tracts, pamphlets and periodicals. In
these two ways, the public sentiment of Vermont might soon
be changed, and brought to bear in all its force against the
mountain of oppression which we seek to remove.
Let us then show our faith by our works. Let the sympa-
thy which exists in our hearts extend also to our pockets. Let
us give liberally of that which God has placed in our hands,
that the cause may be carried forward vigorously, successfully,
triumphantly.
Thanks be to God for past success. “If the Lord had not
been our side, then had our enemies swallowed us up quick,
when their wrath was kindled against us.” The same Almighty
Power which has delivered us from the rage and fury of
mobs, will still go with us and protect us from all the assaults
of our enemies. He will cause the wrath of man to praise
him, and the remainder of the wrath he will restrain. What-
ever may befalus as individuals—whether we live long, or die
by the murderous hand of the assassin, our cause will be vic-
torious. Yes! ‘Glory to God in the highest,” slavery must
speedily fall; the day is coming when every ſetter shall be
broken and the oppressed shall go free!
“Speed, speed the hour, O Lord!
Speak, and at thy dread word
Fetters shall fall
From every limb–the strong
No more the weak shall wrong,
But liberty's sweet song,
Be sung by all.”


29
A P P E N D I X.
Note A.—Page 13.
We commend the following facts, derived from authentic sources, to
all who are in doubt respecting the probable consequences of emanci-
pation.
STRIKING INSTANCE OF THE CAPACITY OF EMANCIPATED SLAVES TO
TAKE CARE OF THEMISELVES.
‘It happened that several slaves took refuge from Martinique, where
the slave-trade is avowedly carried on, to St. Lucia, in 1829. This
caused a discussion, the effect of which was to make it generally
known, that, on a foreign slave's reaching a British colony, he, by Dr.
Lushington's Bill, becomes free; and in consequence of this discus-
sion, several, exceeding 100 in number, came over in the year 1830.
Here were persons leaving a country of unmitigated slavery ; per-
sons precisely in the condition in which our whole slave population
may be supposed to have been some thirty years ago, by those who
maintain that the condition of the slave has improved ; here were per-
sons described by their government as incendiaries, idlers, and poisoners.
When I left the colony in April last, some were employed for wages
in the business they were best acquainted with:—some as masons and
carpenters; some as domestics; others in clearing land, or as laborers
on estates; while about twenty-six had clubbed together and placed
themselves under the direction of a free colored man, an African, one
of the persons deported from Martinique in 1824. These last had
erected a pottery at a short distance from Castries. They took a piece
of land : three or four cleared it; others fished up coral and burned
lime; five or six quarried and got the stones, and performed the ma-
son's work; the remainder felled the timber and worked it in ; and the
little money that was requisite, was supplied in advance by the con-
tractor for the church, on the tiles to be furnished for the building.
This pottery was completed—a plain structure, but of great solidity
and surprising neatness. Thus had they actually introduced a new
manufacture into the country, for which it was previously indebted to
our foreign neighbors or to the home market.’—JEREMIE’s Essays.
EMANCIPATION AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
“We speak advisedly : Three thousand prize negroes have received
their freedom, four hundred in one day; but not the least difficulty or
disorder occurred: servants found masters—masters hired servants;
all gained homes, and at night scarcely an idler was to be seen. In
the last month, one hundred and fifty were liberated under precisely
similar circumstances, and with the same result. These facts are
within our own observation ; and to state that sudden and abrupt eman-
cipation would create disorder and distress to those you mean to serve,
is not reason; but the plea of any and all men who are adverse to
emancipation.”—South African Commercial Advertiser of Feb. 9, 1831.


