N OTI C E TO THE REA DER.

THI S S ermon is not g iven to the Press by the au thor,or the friends who

sol ic i t i t for pub l ication , w i th the be l ief that i t con tains any th ing new,bu t

as a conc ise abr idgment of works on the subjec t in another form of argumen t

,and so b r ief

,that i t is hoped some may b e benefi te d who w il l not

read a book on the subject, and some who hear much about pol i tical preaching , and have much to say abou t i t

,who do not know what i t means

,be ing

rare ly found in church .

A gain,they bel ieve in t imes l ike these

,every man should strike for h is

coun try who has a sword,and if he has nOne

,sh ould se l l h is coat and buy

one . I f he cannot s tr ike a heavy b low—s till he shou ld s tr ike—s tr ike as hecan . He may wound the s in

,if he canno t k il l i t ; he may exc i te a new

though t if he cannot or ig inate one . To b e ind ifferen t in a t ime l ike th is,is

to b e a tra i tor to his country,to his re l ig ion if i t b e the C hr is tian rel ig ion

,

and he has any . N oth ing we have should b e held too dear for the a l tar of

God and a good government in danger . If i t is bu t l i ttle we have—a straw

breaks the came l’s back, a dust turns the balance , a drop ove r&ows the bowl .

D I S C O & R S E .

L Evn‘rcus

,xxv .

,Both thy bondmen and thy b ondsmaids , which

thou shal t have,shal l b e of the hea then that are round abou t thee

, of

them shal l ve buy bondmen and handma ids . M oreover,of the ch ildren

of s trange rs that do sojourn among you , of them sha l l ye buy , and of

the ir fam il ies that are w i th you wh ich'

they bega t in your land ; and

they shal l b e your possess ion ,— and ye shal l take them as an inher i tancefor y our chi ldren after you to inheri t them for a possession ; and they

sha l l b e y our bondmen forever .

”

S L A V ERY i s the great question of the day,of the nat ion

, of

th e ag e ; ought not every m an to study it& It enters intoalm ost every subj ect with which we have to d o ought wenot to inform ourselves of i ts m er i ts

,its nature

,and i ts

workings & It has becom e, i t i s true , a political questionor has been —i t i s now more a national quest ion

,a. e . a ques

tion of n ational ex i stence but i t i s still a moral,a rel ig iou s

question,and proper for religious in vestigati on . The fact

that every man i s required to act on i t,makes i t doubly im

portant that e very man should study i t and be thoroughlyacquainted with i t . Poli t ics are nev er so noble

.

as whenthey grapple with some great m oral subj ect

,for th en ifm en

will be stud ious and honest, the national i ntellect will b eenlarged and the national heart m ade better. But i t will

not d o to say, a moral or a re ligiou s subj ect shall not be d iscu ssed in th e pulpit when i t becomes a political subj ect

,

&

The m in ister’s duty i s then the more imperious .Two years and a half ago I found a paper lying on th e

desk,requesting m e to comm ent on this text . I was at the

time preachi ng a series of sermons on the sacred feasts andfasts of the O ld Testament, and o ther institutions of th eM osaic law. I regard ed it at the tim e a challenge to con

trovert, if I cou ld , the doctrine ofSlavery as here taught. I

laid th e paper asid e, int end ing at a future time to preachfrom the text . It w as then the summer before the election

of Presiden t, and the quest ion of S lavery en tered verylargely into the contest, and I j udged that preach ing on i tat that time m ight and would be construed as a d esign on

my part to medd le w i th politics . The position of th in g s arechanged . I t has brought a civil war upon us

,and it i s not

so much a question of pol itics as of n at ional ex istence . It

has brough t the war upon u s and has been hi therto the great

sustaining pow er of th e war against the Government. Every

man i s called on to j udge whether i t i s right or wrong,

whether our G overnment is acting righ t or wrong in resisting i ts d emands , and in the blows it i s d ealing against i t.Some say i t i s a D i v ine institution and we are fightingaga in st G od in defending ourselves agains t i t . Se cess ionpreaches th i s doctrine

