Chapter VI: Anti-Slavery Efforts of Free Negroes

INTELLIGENT INTEREST OF FREE NEGROES IN THE AGITATION
MOVEMENT.--"FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE OF COLOR" HELD
AT PHILADELPHIA.--REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
A COLLEGE FOR YOUNG MEN OF COLOR.--PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE
APPOINTED IN EACH CITY.--CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.--SECOND CONVENTION
HELD AT BENEZET HALL, PHILADELPHIA.--RESOLUTIONS OF THE
MEETING.--CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.--THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL
COLORED ASSOCIATION.--CONVENTION OF ANTI-SLAVERY WOMEN OF AMERICA
AT NEW YORK.--PREJUDICE AGAINST ADMITTING NEGROES INTO WHITE
SOCIETIES.--COLORED ORATORS.--THEIR ELOQUENT PLEAS FOR THEIR
ENSLAVED RACE.

The free Negroes throughout the Northern States were not passive during the agitation movement. They took a lively interest in the cause that had for its ultimate end the freedom of the slave. They did not comfort themselves with the consciousness that _they_ were free; but thought of _their brethren_ who were bound, and sympathized with them.

"_The First Annual Convention of the People of Color_" was held in Philadelphia from the 6th to the 11th of June, 1831. Its sessions were held "in the brick Wesleyan Church, Lombard Street," "pursuant to public notice, ... signed by Dr. Belfast Burton and William Whipper." The following delegates were present:

_Philadelphia_--John Bowers, Dr. Belfast Burton, James Cornish,
Junius C. Morel, William Whipper.

_New York_--Rev. Wm. Miller, Henry Sipkins, Thos. L. Jennings,
Wm. Hamilton, James Pennington.

_Maryland_--Rev. Abner Coker, Robert Cowley.

_Delaware_--Abraham D. Shad, Rev. Peter Gardiner.

_Virginia_--Wm. Duncan.

The following officers were chosen:

_President_--John Bowers.

_Vice-Presidents_--Abraham D. Shad, William Duncan.

_Secretary_--William Whipper.

_Assistant Secretary_--Thos. L. Jennings.

The first concern of this convention was the condition of that class which it directly represented--the "free persons of color" in the United States. A committee, consisting of Messrs. Morel, Shad, Duncan, Cowley, Sipkins, and Jennings, made the following report on the condition of the free persons of color in the United States:

"_Brethren and Fellow-Citizens:_

"We, the Committee of Inquiry, would suggest to the Convention
the propriety of adopting the following resolutions, viz.:

"_Resolved_, That, in the opinion of this Convention, it is
highly necessary that the different societies engaged in the
_Canadian Settlement_ be earnestly requested to persevere in
their praiseworthy and philanthropic undertaking; firmly
believing that, at a future period, their labors will be crowned
with success.

"The Committee would also recommend this Convention to call on
the free people of color to assemble _annually_ by delegation at
such place as may be designated as suitable.

"They would also respectfully submit to your wisdom the necessity
of your deliberate reflection on the dissolute, intemperate, and
ignorant condition of a large portion of the colored population
of the United States. They would not, however, refer to their
unfortunate circumstances to add degradation to objects already
degraded and miserable; nor, with some others, improperly class
the virtuous of our color with the abandoned, but with the most
sympathizing and heartfelt commiseration, show our sense of
obligation as the true guardians of our interests, by giving
wholesome advice and good counsel.

"The Committee consider it as highly important that the
Convention recommend the necessity of creating a general fund, to
be denominated the CONVENTIONAL FUND, for the purpose of
advancing the objects of this and future conventions, as the
public good may require.

"They would further recommend, that the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution of the United Stales be read in
our Conventions; believing, that the truths contained in the
former are incontrovertible, and that the latter guarantees in
letter and spirit to every freeman born in this country, all the
rights and immunities of citizenship.

"Your Committee with regret have witnessed the many oppressive,
unjust, and unconstitutional laws which have been enacted in the
different parts of the Union against the free people of color,
and they would call upon this Convention, as possessing the
rights of freemen, to recommend to the people, through their
delegation, the propriety of memorializing the proper
authorities, whenever they may feel themselves aggrieved, or
their rights invaded, by any cruel or oppressive laws.

"And your Committee would further report, that, in their opinion,
_Education_, _Temperance_, and _Economy_ are best calculated to
promote the elevation of mankind to a proper rank and standing
among men, as they enable him to discharge all those duties
enjoined on him by his Creator. We would, therefore, respectfully
request an early attention to those virtues among our brethren
who have a desire to be useful.

"And lastly, your Committee view with unfeigned regret, and
respectfully submit to the wisdom of this Convention, the
operations and misrepresentations of the American Colonization
Society in these United States.

"We feel sorrowful to see such an immense and wanton waste of
lives and property, not doubting the benevolent feelings of some
individuals engaged in that cause. But we cannot for a moment
doubt, but that the cause of many of our unconstitutional,
unchristian, and unheard-of sufferings emanate from that
unhallowed source; and we would call on Christians of every
denomination firmly to resist it."[28]

The convention was in session for several days. It attracted public attention on account of the intelligence, order, and excellent judgment which prevailed. It deeply touched the young white men who had, but a few months previous, enlisted under the broad banner Wm. Lloyd Garrison had given to the breeze. They called to see Colored men conduct a convention. The Rev. S. S. Jocelyn, of New Haven, Connecticut; Arthur Tappan, of New York; Benjamin Lundy, of Washington, D. C.; William Lloyd Garrison, of Boston, Massachusetts; Thomas Shipley and Charles Pierce, of Philadelphia, visited the convention and were cordially received. Messrs. Jocelyn, Tappan, and Garrison were invited to address the convention. They delivered stirring addresses, and especially urged the necessity of establishing a college for the education of "Young Men of Color." At the suggestion of the speaker the convention appointed a committee with whom the speaker conferred. The report of the committee was as follows:

"That a plan had been submitted to them by the above-named
gentlemen, for the liberal education of Young Men of Color, on
the Manual-Labor System, all of which they respectfully submit to
the consideration of the Convention, are as follow:

"The plan proposed is, that a College be established at New
Haven, Conn., as soon as $20,000 are obtained, and to be on the
Manual-Labor System, by which, in connection with a scientific
education, they may also obtain a useful Mechanical or
Agricultural profession; and (they further report, having
received information) that a benevolent individual has offered to
subscribe one thousand dollars toward this object, provided that
a farther sum of nineteen thousand dollars can be obtained in one
year.

"After an interesting discussion, the above report was
unanimously adopted; one of the inquiries by the Convention was
in regard to the place of location. On interrogating the
gentlemen why New Haven should be the place of location, they
gave the following as their reasons:--

"1st. The site is healthy and beautiful.

"2d. Its inhabitants are friendly, pious, generous, and humane.

"3d. Its laws are salutary and protecting to all, without regard
to complexion.

"4th. Boarding is cheap and provisions are good.

"5th. The situation is as central as any other that can be
obtained with the same advantages.

"6th. The town of New Haven carries on an extensive West India
trade, and many of the wealthy colored residents in the Islands,
would, no doubt, send their sons there to be educated, and thus a
fresh tie of friendship would be formed, which might be
productive of much real good in the end.

"And last, though not the least, the literary and scientific
character of New Haven, renders it a very desirable place for the
location of the college."

The report of the Committee was received and adopted. The Rev. Samuel E. Cornish was appointed general agent to solicit funds, and Arthur Tappan was selected as treasurer. A Provisional Committee was appointed in each city, as follows:

"_Boston_--Rev. Hosea Easton, Robert Roberts, James G. Barbadoes,
and Rev. Samuel Snowden.

"_New York_--Rev. Peter Williams, Boston Cromwell, Philip Bell,
Thomas Downing, Peter Voglesang.

"_Philadelphia_--Joseph Cassey, Robert Douglass, Sr., James
Forten, Richard Howell, Robert Purvis.

"_Baltimore_--Thomas Green, James P. Walker, Samuel G. Mathews,
Isaac Whipper, Samuel Hiner.

"_New Haven_--Biars Stanley, John Creed, Alexander C. Luca.

"_Brooklyn, L. I._--Jacob Deyes, Henry Thomson, Willis Jones.

"_Wilmington, Del._--Rev. Peter Spencer, Jacob Morgan, William S.
Thomas.

"_Albany_--Benjamin Latimore, Captain Schuyler, Captain Francis
March.

"_Washington, D. C._--William Jackson, Arthur Waring, Isaac
Carey.

"_Lancaster, Pa._--Charles Butler and Jared Grey.

"_Carlisle, Pa._--John Peck and Rowland G. Roberts.

"_Chambersburg, Pa._--Dennis Berry.

"_Pittsburgh_--John B. Vashon, Lewis Gardiner, Abraham Lewis.

"_Newark, N. J._--Peter Petitt, Charles Anderson, Adam Ray.

"_Trenton_--Samson Peters, Leonard Scott."

The proceedings of the convention were characterized by a deep solemnity and a lively sense of the gravity of the situation. The delegates were of the ablest Colored men in the country, and were conversant with the wants of their people. The subjoined address shows that the committee that prepared it had a thorough knowledge of the public sentiment of America on the subject of race prejudice.

"CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.

"_Respected Brethren and Fellow-Citizens:_

* * * * *

"Our attention has been called to investigate the political
standing of our brethren wherever dispersed, but more
particularly the situation of those in this great Republic.

"Abroad, we have been cheered with pleasant views of humanity,
and the steady, firm, and uncompromising march of equal liberty
to the human family. Despotism, tyranny, and injustice have had
to retreat, in order to make way for the unalienable rights of
man. Truth has conquered prejudice, and mankind are about to rise
in the majesty and splendor of their native dignity.

"The cause of general emancipation is gaining powerful and able
friends abroad. Britain and Denmark have performed such deeds as
will immortalize them for their humanity, in the breasts of the
philanthropists of the present day; whilst, as a just tribute to
their virtues, after-ages will yet erect unperishable monuments
to their memory. (Would to God we could say thus of our own
native soil!)

"And it is only when we look to our own native land, to the
birthplace of our _fathers_, to the land for whose prosperity
their blood and our sweat have been shed and cruelly extorted,
that the Convention has had cause to hang its head and blush.
Laws, as cruel in themselves as they were unconstitutional and
unjust, have in many places been enacted against our poor
unfriended and unoffending brethren; laws, (without a shadow of
provocation on our part,) at whose bare recital the very savage
draws him up for fear of the contagion,--looks noble, and prides
himself because he bears not the name of a Christian.

"But the Convention would not wish to dwell long on this subject,
as it is one that is too sensibly felt to need description.

"We would wish to turn you from this scene with an eye of pity,
and a breast glowing with mercy, praying that the recording angel
may drop a tear, which shall obliterate forever the remembrance
of so foul a stain upon the national escutcheon of this great
Republic.