30 .
Note B.-Page 18.
THE DOMESTIC SLAVE TRADE.
A very, extensive internal slave-trade is carried on in this country.
The breeding of negro cattle for the foreign markets (of Louisiana,
Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri,) is a very lucrative branch
of business. Whole coffles of them, chained and manacled, are driven
through our capital on their way to auction. Foreigners, particularly
those who come here with enthusiastic ideas of American freedom,
are amazed and disgusted at the sight. A troop of slaves once passed
through Washington on the fourth of July, while drums were beating
and standards flying. One of the captive negroes raised his hand,
loaded with irons, and waving it toward the starry flag, sung with a
smile of bitter irony, ‘Hail Columbia happy land!’-Mrs. Child's
•Appeal, p. 30.
Curiosity, says a gentleman in Charleston, S.C. in a letter to his
friend in New York, sometimes leads me to the auction sales of the
negroes. A few days since, I attended one which exhibited the beau-
ties of slavery in all their sickening deformity. The bodies of these
wretched beings were placed upright on a table—their physical pro-
portions examined, their defects and beauties noted. “A prime lot,
here they go!’ exclaimed the auctioneer. There I saw the father look-
ing with sullen contempt upon the crowd, and expressing an indigna-
tion in his countenance that he dare not speak; and the mother, press-
ing her, infant closer to her bosom, with an involuntary grasp, and
exclaiming, in wild and simple earnestness, while the tears chased
down her cheeks in quick succession, ‘I can't leff my children . I
won't leff my children!' But on the hammer went, reckless alike
whether it united or sundered forever.—Stuari's Three Years in North
JAmerica, vol. ii. p. 74,
NoTE C.—Page 18.
SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
Ertract from Mr. Dickson's Speech in the House of Representatives.
Sir, the foreign slave-trade with Africa is condemned by the laws of
this country, .#England, of France, and by those of almost every
nation of the civilized world, as piracy; and those who carry it on are
denounced as outlaws and the common enemies of the human race.
And yet we tolerate in this District, and at our seat of government, a
traffic productive of as much pain, anguish, and despair, of as deep atro-
city, and as many accumulated horrors, as the slave-trade with Africa.
Private cells and prisons have been erected by the slave-traders in
the District, in which the negro is incarcerated until a cargo of slaves,
of “human chattels’ can be completed. The public prisons of the
District, built with the money of the whole people of the United States,
have been used for the benefit of the slave-traders, and the victims of
this odious traffic have been confined within their walls. The keep-
ers of those prisons, paid out of the monies of the whole people, have
been the gaolers of the "slave traders, until their drove, their cargo of
human beings, could be completed.
The petitioners complain that a traffic so abhorrent to the feelings of
the philanthropist, so replete with suffering and wo, is approved and
licensed by the corporation of the city of Washington, which receives
$400 a year for each licence, thus increasing her treasures by the ex-
press sanction of so odious a trade. Finally, the petitioners complain
of the existence of slavery in the District of Columbia, as the source
of all the before mentioned evils, and others too numerous now to
detail. They consider it as unchristian, unholy, and unjust, not war-


31
ranted by the laws of God, and contrary to the assertion in our Decla-
ration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.”
NoTE D.—Page 18. -
The following extract of a letter from JAMEs G. BIRNEY, to a friend
in Ohio, shows how the South is affected by the state of public senti-
ment in the free States. We find it in the Anti-Slavery Record.
I do trust, my dear sir, the Lord will make you eminently successful
in raising up in Ohio a spirit among the people favorable to immediate
emancipation. That, indeed, must be done before any large operations
can be carried on in this State, (Ky.) One of the most formidable ob-
stacles I meet with here is the pro-slavery spirit that "as yet exists in
Ohio, and the other free States. You can easily picture to yourselves
with what exultation the slaveholder will quote against me the opinions
of Dr. A., and Dr. B., and Dr. C., who he will say are eminent for
learning and piety, and whose minds are free from the bias of interest,
who live in a free State, &c. It is my firm conviction, that, if Ohio
would rise as one man in the dignity of her great moral and intellectual
power, and declare to the slaveholders of Kentucky—‘You are wrong
—your oppression is condemned by God, and shall meet with no favor
from us,” that the death blow would be given to slavery, not only in
Kentucky, but through the whole South. No chains could withstand
the concentrated radiance of such virtuous action.
In another letter, addressed to Mr. Lewis Tappan, of New-York,
Mr. BIRNEY thus rebukes those temporising reformers at the North,
who dare not call slavery a sin :
They tell us that the ‘system of slavery in this country is wrong.’
O, notable discovery ! O, wonderful stretch of Jack the Giant-killer,
equipped in his seven-league boots! They are going to convince us
that the system is wrong. We would be rapt in equal amazement if
they would come to convince us that the sun shines. This has been
acknowledged time out of mind. You may go through the gates of
slavery into Kentucky, and pass through its thickening horrors till you
reach its ultima Thule, the sugar-plantations of Louisiana; and with
one acclaim from all, except the most besotted minds, the acknowledge-
ment will be heard, the ‘system’ is wrong. But the system is made up
of the reported cruelties of others—our own enter not into it as a com-
ponent part. It enters not into our hearts to conceive that our course
is not some how or another, an exception to the great rule by which all
injustice and oppression is condemned.
And will our Christian friends thus mock us? If they had begun
one hundred years ago, with the very rudiment with which they now
propose to begin, it might have been well. But, sir, now, slavery has
attained its giant-growth—it is impoverishing our country, breaking up
our schools—effeminating our men, converting female amiableness into
ungovernable fury, and bringing the judgments of God upon our
churches, whose members and whose ministers live, and are supported
in their ministry, by the fruits of unrighteous exaction. Truly, sir, has
it been said—if the churches destroy not slavery, slavery will destroy
them. . Do these, our friends, think that slavery is a stationary disease
—one in which a bread pill may be harmlessly given, or in which ex-
periments can be innocently tried ? If they do, how greatly have they
mistaken. * * * Sir, sir, my soul is moved within me when I see
such quacks as ‘Desire-to-conciliate’ and “Fear-of-prejudice’ minister-
ing to a patient when life is fast ebbing, and death stands ready at the