Chapter I: Preface

American slavery is a great sin--a complicated iniquity--a gigantic barbarism--and it "is evil, only evil, and that continually." But the depth of this wickedness is not very frequently sounded, if, indeed it can be sounded. The magnitude of this crime is not often measured, if, indeed it is possible to determine its dimensions.

Slavery has narcoticized the consciences of the American people to a most alarming extent. A deep sleep has come over the moral sense, which it would seem cannot be broken by the cries and entreaties of three millions of wretched bondmen. Are we not in imminent danger of being cursed with Pharaoh's hardness of heart? May we not be visited speedily with judicial blindness such as was inflicted upon the doomed nations and cities of antiquity?

The standard of national morality has been degraded to the level of an infamous lower law enacted by scheming political traders.

Our national government, in all its departments--Executive, Judicial and Legislative--has been transformed into a pliant tool in the hands of an unscrupulous oligarchy.

The powerful American Churches have ceased to be asylums for the oppressed, defenders of the down trodden, uncompromising foes of tyranny, and they have become, on the contrary, the apologists of oppressors, a terror to the oppressed, and the only reliable bulwark of American slavery.

The author has aimed to present in the following pages such a discussion of the general subject of slavery as would be calculated to awaken the thoughts, and feelings, especially of those who have not had an opportunity of examining this question in larger and more ably written productions. There are thousands of honest people who would take a decided position on a Christian anti-slavery platform, and throw their whole influence in the right direction if they were made acquainted with slavery as it is, and with their duties religiously and politically in relation to it. It is with the design of benefiting the common people--the people of plain sense--who are not offended at plain talk and plain facts, that the following work is published. If the workingmen of the free and slave States can be aroused into action, slavery must fly from the churches and perish from the nation.

With this purpose in view, we have sketched a history of the African slave trade, showing how slavery originated; have defined slavery--proving that its essential principle is property in a human being; and laws, facts and incidents have been adduced to illustrate the system so that even a child may see and feel its enormity.

And, as a corrupt moral sense has been still more corrupted by efforts to bring revealed religion to the support of slavery, particular pains have been taken to prove that not a single word, nor precept, nor example can be adduced from the Bible which sanctions any such system; and that the whole spirit of religion as revealed under the old economy and the new, is utterly and irreconcilably opposed to all slavery.

It has been thought proper to present a concise view of the position occupied by the American Churches upon this question. No church can complain when its ecclesiastical action on so grave a subject is re-published. And besides, it is quite necessary for honest people to know on what platforms the religious denominations of the country stand.

The true position of a religious society or church in relation to slavery is exhibited. This is a point of more than ordinary importance. The doctrine is maintained that the honor of the Bible, the purity, power, peace, and success of the Church, its duty to God, to freedom, to slaveholders and especially to slaves, demand that it have no fellowship with slaveholding.

Particular pains have been taken to point out the political duties of Christians in relation to slavery.

The inquiry, "how are we to get rid of slavery?" is taken up, and the position assumed and defended that it ought to be abolished immediately.

The book closes with a glance at the prospects. The watchman tells us that the sky from many points of observation is dark, but still that there are some very encouraging indications. The uncorrupted conscience, reason, truth, Christianity and prayer, are on the side of the oppressed; and God, who is love, is their hope, and cannot fail to come to their help and bring them forth with a mighty hand and an out-stretched arm.

Quite a number of works on slavery have been consulted in the preparation of this discussion, among which may be mentioned, "American Slave Code" by Mr. Goodell; "Barnes on Slavery;" "Bible Servitude," by E. Smith; "Elliott on American Slavery;" "Slavery and the Church," by Mr. Hosmer; "Debate on Slavery by Blanchard & Rice;" "Non-fellowship with Slaveholders," by Mr. Fee; "Sermon on the Slave Trade" by Jonathan Edwards; and "Thirteenth Annual Report of the American and Foreign Anti-slavery Society."

No "mealy words" have been used in this book. I have only aimed to present the plain truth, and shall be rewarded in whatever mite of influence it may cast on the side of liberty.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

ORIGIN OF AMERICAN SLAVERY.

THE SLAVE TRADE.

Seven millions of slaves in America--Slavery originated in the African slave trade--Slave-trade unprovoked--Excited by lust for gold--Commenced by the Portuguese in 1434--Spaniards in 1511--English in 1556--President Edwards quoted--100,000 annually destroyed--Report made to the British House of Commons--Startling statistics--A slave ship described--Slave-trade declared to be piracy and abolished page 13

CHAPTER II.

SLAVERY DEFINED.

PROPERTY IN A HUMAN BEING.

A slave is a chattel--Authorities quoted--Advertised and sold as property--Facts adduced--sale of a boy--a woman with an infant in her arms--a mother--American slave-code identical in principle with the Roman page 30

CHAPTER III.

SLAVERY ILLUSTRATED.