"This spirit of persecution was the cause of our Convention. It
was that first induced us to seek an asylum in the Canadas; and
the Convention feels happy to report to its brethren, that our
efforts to establish a settlement in that province have not been
made in vain. Our prospects are cheering; our friends and funds
are daily increasing; wonders have been performed far exceeding
our most sanguine expectations; already have our brethren
purchased eight hundred acres of land--and two thousand of them
have left the soil of their birth, crossed the lines, and laid
the foundation for a structure which promises to prove an asylum
for the colored population of these United States. They have
erected two hundred log-houses, and have five hundred acres under
cultivation.

"And now it is to your fostering care the Convention appeals, and
we appeal to you as to men and brethren, yet to enlarge their
borders.

"We therefore ask of you, brethren,--we ask of you,
philanthropists of every color and of every kindred,--to assist
us in this undertaking. We look to a kind Providence and to you
to say whether our desires shall be realized and our labors
crowned with success.

"The Convention has done its duty, and it now remains for you,
brethren, to do yours. Various obstacles have been thrown in our
way by those opposed to the elevation of the human species; but,
thanks to an all-wise Providence, his goodness has as yet cleared
the way, and our advance has been slow but steady. The only thing
now wanted, is an accumulation of funds, in order to enable us to
make a purchase agreeable to the direction of the first
Convention; and, to effect that purpose, the Convention has
recommended, to the different Societies engaged in that cause, to
preserve and prosecute their designs with double energy; and we
would earnestly recommend to every colored man (who feels the
weight of his degradation), to consider himself in duty bound to
contribute his mite toward this great object. We would say to
all, that the prosperity of the rising generation mainly depends
upon our active exertions.

"Yes, it is with us to say whether they shall assume a rank and
standing among the nations of the earth, as men and freemen, or
whether they shall still be prized and held at market-price. Oh,
then, by a brother's love, and by all that makes man dear to man,
awake in time! Be wise! Be free! Endeavor to walk with
circumspection; be obedient to the laws of our common country;
honor and respect its lawmakers and law-givers; and, through all,
let us not forget to respect ourselves.

"During the deliberations of this Convention, we had the favor of
advising and consulting with some of our most eminent and tried
philanthropists--men of unblemished character and of acknowledged
rank and standing. Our sufferings have excited their sympathy;
our ignorance appealed to their humanity; and, brethren, we feel
that gratitude is due to a kind and benevolent Creator, that our
excitement and appeal have neither been in vain. A plan has been
proposed to the Convention for the erection of a college for the
instruction of young men of color, on the manual-labor system, by
which the children of the poor may receive a regular classical
education, as well as those of their more opulent brethren, and
the charge will be so regulated as to put it within the reach of
all. In support of this plan, a benevolent individual has offered
the sum of one thousand dollars, provided that we can obtain
subscriptions to the amount of nineteen thousand dollars in one
year.

"The Convention has viewed the plan with considerable interest,
and, after mature deliberation, on a candid investigation, feels
strictly justified in recommending the same to the liberal
patronage of our brethren, and respectfully solicits the aid of
those philanthropists who feel an interest in sending light,
knowledge, and truth to all of the human species.

"To the friends of general education, we do believe that our
appeal will not be in vain. For the present ignorant and degraded
condition of many of our brethren in these United States (which
has been a subject of much concern to the Convention) can excite
no astonishment (although used by our enemies to show our
inferiority in the scale of human beings); for, what
opportunities have they possessed for mental cultivation or
improvement? Mere ignorance, however, in a people divested of the
means of acquiring information by books, or an extensive
connection with the world, is no just criterion of their
intellectual incapacity; and it had been actually seen, in
various remarkable instances, that the degradation of the mind
and character, which has been too hastily imputed to a people
kept, as we are, at a distance from those sources of knowledge
which abound in civilized and enlightened communities, has
resulted from no other causes than our unhappy situation and
circumstances.

"True philanthropy disdains to adopt those prejudices against any
people which have no better foundation than accidental
diversities of color, and refuses to determine without
substantial evidence and incontestible fact as the basis of her
judgment. And it is in order to remove these prejudices, which
are the actual causes of our ignorance, that we have appealed to
our friends in support of the contemplated institution.

"The Convention has not been unmindful of the operations of the
American Colonization Society, and it would respectfully suggest
to that august body of learning, talent, and worth, that, in our
humble opinion, strengthened, too, by the opinions of eminent men
in this country, as well as in Europe, that they are pursuing the
direct road to perpetuate slavery, with all its unchristianlike
concomitants, in this boasted land of freedom; and, as citizens
and men whose best blood is sapped to gain popularity for that
institution, we would, in the most feeling manner, beg of them to
desist; or, if we must be sacrificed to their philanthropy, we
would rather die at home. Many of our fathers, and some of us,
have fought and bled for the liberty, independence, and peace
which you now enjoy; and, surely, it would be ungenerous and
unfeeling in you to deny us an humble and quiet grave in that
country which gave us birth!

"In conclusion, the Convention would remind our brethren that
knowledge is power, and to that end, we call on you to sustain
and support, by all honorable, energetic, and necessary means,
those presses which are devoted to our instruction and elevation,
to foster and encourage the mechanical arts and sciences among
our brethren, to encourage simplicity, neatness, temperance, and
economy in our habits, taking due care always to give the
preference to the production of freemen wherever it can be had.
Of the utility of a General Fund, the Convention believes there
can exist but one sentiment, and that is for a speedy
establishment of the same. Finally, we trust our brethren will
pay due care to take such measures as will ensure a general and
equal representation in the next Convention

[Signed] "BELFAST BURTON,
"JUNIUS C. MOREL,
"WILLIAM WHIPPER,
"_Publishing Committee_."

