AN APPEAL
TO THE
IFlecjroesof tbeXHruteb States
Let the ten millions of Negroes, Matrons, Maidens, Youths, Boys,
and Girls, manhood and womanhood, stand by the "BLACK
BATTALION " — until justice shall have taken her place
upon the bench; until Liberty shall have been en¬
throned ; until equality shall have triumphed; until
fraternity shall have bound the human family
together by the golden chain of love; then,
not until then, shall the Negro be able
to stop those foul-mouthed slander¬
ers who are now trying to de¬
fame some of the bravest
soldiers who have ever
marched to battle.
BY
REV. W. H. SCOTT
OF WOBUEN, MASS.
President of the Suffrage League of Boston and Vicinitv.
BOSTON, MASS., MAY, 1907.
W. GRANDISON, PRINTER, 11 CHIRRY STREET, CAMBRIDGE
REV. W. H. SCOTT,
Woburn, Mass.
PRESIDENT Of THE SUFFRAGE LEAGUE OF BOSTON AND VICINITY.
Appeal to tfye Jvle£roes of tfye
United States
RETHREN : — We are upon a high eminence. Now, from this
high view-point let us take a survey of the 288 years that
we have been in this country.
Our forefathers were brought to this country against their will,
twenty (20) in number ; to-day we are ten millions. Let us thank
God that out of the selfish greed of those cruel Dutchmen there
has come a splendid Providence.
Israel was in bondage 480 years, we 250 years,—and in this time
we have helped to make this the richest country in the world. The
lash has drawn many drops of blood, tens of thousands of lives
have been unjustly taken; yet all this toil, suffering and death
should not discourage us, for this is the price that all nations,
peoples and races must pay. We are now facing a great crisis.
We have had more than forty years of freedom, and although
laboring under great disadvantages, we must admit that we have
made great progress; we are a part of one of the greatest nations
of the world. We have shown beyond a doubt that God has given
us capacity equal to any people.
The day has come when we are now being called upon to stand
for ourselves, and to take our place as men and citizens of this
great nation, for which we have done so much and sacrificed so
much. There are many of our white friends who have helped us
to maintain those rights which we have in theory, at least, if not in
practice.
Let us remember first, that the race which will amount to anything
in the world must first depend upon God and its own strong arm.
We have a host of white friends who are now standing ready to
assist us if we prove ourselves worthy. True manhood and woman¬
hood are the only things that will count in race-building. The
Negro has seen darker days than these.
5
6
In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Bill passed, which meant that every
man, woman or child who was fleeing from the hell of human
slavery, if overtaken, was sent back to eternal bondage.
In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed, which threw
open a large portion of this country to the slave oligarchy.
In 1856, the Southern bludgeon felled the Roman knight, —
Charles Sumner, — because he flung his shining lance into the idol
of the South.
In 1857, the Dred Scott Decision, which made slavery national
and dehumanized the Negro, was rendered.
In 1859, the voice of a prophet,—John Brown, — was heard
upon the mountain-tops of Virginia, crying against that great
Goliath, — Slavery.
In 1860, God confused the men of the North and South at Char¬
leston, S. C., so that the Democratic Party split and Lincoln was
elected.
In 1861, the war came,—the dreadful scourge. They said it was
a white man's war. God would not allow a real victory until the
white man called upon the Negro.
In. 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
In 1865, the Appomatox; Lee's surrender to Grant.
In 1865, Dec. 18th, the 13th Amendment, which killed slavery,
was ratified.
In July, 1868, the 14th Amendment, which made the Negro
a citizen, was ratified.
In 1870, March 30th, the 15th Amendment, which made the
Negro a voter, was ratified.
Brethren, you might say that these amendments are dead letters
on the statute book. They are not dead letters, because they
are a part of the Constitution, and must remain so as long as the
American people love virtue, justice, humanity and liberty. It
is our duty to create public sentiment in favor of law and respect
for the Constitution. Let us see to it that we vote for no man for
office who does not respect the Constitution and who refuses to
make this whole country obey it. We will further vote against
every man who is an enemy to the Negro race, whether it be
Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Elihu Root, or Henry Cabot
Lodge. The time has come for the Negro to use his ballot wisely.