,politicians preach i t

,the friend s of

Secession in the North preach it,ministers South and N orth

preach i t and if Slavery i s righ t they h av e a right to,and

they ought to . I fi nd no fault wi th any one ad voca t ing itif he sincerely and prayerfu llg/ believe i t right. Bu t I doobj ect to men professing to be honest in advocating, somefor preaching it in the pulpit and denouncing others for saying a word against i t . I protest against such a spirit as th is— it is tyranny . I protest against such m en’s claims to consistency . I protest against any su ch cla iming that it i s

r i g ht, for nothing that i s r ig ht requires d arkness, or h ind er

in g the honest express ion of Opinions . If i t be right for Mr.Vandyke or Palmer to preach on the subj ect

,where is the

righ t of closing the mouths of other ministers,who by the

Constitution and laws are guarantied equal rights & Men

who do this virtual ly admit the unsoundn'

ess of the doctrinesthey hold and expose the tyranny they would exerciseover the consciences ofm en . A nd the se are the men who asa genera l thing are the most noisy against our Governmentfor doing it in extrem e cases .

The text i s a part of a system of laws d esigned for a particular people, for a particular age and circumstances, andwas not des igned for our age of the world nor for any nation

5

of the presen t d ay. They ceased to be binding even on theJews after the death of Christ . I n this system of law are

enj o ined three annua l feasts,bind ing on the whole nation

eat ing a lamb with b i tter herbs and unleavened bread forseven days

,c ircumcis ion of every male chi ld on the eighth

day after its b i rth the sacrificing of lambs,bul locks , goats,

birds C i ties of refug e for the mans layer to flee to,&c . &c .

The Jews for whom the law w as m ade were not a l lowedto take any interest for money loan ed to a J ew

,if he was

embarrassed they were requ i red to marry a d eceasedbrother’s wid ow they were perm i tted to d ivorce their

wives for mere capri ce or d islike,and m arry others there

was no proh ib i tion in th is law against polygamy, and this fora time was general ly practiced even by their best men theywere forbidd en to eat sw ine’s flesh

,and certain other

animals , and bird s . None of these laws are now incorpo

rate d into the code s Of c iv il ized or Christ ianized nat ion s .None of them are binding on J ew or Gentile . Most of themare prohibited by law with Christian nations. M en w ould

now be impr i soned for d oing what Abraham,J acob, Dav id ,

S olomon , and th e Jews general ly d id .

Why then shou ld we appeal to th i s law to justify Slaverywhen we would not a l low the Morm on or the Fre e -love r toappeal to i t to just ify d ivorce or polygamy&The ad vocatesof Slavery appeal to the Patriarchs in j ust ification of i t theMormons appeal to the Patriarchs in j ust ification of polygamy. Does the conduct of the Patr iarchs j ustify the onem ore than the other & Abraham he ld slaves

,therefore

Slavery i s right . A braham had a child by one of h is

s laves,therefore adul tery is right . The one i s no more con

d emned than the other and no m ore justified than theother

,in anything sa id about Abraham . Jacob had two

wives and two concubines,and not a word is sa id against

i t , t herefore polygamy I S a Divine instituti on . The Jewwas al lowed to d ivorce h is wife for person al d isl ike , and thishe might repeat as often as b e pleased for there i s no restric

t ion ; and thi s i s al l the Free-lover . asks . And by the

a rguments used for S lavery we must justify Mormon

6

ism,Free -lov e ism

,polygam y, concub inage, and adul tery .

A l l the Mulattoes, &uadroon s , Octoroon s of the South

,

two m i l l ion s or more , have as honorable paren tage asIshmael

,so far as marriage i s concerned , and are a part

of the Div ine insti tut ion . If a Patriarch’s practi ce may beappealed to to just ify one wrong i t may b e to j us ti fy another.

The Mormon and the Free-lover have just as good argu

m en ts for the ir systems as the S lave-holder has for h is , in

the conduct of the Patr iarchs .Happy i s he that cond emn e th not him self in that th ing

wh ich he al lowe th .