Encouraged by the good results that followed the first convention, another one was called, and assembled in Philadelphia, at Benezet Hall, Seventh Street, June 4, 1832. The following delegates were admitted to seats in the convention:

PENNSYLVANIA.

_Pittsburgh_--John B. Vashon.

_Philadelphia_--John Bowers, William Whipper, J. C. Morel,
Benjamin Paschal, F. A. Hinton.

_Carlisle_--John Peck.

_Lewistown, Miffin County_--Samuel Johnson.

NEW YORK.

_New York City_--William Hamilton, Thomas L. Jennings, Henry
Sipkins, Philip A. Bell.

_Brooklyn_--James Pennington.

DELAWARE.

_Wilmington_--Joseph Burton, Jacob Morgan, Abm. D. Shad, William
Johnson, Peter Gardiner.

MARYLAND.

_Baltimore_--Samuel Elliott, Robert Cowley, Samuel Hiner.

NEW JERSEY.

_Gloucester_--Thomas D. Coxsin, Thomas Banks.

_Trenton_--Aaron Roberts.

MASSACHUSETTS.

_Boston_--Hosea Easton.

_New Bedford_--Nathan Johnson.

CONNECTICUT.

_Hartford_--Paul Drayton.

_New Haven_--Scipio C. Augustus.

RHODE ISLAND.

_Providence_--Ichabod Northrop.

On the following day the convention adjourned to the "First African Presbyterian Church." The following report was adopted:

"_Resolved_, That in the opinion of this Committee, the plan
suggested by the first General Convention, of purchasing land or
lands in Upper Canada, for the avowed object of forming a
settlement in that province, for such colored persons as may
choose to emigrate there, still merits and deserves our united
support and exertions; and further, that the appearances of the
times, in this our native land, demand an immediate action on
that subject. Adopted.

"_Resolved_, That in the opinion of this committee, we still
solemnly and sincerely protest against any interference, on the
part of the American Colonization Society, with the free colored
population in these United States, so long as they shall
countenance or endeavor to use coercive measures (either directly
or indirectly) to colonize us in any place which is not the
object of our choice. And we ask of them respectfully, as men and
as Christians, to cease their unhallowed persecutions of a
people already sufficiently oppressed, or if, as they profess to
have our welfare and prosperity at heart, to assist us in the
object of our choice.

"_Resolved_, That this committee would recommend to the members
of this Convention, to discountenance, by all just means in their
power, any emigration to Liberia or Hayti, believing them only
calculated to distract and divide the whole colored family."

In accordance with a resolution of the previous day the Rev. R. R. Gurley, Secretary of the American Colonization Society, was invited to address the convention. He endeavored to offer an acceptable explanation of the Society, and to advocate its principles. But the Colored people, almost to a man, were opposed to colonization; and most of the anti-slavery societies regarded colonization as impracticable and hurtful to the cause of emancipation. William Lloyd Garrison happened to be present, and followed Gurley in a speech that destroyed the hopes of the friends of colonization, and greatly delighted the convention.

While the Colored people opposed colonization they regarded Canada as a proper place to go. They felt that as citizens they had the right to decide where to go, and, when they got ready, to go on their own account. Canada had furnished an asylum to their flying, travel-soiled, foot-sore, and needy brethren,--was not so very far away, and, therefore, it was preferred to the West Coast of Africa. The committee having under consideration this subject, made the following comprehensive report:

"_Resolved_, That the members of this Convention take into
consideration the propriety of effecting the purchase of lands in
the province of Upper Canada, as an asylum for those of our
bretheren who may be compelled to remove from these United
States, beg leave, most respectfully to report:

"That, after due consideration, they believe the resolution
embraces three distinct inquiries for the consideration of this
Convention, which should be duly weighed before they can adopt
the sentiments contained in the above-named resolution.
Therefore, your Committee conceive the resolution premature, and
now proceed to state the enquiries separately.

"_First._--Is it proper for the Free people of color in this
country, under existing circumstances, to remove to any distant
territory beyond these United States?

"_Secondly._--Does Upper Canada possess superior advantages and
conveniences to those held out in these United States or
elsewhere?

"_Thirdly._--Is there any certainty that the people of color will
be compelled by oppressive legislative enactments to abandon the
land of their birth for a home in a distant region?

"Your Committee, before examining those enquiries, would most
respectfully take a retrospective view of the object for which
the Convention was first associated, and the causes which have
actuated their deliberations.

"The expulsory laws of Ohio, in 1829, which drove our people to
seek a new home in Upper Canada, and their impoverished situation
afterward, excited a general burst of sympathy for their
situation, by the wise and good, over the whole country. This
awakened public feeling on their behalf, and numerous meetings
were called to raise funds to alleviate their present miseries.
The bright prospects that then appeared to dawn on the new
settlement, awakened our people to the precariousness of their
situations, and, in order more fully to be prepared for future
exigencies, and to extend the system of benevolence still further
to those who should remove to Upper Canada, a circular was issued
by five individuals, viz.:--the Rev. Richard Allen, Cyrus Black,
Junius C. Morel, Benjamin Pascal, and James C. Cornish, in behalf
of the citizens of Philadelphia, calling a convention of the
colored delegates from the several States, to meet on the 20th
day of September, 1830, to devise plans and means for the
establishment of a colony in Upper Canada, under the patronage of
the general Convention, then called.