7
The following states of the North are pivotal states. These
figures were taken seven years ago. It is fair to say the Negro
population of these states here mentioned has increased one-third.
NEGROES IN THE PIVOTAL STATES.
You have in your hands the destiny of seventy-five millions of
people. In the following States you hold the balance of power in
a close election. If you remember, President Hayes had only one
electoral vote, which made him President, and that vote was
given him by the Negro. Now, God calls on the Negro to save
this nation once more.
NEGRO POPULATION.
Connecticut 12,302
Delaware 28,386
Illinois 57,028
Indiana 45,215
Kentucky ; 268,071
New Jersey 47,648
New York 70,092
Maryland 215,675
Ohio 87,113
West Virginia 32,690
One-fifth of the entire population is supposed to vote — that is
to say, if you divide the population by five, you will have the as¬
sumed number of legal voters.
8
A Charge against Theodore Roosevelt,
President of the United -States
In the Name of the Manhood and Womanhood of the
Race-loving Negroes of the United States.
1. That the President of the United States, with hatred and
malice did ridicule, abuse and charge the Negro soldiers of
the United States Army with cowardice. The following is
a quotation of his own words : —
"None of the white regulars or Rough Riders showed
the slightest sign of weakness; but under the strain the
colored infantrymen (who had none of their officers) began
to get a little uneasy and drift to the rear, either helping
wounded men or saying they wished to find their own regi¬
ments. This I could not allow, as it was depleting my line,
so I jumped up and, walking a few yards to the rear, drew
my revolver, halting the retreating soldiers, calling out to
them that I appreciated the gallantry with which they
fought and would be sorry to hurt them, but that I would
shoot the first one who, on any pretense whatever, went to
the rear. This was the end of the trouble, for the ' smoked
Yankees' — as the Spaniards called the colored soldiers —
flashed their white teeth at one another as they broke into
broad grins."—Rough Riders (Roosevelt), pp. 144-5.
2. 1 charge Theodore Roosevelt for accusing the whole Negro
race with shielding the criminal class of their people.—
2d Sess. 59th Cong., Sen. Doc., No. 155, page 8.
3. For dishonorably discharging the Black Battalion (167 men)
without trial. The Constitution guarantees every citizen a
fair trial. He shall be confronted by his accusers, and he
9
is presumed to be innocent until he is proven guilty. Here,
the President presumes that they are guilty and the soldiers
are compelled to prove their innocence. This is the most
extraordinary act that was ever done under a republican
form of government. This act could only be done by Na¬
poleon, the Czar of Russia, or the Sultan of Turkey, but
absolutely repugnant and hateful under a Constitutional
government such as ours. As he said himself, " From nine
to fifteen or twenty, took part in the attack. (2nd Sess.
59th Cong., Sen. Doc., No. 155, page 3.) Among the men
so discharged was Mingo Saunders, one of the soldiers who
had enlisted six times and having his character marked five
times "excellent" and one "very good."
4. Because he did not dare issue the order until after the election,
lest his son-in-law be defeated; which act stamps him as a
Politician and not a Statesman. The act was done for
the purpose of securing Southern votes in Congress.
5. And again he welcomed the murderers of Chattanooga, Tenn.,
to the White House, who were summoned before the Su¬
preme Court of the United States, charged with contempt,
and from whose hand the blood of the poor Negro, John¬
son, was dripping. The White House has been filled with
some of the most illustrious Statesmen, — Lincoln, Grant,
Garfield and Harrison. Never before were murderers and
cut-throats welcomed into its doors.
6. For using Executive patronage to perpetuate either himself or
his friend Taft in office. I herewith quote from a report
made by John C. Calhoun, Chairman of the Senate Commit¬
tee to investigate Andrew Jackson (Roosevelt's prototype.)