” Are any of the ad vocates of Slaveryw i l l ing the i r son s -ln -law should put away the i r daughtersand marry other women or take othe r wives or concubines

to share the conjugal honors and emo luments with the irdaughters & If n ot

,they are ad vocates of a system for

others wh ich they wi l l n ot al low for themselves . Y es ,

they approve for others what they would regard a greatWrong— an outrage on themse lves . Are these men will ingthe i r sons should be sold into S lavery & But this wasa part of the law . The text command s or permits rather

,

pu rchas ing and hold ing as slave s the h eathen about them,

but the system pe rm i tted them to e n s lave one an other , n oton ly for s ix years

,but for l ife or t i l l the ye ar of Jub i lee .

& If thou buy a Hebrew servan t , s ix years shal l he serve ,and in the seven th year he shal l go ou t for n oth ing . If h ecame in by h imself he sha l l go out by h imself ; if he werem arr ied then h i s wife shal l go out w i th h im . If hi s masterhave given h im a wife

,and she have borne h im sons or

daughters , th e w ife and her ch i ldren sha l l be her m as tersand he shal l g o out by h imself. And ifthe servan t shal l p lainlysay , I love my maste r, my wife and my child ren , I w i l l not

g o out free then his master shall br ing him un to the judges,

and he shal l also bring him unto the door or unto the d oorpos t, and h is master sha l l bore his ear through with an awl ,and he shal l serve him fore ver .”— Ex.

,xxi . 2—6 . The He

brews m ight enslave each other for d ebt,that i s

,compel to

service ,&See Lev. , xxv . to be held til l the year ofreleaseor j ubi lee and the wife and chi ldren might be held as ser

7

vants to on e ofthese periods , accord ing to the law and i fthe

m an w as not w i l l ing to leave his wife and chi ldren he m ightbecome a servant himself till the i r time expired . Thus thepoor were subj ected to th is kind of slavery and subj ectedtheir children to i t. Are any of the ad cates of S laverywil ling to abide by th is law &which i s very m uch betterthan our law s on Slavery . Most fam i lies h ave some pooramong them . What father or mother i s will ing that theirpoor son should be a slave for h i s poverty Every man whowould d o to others as he would that others sh ou ld d o to him

,

ought never to appeal to the Mosai c law for what h e wouldregard as a great injustice if put in force with h im or his

ch ildren . Such an appeal furnishes a very strong argum ent

against h i s honesty , his human i ty, and especially againsth is Christian i ty— for thi s i s the law of Christ ian i ty— the

digest,the sum and substance of al l her l aws as well as th e

test of the Christian to love ou r nei g hbor as ourselves, and

if the re i s any doubt about any duty , the justice Of any lawor practice ,we are to try i t by th is rulez—Would i t be a goodlaw if practiced on u s & Are we w i l l ing to abid e by i t & If

not we expose ourselves when we ad vocate i t for others .

O ur arg ument is not aga inst the Mosaic law as a bad law,but against j ustify ing any w ron g by tha t law a l aw m ade

for another people and under entirely d ifferen t circum stances . Two things especially are wrong with u s on th i s pointl st. &or a people with our Opportunities , our in tel l igence,the l ight of the age in which we l ive , to appeal to th e laws

of a people j ust emerging from heathenism and bon dage,

l ivin g in the darkest age of the world and in the m id st ofall forms ofwickedness consequent thereon .

2d . Appeal ing to laws to j ustify what i s a great dealworse than anythin g found in those laws . Our system Of

S lavery is not the Scripture system but the heathen in i tsworst form . Whoever w i ll be at th e troub le to comparewill n ot fa i l to see how little i t resembles the one and how

much i t resembles the other. It d iffers from the Mosaic system in these particul ars

I. Hebrew S lavery perm i tted the enslaving of any for

8

d ebt ; th e man m igh t sell h imself, Lev. xxv . 39 ; a father

m ight sell h is ch ild ren , Ex . xxi . 7 insolvent debtors m igh tbe del ivered to their cred i tors as slaves

,2 . & ings, i v. 1 ;

thieves not able to m ake restitution were sold for the benefi tof the inj ured party , Ex . xxii .