THE CHATTEL PRINCIPLE IN PRACTICE.

Slaves denied an education--Laws--Instances--Slavery disregards matrimonial connections--Painful facts page 41

CHAPTER IV.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

Slavery disregards the parental and filial relations--Facts--Slave-mother's lament page 56

CHAPTER V.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

Slavery utterly impoverishes its victims--Exposes them to unbridled lust--unrestrained passion--irresponsible tyranny--Heart-rending incidents! page 64

CHAPTER VI.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

Severity of laws against slaves--partial--unreasonable and cruel--Practice worse than the laws--Burning of slaves--Horrible examples page 80

CHAPTER VII.

SLAVERY AND RELIGION.

CURSE OF CANAAN--Doubtful authority--Did not allude to slavery--A mere prediction at best--Africans not the descendants of Canaan page 88

CHAPTER VIII.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

PATRIARCHAL SERVITUDE AND SLAVERY--No patriarch ever owned a slave--Slavery had no existence in the time of the patriarchs--Diodorus, Athen├Žus and Rollin quoted--The Hebrew word SERVANT not equivalent to the English word SLAVE--Abraham's servants converts from idolatry page 94

CHAPTER IX.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

LAW OF MOSES AND SLAVERY--Levitical statutes not perfect--Allowed what it would now be wrong to practice--Dr. Stowe quoted--Servitude under the law of Moses essentially different from American slavery--Meaning of "buy," "heathen," "bondmen," and "forever,"--Servants not stolen--Voluntary--Provision for religious improvement--Kind treatment--Could not be sold--Equal to their masters--Certain emancipation--Salvation of the heathen the primary design of introducing foreign servants page 107

CHAPTER X.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

NEW TESTAMENT AND SLAVERY--SERVANTS mentioned but not SLAVES--DOULOS does not mean SLAVE--New Testament does not regulate slavery because it cannot be regulated--Slaveholders not addressed by the Apostles--Onesimus not a slave--Character of Roman slavery--Contrary to the fundamental principles of revealed religion--The character of God--Common origin of man--General Redemption--Moral precepts--And is necessarily unjust and unequal page 124

CHAPTER XI.

AMERICAN CHURCHES AND SLAVERY.

THE POSITION THEY OCCUPY.

Presbyterians (O. S. and N. S.)--Congregational--Methodist Episcopal, North and South--Methodist Protestant--Wesleyan Methodist Connection--Baptist, Regular--Freewill--Seventh Day--Evangelical Association--United Brethren--Various Churches--Summary View page 149

CHAPTER XII.

SLAVERY AND THE CHURCH.

NON-FELLOWSHIP WITH SLAVEHOLDERS.

Scriptural view--Church must keep slaveholders out--If they get in, it must expel them--If the Church sanction slavery officially or practically, withdraw from it--Non-slaveholding required that it may be holy--The pillar of truth--That it may honor the Scriptures--Convert the world--Be faithful to slaveholders and to slaves--Non-fellowship required by decency--humanity--If fellowshiped, we shall have slaveholding preachers, and women-sellers and cradle-plunderers for class-mates--Cases given page 169

CHAPTER XIII.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

Kind slaveholders--Examples--Excusable slaveholders--Slavery a political matter--Fault of the public corruption--Fault of the laws--Slaveholders from necessity--Slaves their property--All right ONLY this one thing--Take them in to convince them of the wrong--Mr. Fee's opinion page 184

CHAPTER XIV.

POLITICAL DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.

EXTIRPATION OF SLAVERY FROM THE WORLD.

Necessity of government--Obligation of political action--Voters responsible for slavery--United States Constitution does not endorse slavery--Founders of the Republic intended that slavery should die out speedily--Character of the government changed--Great work for Christian citizens--Slavery in the District--Territories--Slave States--Throughout the world page 195

CHAPTER XV.

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.

IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION.

The duty plain and scriptural--Break every yoke--proclaim a year of Jubilee--Slavery cannot be reformed--Slaves prepared for freedom--Free people of color--Fugitives in Canada--West India emancipation--Colored people not dangerous when free--Amalgamation--Our fears originate in our guilt--Colonization scheme impracticable--Wrong--Watkins quoted--All objections mere excuses--We must emancipate to escape the judgments of God--Too long delayed--A good example page 206

CHAPTER XVI.

WHAT OF THE NIGHT?

THERE IS HOPE IN GOD ONLY.

The government intensely pro-slavery--Political horizon lowering--The great denominations and benevolent societies heartily supporting slavery--Ecclesiastical heavens dark--Deep prejudices in the masses of the people--Douglass quoted--God is on the side of the oppressed--He is stirring the nation--Question cannot rest--Agitation goes on--Truth is on the side of the slave--Literature coming to his aid--A pure Church arising to plead his cause--"TOIL AND TRUST." page 219

AMERICAN SLAVERY.