"It is easy to see that the certain, direct, and inevitable
tendency of this practice is to convert the entire body of
those in office into corrupt and supple instruments of power,
10
and to raise up a host of hungry, greedy, and subservient
partisans, ready for every service, however base and cor¬
rupt. Were a premium offered for the best means of ex¬
tending to the utmost the power of patronage ; to destroy
the love of country and substitute a spirit of subserviency
and man-worship; to encourage vice and discourage virtue;
and, in a word, to prepare for the subversion of liberty and
the establishment of despotism, no scheme more perfect
could be devised." — Sen. Doc., 2nd Sess., 23d Cong., Vol.
3, No. 109.
This was the language of that great statesman seventy-two years
ago, when the population was only twelve millions and there were
only twenty-four states; then perhaps the entire taxable property
was only five billions of dollars (for in '61 the taxable property
was only sixteen billions). How much more dangerous to-day is
this practice, when the wealth is rated at one hundred and sixteen
billions of dollars. With Theodore Roosevelt as President, with
his erratic movements and his ambition either to succeed himself
or put in a man whom he can use.
A man who will have Joe Blackburn appointed to a $14,000
position, and Ben Tillman to take care of his "pet measure, as a
bosom friend, and to suggest to the Democratic party that Overman
be their leader; such a man is more dangerous than Napoleon 1.,
and with less ability.
11
Important Information Concerning the llegro.
WEST POINT.
Only three colored men have graduated from West Point;
namely, O. H. Flipper, '73; J. H. Alexander and Charles Young.
Those who failed to graduate after entering were : C. A. Minnie,
T. V. Gibbs, Napier, Smith, Whittaker and Williams. Only one
living graduate of West Point,—Captain Charles Young,—is now
in the government service. He is now somewhere shelved in the
West Indies.
GREAT ORATORS.
The peerless Douglass, Henry Highland Garnett, Samuel Ring¬
gold Ward, J. Sella Martin, George W. Williams, Bishop Dicker-
son, John M. Langston, J. C. Price, Charles Lenox Reymond,
Juan Gomez.
A FEW NOBLE WOMEN.
Phillis Wheatley.
In 1852, Mrs. Garner, rather than have her baby in perpetual
slavery, threw it into the river.
Deborah Gannett, alias Robert Shurtliff, fought as a man in the
Revolutionary War, and was granted, for services in the Conti¬
nental Army, a pension of 34 pounds.
SOME WRITERS, ORATORS AND SCHOLARS.
Wm. C. Nell, Frederick Douglass, David Walker, George W.
Williams, Rufus L. Perry, Bishop Payne and William Wells
Brown ; Geo. B. Vashon, R. B. Elliott, Alexander Crummell, Dr.
Wilmot Blyden, Bishop Payne, Charles Reason, Boyer Bazlais.
Alexandre Dumas (Novelist), Stephen Preston (he represented
Hayti at Washington, D. C., and was Dean of the Diplomatic
Corps).
PROMINENT FRENCH NEGROES.
Among the blacks who were regarded as heroes: —
Andre, Beaubais, Villatte, Beauregard, Lambert.
12
General Alfred Amedee Dodds is a mulatto. He was born in
1842, at Senegambia, Africa, — educated at St. Cyr, France, and is
regarded by France as one of her greatest generals.
A FEW OF THE EARLIER PROMINENT NEGROES.
Medical Doctors : — Dr. Miller; Dr. Durham, La., Dr. Martin,
R. Delaney, Dr. Augusta, Dr. Tucker, Dr. McCune Smith.
NEGRO GENERALS AND OTHER HIGH OFFICERS.
Toussaint L'Overture, — Dessalines, Christophe Henry Diaz,
Alexandre Dumas, Antonio Maceo, Carlos Emmanuel Piar, (the
hero of San Felix), Jose Maceo, Quinten Bandera, Alphonso
Goulet, Felix Ruen, Jose Rabi, Jean Rabi, Juan Yega, Cetywayo,
Col. Annible, Gen. Menelik, Vincent Oge, Rigaud, Petion, Beaz,
Gen. Hvpolite of Hayti, Ras Makonnen of Abyssinia.