,3 prisoners taken in war of

the heathen nat ions about them,Lev . xxv . 44, 46 . In all

these cases,if we except the last, w h ich we will presently

consider, there i s some propriety— at least a show of justice.The m an who has had v a lue received and in debt for i t,ought to pay i t if he can ; and if he has not the money oughtto labor for i t

,if he is able ; and if he w i ll not, deserves to be

m ade to d o it. The Hebrew law of debt would not be a badone for us . It would empty many a bar-room preventm uch extravagance and d i shonesty in contracting d ebts ;greatly diminish the tenants of ou r p oor-houses , j a i ls andprisons ; prevent a vast deal of id leness , vice and crime ;m ake great numbers honest m en who are now rogues savea vast amount of m oney to the Governm en t ; and give asecurity against publ ic and private thieves

,wh ich i s very

much needed,and a sense of securi ty in person and property

which would add very much to the comfort and happinessof socie ty . S lavery for th iev ing , we have no Obj ect ions to,and I d oubt whether any but rogues have . Would i t notbe better to make a man work and pay twice or three tim esthe amount sto len than to lock h im up in jail and m ain tainhim th ere at the public expense

,tax ing the innocen t to pay

for the crime s of the guilty & No one i s benefi ted by thisprocess— nei ther the loser of the s to len proper ty , the personimpr i soned nor his family

,and the publi c i s th e loser in all

the expenses incurred . Our State prison laws &in th e FreeS tates&are founded on th e Jewish law . lV e mak e m en

slaves for a number of years in proportion to their crimes ,the amount they h ave stolen or the m i sch ief th ey have done .

This part of th e Jewish law was right—absolutely betterthan our j ail system .

But our Slave code has n o resemblance to this . It is not

founded on j ustice,nor in the slightest show or pretence to

justice . It i s not for d ebt,and i t i s not for crim e . The

Southern slave owed his master nothing and had neverwronged h im

,never stole a farth ing from him but was him

self s tolen and the d ifferen ce between the two systems onthis po i nt i s the d ifference between enslavin g a man forstea lin g , and s tealin g a man to en slave h im between makinga m an pay his honest d ebts , and m aking him l abor to support id len ess and crim e in others ; between enslav ing himfor h is own wrong doing and en slav ing an innocent man for

the v i l lany of others i t is the difference between the honest

m an who pays h i s laborer for serv ices rendered and the infamous villa in who forces another to labor for noth ing .

II . Stealing m en for slaves was forbidden and pun ishedwith death by the Hebrew cod e . Our Slavery is of th i scharacter exclus ively .

& And he that stealeth a m an and

selleth h im,or if he be found in h i s h and , he shal l surely be

put to d eath,

” Ex . m i,16 . The Jews might purchase a man

— if he was will ing to sel l himse lf,or if he was sold for d ebt

or crime,he m ight purchase those h eld in S lavery by the

heathen,and ens lave the heathen taken captive i n war .

These were the only sources of S l avery to the Jew. OurS lavery comes from none of these sources . O u r s lave s arestolen men and women— stolen by those who hold them

,or

purchased from those who stole them or who were hired tosteal them . They have been k idnapped in Africa and inour ow n country . American S lavery began with the RomanC athol i c Spaniard in the darkest ag e of th at d arkest system

of human in iquity . It was d ev ised as a substitute forslavery of the Ind ians who were found unable to endure thehardsh ips of Span ish Slavery , and by that system of religion

which made m erchand ise of & the bodies and souls of m en,

”

or as i t is translated,slaves and souls ofm en

,

” Rev . xv ii i . ,13

,and which by God is doomed to perd i tion . The origin

of the system is this & I n order to provide some remedy

for th is , &enslav ing the Ind ians ,&without which he found i t

was in va in to maintain hi s s cheme, Las Casas proposed topu rchase a sufficient number of negroes from th e Portuguese

settlement, on the coast of Africa , and to transport them to

10

America in order that they m igh t be employed as slaves inwork ing the mines and til l ing the ground . Various circum stan ces c oncurred in reviv ing this od ious commerce &inslaves&, which had been long abol ished in Europe , and wh ichis no less repugnant to the feelings of humanity than to theprinc iples of religion . A s early as the year 1503 , a fewnegro slaves had been sent in to th e N ew World . I n theyear 1511