"That Convention met, pursuant to public notice, and recommended
the formation of a parent society, to be established, with
auxiliaries in the different towns where they had been
represented in _general_ convention, for the purpose of raising
moneys to defray the object of purchasing a colony in the
province of Upper Canada, for those who should hereafter wish to
emigrate thither, and that immediately after its organization, a
corresponding agent should be appointed to reside at or near the
intended purchase.

"Our then limited knowledge of the manners, customs, and
privileges, and rights of aliens in Upper Canada, together with
the climate, soil, and productions thereof, rendered it necessary
to send out agents to examine the same, who returned with a
favorable report, except that citizens of these United States
could not purchase lands in Upper Canada, and legally transfer
the same to other individuals.

"The Convention resolved to reassemble on the first Monday in
June, 1831, during which time the order of the Convention had
been carried into operation, relative to establishing Societies
for the promotion of said object; and the sum and total of their
proceedings were, that the Convention recommended to the colored
people generally, when persecuted as were our brethren in Ohio,
to seek an Asylum in Upper Canada. During which time,
information having been received that a part of the white
inhabitants of said province had, through prejudice and the fear
of being overburthened with an ejected population, petitioned the
provincial parliament to prohibit the general influx of colored
population from entering their limits, which threw some
consternation on the prospect. The Convention did not wholly
abandon the subject, but turned its attention more to the
elevation of our people in this, our native home.

"The recent occurrences at the South have swelled the tide of
prejudice until it has almost revolutionized public sentiment,
which has given birth to severe legislative enactments in some of
the States, and almost ruined our interests and prospects in
others, in which, in the opinion of your Committee, our situation
is more precarious than it has been at any other period since the
Declaration of Independence.

"The events of the past year have been more fruitful in
persecution, and have presented more inducements than any other
period of the history of our country, for the men of color to fly
from the graves of their fathers, and seek new homes in a land
where the roaring billows of prejudice are less injurious to
their rights and privileges.

"Your Committee would now approach the present Convention and
examine the resolution under consideration, beginning with the
first interrogatory, viz.: Is it proper for the Free people of
color in this country, under existing circumstances, to remove to
any distant territory beyond the United States?

"If we admit the first interrogatory to be true, as it is the
exact spirit of the language of this resolution, now under
consideration, it is altogether unnecessary for us to make
further preparation for either our moral, intellectual, or
political advancement in this our own, our native land.

"Your Committee also believe that if this Convention shall adopt
a resolution that will, as soon as means can be obtained, remove
our colored population to the province of Upper Canada, the best
and brightest prospect of the philanthropists who are laboring
for our elevation in this country will be thwarted, and they will
be brought to the conclusion that the great object which actuated
their labors would now be removed, and they might now rest from
their labors and have the painful feeling of transmitting to
future generations, that an oppressed people, in the land of
their birth, supported by the genuine philanthropists of the age,
amidsts friends, companions, and their natural attachments, a
genial clime, a fruitful soil,--amidst the rays of as proud
institutions as ever graced the most favored spot that has ever
received the glorious rays of a meridian sun,--have abandoned
their homes on account of their persecutions, for a home almost
similarly precarious, for an abiding-place among strangers!

"Your Committee further believe that any express plan to colonize
our people beyond the limits of these United States, tends to
weaken the situation of those who are left behind, without any
peculiar advantage to those who emigrate. But it must be
admitted, that the rigid oppression abroad in the land is such,
that a _part_ of our suffering brethren cannot live under it, and
that the compulsory laws and the inducements held out by the
American Colonization Society are such as will cause them to
alienate all their natural attachments to their homes, and accept
of the only mode left open, which is to remove to a distant
Country to receive those rights and privileges of which they have
been deprived. And as this Convention is associated for the
purpose of recommending to our people the best mode of
alleviating their present miseries,

"Therefore, your Committee would, most respectfully, recommend to
the general Convention, now assembled, to exercise the most
vigorous means to collect monies through their auxiliaries, or
otherwise, to be applied in such manner, as will advance the
interests, and contribute to the wants of the free colored
population of this country generally.

"Your Committee would now most respectfully approach the _second
inquiry_, viz.:--Does Upper Canada possess superior advantages
and conveniences to those held out in the United States or
elsewhere?

"Your Committee, without summing up the advantages and
disadvantages of other situations, would, most respectfully
answer in the affirmative. At least they are willing to assert
that the advantage is much in favor of those who are obliged to
leave their present homes. For your more particular information
on that subject we would, most respectfully, refer you to the
interesting account given by our real and indefatigable friend,
Benjamin Lundy, in a late number of the "Genius of Universal
Emancipation." _Vide_ "Genius of Universal Emancipation," No. 10,
vol. 12.

"From the history there laid down, your Committee would, most
respectfully, request the Convention to aid, so far as in their
power lies, those who are obliged to seek an asylum in the
province of Upper Canada; and, in order that they may more
effectually carry their views into operation, they would
respectfully request them to appoint an Agent in Upper Canada, to
receive such funds as may be there transmitted for their use.

"Your Committee have now arrived at the _third_ and last inquiry,
viz.:--Is there any certainty that we, as a people, will be
compelled to leave this our native land, for a home in a distant
region? To this inquiry your Committee are unable to answer; it
belongs to the fruitful events of time to determine. The mistaken
policy of some of the friends of our improvement, that the same
could be effected on the shore of Africa, has raised the tide of
our calamity until it has overflowed the valleys of peace and
tranquillity--the dark clouds of prejudice have rained
persecution--the oppressor and the oppressed have suffered
together--and we have yet been protected by that Almighty arm,
who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, and whose
presence is a royal safeguard, should we place the utmost
reliance on his wisdom and power.