NEGRO ARMY OFFICERS (U. S. A.)
* In the war of 1861-5 the Negroes arose to the following offices: —
Medical Department: Major Martin R. Delaney; Lt. James M.
Trotter; Lt. Wm. H. Dupree; Lt. Charles L. Mitchell; Dr. Au¬
gusta, Surgeon. Chaplains, Chauncy Leonard and William
Warring.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
Col. Marshall, Eighth Illinois Regiment; Col. Young, Third
North Carolina Regiment; a Col. in the Twentieth Kansas; Major
Young, now Captain of the regular army; Major Wright, (U. S.
Vols.) ; Paymaster Major John R. Lynch, U. S. A.; now regular
army. There were ten immune regiments during this war — Six
white regiments and four colored. Chaplain Allenworth has been
retired as Lt.-Col. Chaplain T. G. Steward has been retired as
Captain.
The second lieutenants of the colored companies were Negroes.
After the war, there were two colored regiments that went to the
Philippines, — namely, the 48th and 49th. All company officers
were colored men.
13
NEGROES WHO HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
Mississippi is the only State which has had two United States
Senators. Hiram R. Revels was elected to complete Jeff. Davis*
unexpired term from Feb. 25, 1870, to March 1871.
Blanche K. Bruce from March 4, 1875, to 1881. He was the
only Negro to serve a full term.
P. B. S. Pinchback was elected twice as Senator from Louisiana^
but was never admitted.
The first colored man that ever spoke in the House of Repre¬
sentatives was Rev. H. Highland Garnett. He preached there on
the 12th of February, 1865. The great hall was crowded.
The first colored man to speak in the Senate was Revels. Both
of these men were preachers.
The first colored man who claimed his seat in Congress, was
J. Willis Menard of Louisiana. This was the 40th Congress. He
was not admitted.
Alabama. Benjamin S. Turner, 42nd Congress. James T-
Rapier, 43rd Congress. He also represented the State of Alabama
at the Vienna Exposition, 1873.
Jeremiah Haralson, 44th Congress.
Georgia. Jefferson D. Long took his seat Jan. 16th. Time
expired March 4th of the same year. 41st Congress. 44 days*
service, for which he received $7,500.
Florida. Josiah T. Walls, 42nd-43rd Congress.
Louisiana. Chas. E. Nash, 44th Congress. Mr. Pinchback
elaimed that he was elected to the House of Representatives, but
was not permitted to take his seat. We have been informed that
another black man was elected to Congress from Louisiana, but
died before he took his seat.
Mississippi. John R. Lynch, 43rd—47th Congress.
North Carolina. John A. Hyman, 44th Congress. James E.
O'Hara, 48-49th Congress. H. P. Cheatham, 51st-52nd Congress.
Geo. H. White, the last colored man who sat in Congress,.
55th-56th Congress.
14
South Carolina. Joseph H. Rainey, 41st-42nd-43rd-44th-45th
Congress. Robert C. DeLarge, 42nd Congress. Robert B. Elliot,
42nd-43rd Congress. Richard H. Cain, 43rd-45tk Congress.
Robert Smalls, 44th-45th-47th-48th-49th Congress.
Murray, also served.
Thos E. Miller, 51st Congress.
Virginia. John M. Langston, 51st Congress.
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Louisiana. P. B. S. Pinchback, Oscar J. Dunn, C. C. Antoine.
South Carolina. A. J. Ransier, Richard H. Gleaves.
Mississippi. Alexander Davis.
John S. Rock, of Massachusetts, was the first Negro to be ad¬
mitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States on
the motion of Charles Sumner, Feb. 1st, 1865.
The first Negro lawyers in the country any record was made of,
were : Macon B. Allen, Robert Morris, Massachusetts, and George
B. Vashorn, of New York.
Massachusetts was the first Northern State to elect colored men
to the Legislature; E. G. Walker and Charles Mitchell.