,Fe rd inand permitted the importation of them in

greate r numbers and Charles in greater numbers st ill,and so i t wen t on to increase to i ts presen t m agn i tud e .

Robe rtson ’s A m ., I .

,209 . There i s not a word of l icen se in

the Scr ipture s for this . It was who l ly a question of interestwith thos e who engaged in it. The negro cou ld endurem ore than the Ind ian

,and this was the ir warrant

, and i t i sours— and al l the one we have . The law of Moses wou ldconsign al l engaged in this business to the gal lows . The

whole system w as a system of kidnapping— man steal ingand every means was taken to stea l men

,women and

chi ldren . The i r dwel l ings were set on fi re by n ight,vil

lages set on fi re and the fleeing,he lpless inhabitan ts caught

and so ld for slaves & Wars we re m ade to catch slaves,th e

l and desolated for this object a lone and m en— strange asfiction

,Bib le m en

,Christ ian m in isters cal l this a Divine in

stitu tion W i ll they show where Moses or God authorizedm ak ing war on an unoffend ing people to make s laves of

them &or firing a dwell ing by night to catch the inmatesfor slaves &or knocking m en down and gagging them andsel l ing them for s laves

,as has been don e in hundred s if not

thousands of instances in ou r own land Th i s is ou r system .

It had its origin in cup id i ty,in the lowest

,worst passions of

m an’s fa llen nature,and l ike Mormonism and m ost other

falsehoods craves j ustification from the Bible.

III. Hebrew Slavery was not a system of traffic in hum an

beings ours is the Hebrew s lave when bought had a homesecured to him till the year of release or the year ofj ubilee .Ours has no security that h e shal l not to-morrow be sold into

another part of the country and be separated from h is wife

and children .

11

In ou r text the Jews were permitted to buy slaves,but the

text cannot be found w here they are perm i tted to sell themneither can a ca se be found except Joseph , wh i ch i s recordedas a crime of the darkest hue . When the s lave was b oughthe became a part of the family and a perman ent fixture inthe fami ly till the year of release or th e year of jubilee .

He must be educated as one of the family,be circumc i sed

corrected,rel igiously in structed the same as the ch ildren of

the fam i ly,and he must rema in in the family as one of its

m embers til l he i s made free . There is no law in the Hebrewcode for sell ing sl aves

,no permiss ion as there is for buy ing ,

no prov is ion,no in tim ation of a right to sell or a re corded

case of sale .O ur system is one Of traffic , speculation , buying and sell ,ing to make money . Like the Harlot ofRome , we trad e in& beasts, and sheep , and horses , and char iots , anal slaves,

and the sou ls of m en .

” The laws of all th e Slave Statesau thor ize the sal e of slaves

,for d ebt

,or at the w i l l of the

m aster . The sl aves , male or female,are put up at auction

on the slave block,Often naked or nearly so , that th e pur

chaser m ay see if there is any defect . They are purchasedby slave-trad e rs, kept in slave-pen s or prison s ti l l a day of

sale,or t i ll they can be transferred to another marke t .

I n Virgini a,for se veral years

,slaves h ave been raised for

the Southern market and this has been one of her sourcesof w eal th . O ne of the reasons ass igned by some of herpub l ic m en w hy she sh ou ld go w i th the Southern Confed

cracy was that her in terest was w i th the South ; i t was herm arke t for her Slaves .A nd ou r sys tem on this point shows no regard to the laws of

G od or human i ty . The husband is separated from h i s wifeand fami ly

,mothers from the i r child ren

,brothers and sisters

from each other,and sold into d istan t parts with no more

regard to the laws of God on m arriag e , or th e laws ofhumanity

,than if w e were a nation of Turks or Morm ons .