"Your Committee, while they rejoice at the noble object for which
the Convention was first associated, have been unable to come to
any conclusive evidence that lands can be purchased by this
Convention and legally transferred to individuals, residents of
said colony, so long as the present laws exist. But, while they
deem it inexpedient for the Convention to purchase lands in Upper
Canada for the purpose of erecting a colony thereon, do again,
most respectfully, hope that they will exercise the same laudable
exertions to collect funds for the comfort and happiness of our
people there situated, and those who may hereafter emigrate, and
pursue the same judicious measures in the appropriation of said
funds, as they would in procuring a tract of land, as expressed
by the resolution.

"Your Committee, after examining the various circumstances
connected with our situation as a people, have come, unanimously,
to the conclusion to recommend to this Convention to adopt the
following resolution, as the best mode of alleviating the
miseries of our oppressed brethren:

"_Resolved_, That this Convention recommend the establishment of
a Society, or Agent, in Upper Canada, for the purpose of
purchasing lands and contributing to the wants of our people
generally, who may be, by oppressive legislative enactments,
obliged to flee from these United States and take up residence
within her borders. And that this Convention will employ its
auxiliary societies, and such other means as may lie in its
power, for the purpose of raising monies, and remit the same for
the purpose of aiding the proposed object.

[Signed] "ROBERT COWLEY, }
"JOHN PECK, } _Committee._"
"WM. HAMILTON, }
"WM. WHIPPER, }
"BENJ. PASCHAL, }
"THOS. D. COXSIN, }
"J. C. MOREL, }

This convention's work was carefully done, its plans were laid upon a broader scale, and the Colored people, beholding its proceedings, took heart, and went forward with zeal and courage seeking to increase their intelligence and wealth, and improve their social condition. In their address the convention did not fail to give the Colonization Society a parting shot.

"CONVENTIONAL ADDRESS.

"_To the Free Colored Inhabitants of these United States_:

"FELLOW-CITIZENS: We have again been permitted to associate in
our representative character, from the different sections of this
Union, to pour into one common stream, the afflictions, the
prayers, and sympathies of our oppressed people; the axis of time
has brought around this glorious, annual event. And we are again
brought to rejoice that the wisdom of Divine Providence has
protected us during a year whose autumnal harvest has been a
reign of terror and persecution, and whose winter has almost
frozen the streams of humanity by its frigid legislation. It is
under the influence of times and feelings like these, that we now
address you. Of a people situated as we are, little can be said,
except that it becomes our duty strictly to watch those causes
that operate against our interests and privileges; and to guard
against whatever measures that will either lower us in the scale
of being, or perpetuate our degradation in the eyes of the
civilized world.

"The effects of Slavery on the bond and Colonization on the free.
Of the first we shall say but little, but will here repeat the
language of a high-minded Virginian in the Legislature of that
State, on the recent discussion of the slave question before that
honorable body, who declared, that man could not hold property in
man, and that the master held no right to the slave, either by a
law of nature or a patentee from God, but by the will of society;
which we declare to be an unjust usurpation of the rights and
privileges of men.

"But how beautiful must the prospect be to the philanthropist, to
view us, the children of persecution, grown to manhood,
associating in our delegated character to devise plans and means
for our moral elevation, and attracting the attention of the wise
and good over the whole country, who are anxiously watching our
deliberations.

"We have here to inform you, that we have patiently listened to
the able and eloquent arguments produced by the Rev. R. R.
Gurley, Secretary of the American Colonization Society, in behalf
of the doings of said Society, and Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Esq., in
opposition to its action.

"A more favorable opportunity to arrive at truth seldom has been
witnessed, but while we admire the distinguished piety and
Christian feelings with which he so solemnly portrayed the
doctrines of that institution, we do now _assert_, that the
result of the same has tended more deeply to rivet our solid
conviction, that the doctrines of said Society are at enmity with
the principles and precepts of religion, humanity, and justice,
and should be regarded by every man of color in these United
States as an evil, for magnitude, unexcelled, and whose doctrines
aim at the entire extinction of the free colored population and
the riveting of slavery.

"We might here repeat our protest against that institution, but
it is unnecessary; your views and sentiments have long since gone
to the world; the wings of the wind have borne your
disapprobation to that institution. Time itself cannot erase it.
You have dated your opposition from its beginning, and your views
are strengthened by time and circumstances, and they hold the
uppermost seat in your affections. We have not been unmindful of
the compulsory laws which caused our brethren in Ohio to seek new
homes in a distant land, there to share and suffer all the
inconveniences of exiles in an uncultivated region; which has led
us to admire the benevolent feelings of a rival government in its
liberal protection to strangers; which has induced us to
recommend to you, to exercise your best endeavors, to collect
monies to secure the purchase of lands in the Canadas, for those
who may by oppressive legislative enactments be obliged to move
thither.

"In contributing to our brethren that aid which will secure them
a refuge in a storm, we would not wish to be understood as
possessing any inclination to remove, nor in the least to
impoverish, that noble sentiment which we rejoice in exclaiming--

"This is _our_ own,
Our native land.

"All that we have done, humanity dictated it; neither inclination
nor alienated feelings to our country prescribed it, but that
power which is above all other considerations, viz.: the law of
necessity.

"We yet anticipate in the moral strength of this nation, a final
redemption from those evils that have been illegitimately
entailed on us as a people. We yet expect, by due exertions on
our part, together with the aid of the benevolent philanthropists
of our country, to acquire a moral and intellectual strength that
will unshaft the calumnious darts of our adversaries, and present
to the world a general character that they will feel bound to
respect and admire.