The only colored preacher who did not preach to colored people
was Rev. Lemuel Haynes. He preached in Rutland, Vt., thirty
years.
The only state that ever had a colored man on the Supreme
Court Bench was South Carolina. He was J. J. Wright.
The first Northern State to have a colored judge was Massa¬
chusetts— Judge George L. Ruffin.
The first Negro who was appointed as United States Marshal,
was Hon. Frederick Douglass. He was appointed by President
Hayes in 1877.
15
STATE RIGHTS SUPREME COURT.
I 883.
The decisions of the Supreme Court against the Civil Rights
Bill.
Chief Justice, Morrison R. Waite, Ohio.
Associate Justice, S. J. Field, California.
" " J. M. Harlan, Kentucky. (Harlan dissented
from this decision.)
" " J. P. Bradley, New Jersey.
" " S. F. Miller, Iowa.
" " W. B. Woods, Alabama.
" " S. Matthews, Ohio.
" " Samuel Blatchford, New York.
" " H. Gray, Massachusetts.
THE SLAVE-HOUND COURT.
I 857.
-Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, Maryland.
Associate Justice, James M. Wayne, Georgia.
" " Samuel Nelson, New York.
" " Robert C. Grier, Pennsylvania.
" " P. V. Daniel, Virginia. v
" " J. H. Campbell, Alabama.
" " John Catron, Tennessee.
" " John McLean, Ohio.
" " Benjamin R. Curtis, Massachusetts.
The Judges in the Dred Scott decision :
Benjamin R. Curtis dissented from the deceision of the Court.
This Court was the citadel for slavery.
The American people must redress the injustice they have done
the " Black Battalion." France restored Captain Dreyfus with
a higher rank.
Gen. Fitz-John Porter who was court-martialed in 1862, was
sentenced to be shot; Mr. Lincoln changed it to "dishonorable
-dismissal from the United States Army" for life; but remember,
16
Fitz-John Porter had a fair trial. Fitz-John Porter was restored
after twenty-five years of one of the most bitter fights that ever
took place with any officer of the United States Army.
Generals Joseph Wheeler and Fitz Hugh Lee deserted the
United States Array in 1861 to join the South, to help to overthrow
the very government that had educated them. They both died in
the United States Army as Generals, retired Brigadiers. Now, if
France could redress the wrongs done, and this country was so mag¬
nanimous to traitors and rebels which I am more than happy to see,
I believe it would be a better thing to be just. Let this great
Christian nation of 80 millions of people do justice to the " Black
Battalion. Though the President has called them " cut-throats,"
"brutal murderers," "black midnight assassins and cowards,"—
" the bloody 25th."
What? the Negro soldiers "cut-throats" "brutal murderers,"
"black midnight assassins and cowards?" What? Attucks!
Ask France if Toussaint L'Overture, who drove back the best
soldiers of Napoleon? Ask Perry on Lake Erie. Ask General
Jackson at New Orleans. Ask General B. F. Butler at New
Market Heights. Ask Generals Burnside, Mead and Grant if the
Negro at Petersburg were a coward. Ask Col. Shaw if the 54th
Mass. were cowards at Fort Wagner. Ask General Banks at Port
Hudson, Fort Pillow, Olustee. Ask Farragut in Mobile Bay. Ask
Dewey at Manilla if he were a coward. Ask the world and Spain
if Maceo were a coward, who lost all the male members of his
family fighting for freedom. Last, but not least, ask Germany,
France and England, who were at San Juan Hill, if the 9th and
10th Cavalry, the 24th and 25th Infantry were cowards.
But let the names of these malicious slanderers of these brave
soldiers rest in eternal silence, while we will commit to the keep¬
ing of the muse of history the deeds of bravery, courage and valor
of the NegKrsoldiers of all the ages.
Let no Negro think of voting for any man but the Hon. Joseph
Benson Foraker for the nomination. If he fails to get it, then let
all the Negroes vote for Bishop Turner of the A. M. E. Church.