O n th e score of hum anity we ought to b e ashamed to look a

Mormon in the face . He has not added this disgrace to hissystem , of selling his own ch ildren .

12

IV . The Jewish code of Slavery was m ild and humane ;ours is the most inhuman and tyrannical system at th is dayon the face of the earth

,and holds rank with any that has

ever existed,i n i ts oppress ion and severi ty . An injury to

the Hebrew slave secured h im his l iberty .

& And if a man

smite the eye of h is servant or the eye of his maid that i tperish

,he shal l let him g ofree for h is eye

’s sake . And ifhesm i te out his m an servant’s tooth or his maid servan t’stooth

,he shall let h im go for his tooth’s sake . ”— Ex. xx i 26

,

27. By this law he was protected from injury. Again,if

his master Oppres sed h im or made h i s servi tude harsh or

such as he was unwill ing to endure he migh t run aw ay,

and th e law forbad e any to de l iver him up .

& Thou sh altnot del iver unto h i s master the servant wh ich i s escapedfrom his master unto thee th ou shal t not oppress h im .

Deut . xxiii . , 15 , 16 . Y ou shal l not send h im back to be Oppressed nor oppress h im yourself. The passage in Ex . xxi .

,

20,2 1

,is the on ly one which looks l ike Am erican S lavery

in al l the Bible & If a man smite h is servant or h is ma idwith a rod and he d ie under h is hand , he sha l l be surely

punished . Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two heshal l not be pun i shed

,for he i s h is money .

” The punishmentofmurd er was d eath , and there was no exceptions mad e as towho was murdered . See Lev . xxiv .

, If the man kil ledh is sl ave he was to be put to d eath if he l ived he lost h isproperty ; for i t i s enacted i n verses 26 and 27, of th i s samechapter &Ex . xxi .&and of the same persons

,that i f they

on ly suffered the loss of an eye or a tooth they had theirliberty the man was fined an d not executed , for his crue l ty.

If ou r Slave laws were as good as th is and had been put in

practice,probab ly more than a m i ll ion of ou r slaves w ould

be free th is number, at least , we doubt not have been mal

treated . If there were any ev id ences of intention to murder,the man w as to be put to death ; if i n the anger of the

m oment he k illed h im ,he was to be punished for m an

slaughter ; if the slave l ived he lost h im ; h is cruel ty secured

him his liberty . The law d id not d iffer materially from

some of our Free S tate laws and with persons who are not

13

slaves . M en are here,in the State of New Y ork, executed

for murder &when we can find j udges and jurors honest

enou g h to execute the law&, imprisoned for m anslaughterand fined for injury done their neighbors . Some supposei t had reference on ly to those slaves who were heathen

,

and that God al lowed this severity only to this class . Theyare one and the same , as will be seen by reading the passag e . The whipping and the loss of the eye and the toothare spoken of servants— and the same servants whether theybe J ew or heathen

,or both ; let thos e who wish to make

some thing more or less than th e truth ou t of i t de termine .Again

,G od forb id all harsh treatment to the stranger

,to all

who embraced the Jew i sh rel igion,without regard to thei r

position or circumstances . & Judge righteously between

eve ry man and h is brother and the s tr an g er that i s withyou .

”— Deut . i .

,16 .

& God regardeth not persons He dothexecute the j udgment of th e father less and widow, and loveththe s trang er love ye ther efore the strang er ; for ye werestrangers in the land of Egypt .” —Deu t . x .

,17, 19 .

& Thestran g er that dw elle tlr with you sh all be unto you as oneborn among you , and thou shai t love him as thyself.

”— Lev .

i x .

,34 . TIzou shal t nei ther new a stran g er nor oppress

ll im .

”— Ex . xxii . , 21& Thou shalt not oppress a stran g er ,

for ye know the heart of a stranger.” -Ex . xxii i . , 9 . C ursedbe he that perverleth the ju dg men t of a strang er .