"It will be seen by a reference to our proceedings, that we have
again recommended the further prosecution of the contemplated
college, proposed by the last Convention, to be established at
New Haven, under the rules and regulations then established. A
place for its location will be selected in a climate and
neighborhood where the inhabitants are less prejudiced to our
rights and privileges. The proceedings of the citizens of New
Haven, with regard to the erection of the college, were a
disgrace to them, and cast a stigma on the reputed fame of New
England and the country. We are unwilling that the character of
the whole country should sink by the proceedings of a few. We are
determined to present to another portion of the country not far
distant, and at no very remote period, the opportunity of
gaining for them the character of a truly philanthropic spirit,
and of retrieving the character of the country, by the
disreputable proceedings of New Haven. We must have colleges and
high-schools on the manual-labor system, where our youth may be
instructed in all the arts of civilized life. If we ever expect
to see the influence of prejudice decrease, and ourselves
respected, it must be by the blessings of an enlightened
education. It must be by being in possession of that classical
knowledge which promotes genius, and causes man to soar up to
those high intellectual enjoyments and acquirements, which place
him in a situation to shed upon a country and a people that
scientific grandeur which is imperishable by time, and drowns in
oblivion's cup their moral degradation. Those who think that our
primary schools are capable of effecting this, are a century
behind the age when to have proved a question in the rule of
three was considered a higher attainment than solving the most
difficult problem in Euclid is now. They might have at that time
performed what some people expect of them now, in the then barren
state of science; but they are now no longer capable of
reflecting brilliancy on our national character, which will
elevate us from our present situation. If we wish to be
respected, we must build our moral character on a base as broad
and high as the nation itself; our country and our character
require it; we have performed all the duties from the menial to
the soldier,--our fathers shed their blood in the great struggle
for independence. In the late war between Great Britain and the
United States, a proclamation was issued to the free colored
inhabitants of Louisiana, September 21, 1814, inviting them to
take up arms in defence of their country, by Gen. Andrew Jackson.
And in order that you may have an idea of the manner in which
they acquitted themselves on that perilous occasion, we will
refer you to the proclamation of Thomas Butler, Aid-de-Camp.

"You there see that your country expects much from you, and that
you have much to call you into action, morally, religiously, and
scientifically. Prepare yourselves to occupy the several stations
to which the wisdom of your country may promote you. We have been
told in this Convention, by the Secretary of the American
Colonization Society, that there are causes which forbid our
advancement in this country, which no humanity, no legislation,
and no religion can control. Believe it not. Is not humanity
susceptible of all the tender feelings of benevolence? Is not
legislation supreme--and is not religion virtuous? Our oppressed
situation arises from their opposite causes. There is an
awakening spirit in our people to promote their elevation, which
speaks volumes in their behalf. We anticipated at the close of
the last Convention, a larger representation and an increased
number of delegates; we were not deceived, the number has been
tenfold. And we have a right to expect that future Conventions
will be increased by a geometrical ratio, until we shall present
a body not inferior in numbers to our State Legislatures, and the
_phenomenon_ of an _oppressed people_, deprived of the rights of
citizenship, in the midst of an enlightened nation, devising
plans and measures for their personal and mental elevation, by
_moral suasion alone_.

"In recommending you a path to pursue for our present good and
future elevation, we have taken into consideration the
circumstances of the free colored population, so far as it was
possible to ascertain their views and sentiments, hoping that at
a future Convention, you will all come ably represented, and that
your wishes and views may receive that deliberation and attention
for which this body is particularly associated.

"Finally, before taking our leave, we would admonish you, by all
that you hold dear, beware of that bewitching evil, that bane of
society, that curse of the world, that fell destroyer of the best
prospects and the last hope of civilized man,--INTEMPERANCE.

"Be righteous, be honest, be just, be economical, be prudent,
offend not the laws of your country,--in a word, live in that
purity of life, by both precept and example,--live in the
constant pursuit of that moral and intellectual strength which
will invigorate your understandings and render you illustrious in
the eyes of civilized nations, when they will assert that all
that illustrious worth which was once possessed by the Egyptians,
and slept for ages, has now arisen in their descendents, the
inhabitants of the New World."

Excellent as was the work of these conventions of men of color, they nevertheless became the magazines from which the pro-slavery element secured dangerous ammunition with which to attack the anti-slavery movement. The white anti-slavery societies were charged with harboring a spirit of race prejudice; with inconsistency, in that while seeking freedom for the Negro by means of agitation, separate efforts were put forth by the white and black anti-slavery people of the North. And this had its due effect. Massachusetts and other States had abolition societies composed entirely of persons of Color. "_The Massachusetts General Colored Association_" organized in the early days of the agitation movement. It had among its leading men the most intelligent and public-spirited Colored citizens of Boston. James G. Barbadoes, Coffin Pitts, John E. Scarlett, the Eastons, Hosea and Joshua; Wm. C. Nell, Thomas Cole, Thomas Dalton, Frederick Brimley, Walker Lewis, and John T. Hilton were a few of "the faithful." In January, 1833, the following communication was sent to the white anti-slavery society of New England.

"BOSTON, January 15, 1833.

"_To the Board of Managers of the New-England Anti-Slavery
Society_:

"The Massachusetts General Colored Association, cordially
approving the objects and principles of the New-England
Anti-Slavery Society, would respectfully communicate their desire
to become auxiliary thereto. They have accordingly chosen one of
their members to attend the annual meeting of the Society as
their delegate (Mr. JOSHUA EASTON, of North Bridgewater), and
solicit his acceptance in that capacity.

"THOMAS DALTON, _President_,
"WILLIAM C. NELL, _Vice-President_.

"JAMES G. BARBADOES, _Secretary_."

The request was granted, but a few hints among friends on the outside sufficed to demonstrate the folly and hurtfulness of anti-slavery societies composed exclusively of men of color. Within the next two years Colored organizations perished, and their members took their place in the white societies. Such Colored men as John B. Vashon and Robert Purvis, of Pennsylvania; David Ruggles and Philip A. Bell, of New York; and Charles Lenox Remond and Wm. Wells Brown, of Massachusetts, were soon seen as orators and presiding officers, in the different anti-slavery societies of the free States. Frederick Douglass, the Rev. Samuel Ringgold Ward, James McCune Smith, M.D.; James W. C. Pennington, D.D.; Henry Highland Garnett, D.D.; Alexander Crummell, D.D.; and other Colored men were eloquent, earnest, and effective in their denunciation of the institution that enslaved their brethren. In England and in Europe a corps of intelligent Colored orators was kept busy painting, to interested audiences, the cruelties and iniquities of American slavery. By association and sympathy these Colored orators took on the polish of Anglo-Saxon scholarship. Of the influence of the American Anti-slavery Society upon the Colored man, Maria Weston Chapman once said, it is "church and university, high school and common school, to all who need real instruction and true religion. Of it what a throng of authors, editors, lawyers, orators, and accomplished gentlemen of color have taken their degree! It has equally implanted hopes and aspirations, noble thoughts, and sublime purposes, in the hearts of both races. It has prepared the white man for the freedom of the black man, and it has made the black man scorn the thought of enslavement, as does a white man, as far as its influence has extended. _Strengthen that noble influence!_ Before its organization, the country only saw here and there in slavery some 'faithful Cudjoe or Dinah,' whose strong natures blossomed even in bondage, like a fine plant beneath a heavy stone. Now, under the elevating and cherishing influence of the American Anti-slavery Society, the colored race, like the white, furnishes Corinthian capitals for the noblest temples. Aroused by the American Anti-slavery Society, the very white men who had forgotten and denied the claim of the black man to the rights of humanity, now thunder that claim at every gate, from cottage to capitol, from school-house to university, from the railroad carriage to the house of God. He has a place at their firesides, a place in their hearts--the man whom they once cruelly hated for his color. So feeling, they _cannot_ send him to Coventry with a horn-book in his hand, and call it _instruction_! They inspire him to climb to their side by a visible, acted gospel of freedom. Thus, instead of bowing to prejudice, they conquer it."

In January, 1836, Rev. Mr. Follen offered the following resolution in a meeting of the New England Anti-slavery Society:

"_Resolved_, That we consider the Anti-slavery cause the cause of
philanthropy, with regard to which all human beings, white men
and colored men, citizens and foreigners, men and women, have the
same duties and the same rights."

In support of his resolution, he said:

"We have been advised, if we really wished to benefit the slave
and the colored race generally, not unnecessarily to shock the
feelings, though they were but prejudices, of the white people,
by admitting colored persons to our Anti-slavery meetings and
societies. We have been told that many who would otherwise act in
unison with us were kept away by our disregard of the feelings of
the community in this respect.... But what, I would ask, is the
great, the single object of all our meetings and societies? Have
we any other object than to impress upon the community this one
principle, that the _colored man is a man_? And, on the other
hand, is not the prejudice which would have us exclude colored
people from our meetings and societies the same which, in our
Southern States, dooms them to perpetual bondage?"

In May, 1837, the _Anti-slavery Women of America_ met in convention in New York. In a circular issued by the authority of the convention, and signed by Mary S. Parker, President, Angelina E. Grimkie, Secretary, another attack was made upon proscription in anti-slavery societies. There was a Colored lady named Sarah Douglass on the Central Committee. The following paragraphs from the circular are specimens sufficient to show the character of the circular; and the poetry at the end, written by a Colored member. Miss Sarah Forten, justified the hopes of her white sisters concerning the race:

"Those Societies that reject colored members, or seek to avoid
them, have never been active or efficient. The blessing of God
does not rest upon them, because they 'keep back a part of the
price of the land,'--they do not lay _all_ at the apostle's feet.

"The abandonment of prejudice is required of us as a proof of our
sincerity and consistency. How can we ask our Southern brethren
to make sacrifices, if we are not even willing to encounter
inconveniences? First cast the beam from thine own eye, then wilt
thou see clearly to cast it from his eye.

"We are thy sisters. God has truly said
That of one blood the nations He has made.
O Christian woman! in a Christian land,
Canst thou unblushing read this great command?
Suffer the wrongs which wring our inmost heart,
To draw one throb of pity on thy part?
Our Skins may differ, but from thee we claim
A sister's privilege and a sister's name."

Every barrier was now broken down inside of anti-slavery organizations; and having conquered the prejudice that crippled their work, they enjoyed greater freedom in the prosecution of their labors.

The Colored orators wrought a wonderful change in public sentiment. In the inland white communities throughout the Northern States Negroes were few, and the majority of them were servants; some of them indolent and vicious. From these few the moral and intellectual photograph of the entire race was taken. So it was meet that Negro orators of refinement should go from town to town. The North needed arousing and educating on the anti-slavery question, and no class did more practical work in this direction than the little company of orators, with the peerless Douglass at its head, that pleaded the cause of their brethren in the flesh before the cultivated audiences of New England, the Middle and Western States,--yea, even in the capital cities of conservative Europe.

FOOTNOTES:

[28] The Minutes, in possession of the author.