”— Deut .xxvii .

,19 .

Nothing l ike these prov isions is found in our system of

S lavery . There i s no law aga ins t th e most wanton crueltywhich is not a dead law on the statute book . It is not known

that a master h as ever been executed for killing -his slave,or that a slave has any claim by law, to his l iberty for maltreatment,however severe, even to m aim ing . The slave, in

ou r system ,has no remedy— no appeal for injuries done him

by h i s m aster. He cannot even testify as to -what he or hisfell ow-slave s suffer by their masters . They have been whip

ped to d eath , starved to death , died from want of clothingand ill usage

,and they have no remedy— none to he lp . I

state these facts on the testimony of the Rev. Geo .Whitfield ,

14

Rev . Jonathan Edward s , their members of Congress,their

own newspapers , cases in theirCourts of law ,Southern m en

,

and m en of unimpeachable character who have witnessedthese things . If one escapes from bondage , however he may

have been whipped, or torn and m aimed by dogs or by

shooting h im,he must be restored to his m aster to b e whip

ped and tortured to h is heart’s desire ; and God appealed

to as the author of the system & It is m ad e a penal offenceto harbor a slave

,as in the old heathen laws of Rome, while

M osaic law made i t a duty .

V . Hebrew S lavery was by express permission and d ircetion ofGod for a peop le under very d ifferen t circum stan cesand surround ings. from ours

,and our Slavery i s with out any

such perm i ssion . Slavery was universal ly pract ised i n thatd ark and barbarous ag eof the world . The Jews themse l veshad just emerged from a state of bondage , ignoran t, sen sual ,vicious

,as al l who are brutal ized by Slavery are to a greater

or less degree . The i r ancestors were taken from among theheathen a few centur ies before, taught something of the trueG od

,which was tran smitted by trad i tion and h ierogly phics,

for we have no ev idence that they had any written languageat the time

,and they themse lves had been in bondage to an

idolatrous n at ion,more ignoran t than them sel ves

,for more

than two hundred years . It would be strange if they, w i th

such surround ings and circumstan ces,shou ld not have been

i dolatros,sen sua l ists

,a & stiff necked and rebe ll ious peo

p le,

” ignorant,vicious and cruel . This is just what they

were . Thev l ived in an age Of great d arkness and ignorance,

and th ey were ignorant and b l inded by the d arkness wh ichsurrounded them . They saw nothing but Slav ery, and nowonder they should th ink i t right . They had l ived for nohigher obj ect than the gratification Of sense, as this is allany slave without religion has to live for no wonder theyshould be sensualists and prefer & th e flesh-pots

,

” & the fishwhich they did eat in Egypt freely the cucumbers

,and the

m elons , and the leeks, and the onions , and the garli ck .

”

With no written language,no bible

,no books, and but

few instructors, and these with b ut l ittle know ledg e Of

15

God everywhere seeing Slavery , i d olatry , polygamy, concub inag e , d ivorce, w i th no law against them ,

no wonder

they shou ld be in favo r with all these,and w i th their fallen

natures uncurbed by religion,should resist the sudden over

throw of all this by law. This was the cond ition Of the peo

ple to whom the Mosaic law of Slavery, of d ivorce, of po

lyg amy, wa s given . It was good , th e best that could be

done for them . It was just or nearly what has had to be

done , or what has been done with the savages to whom the

gospe l h as been sent . Will the S lave-owners or the advo

vocates of Slavery admit this to b e the ir cond i tion& Is sucha law necessary for them & or has God given them the codeswhich they practice & We

'

know that the system of American S lavery i s in comparably worse than the Old Jewish system

,and to be ju stified by that

,the people ought to be in

comparably worse— b e more ignoran t, brutal ized , debasedand vicious . Is thei r sys tem given them by God & then i ti s the best God could give them ,

fo r G od does that w hich i sbest under the circumstances . What th en mu st be the stateof that people with such a system of Slavery as exists in theSouth & Does G od auth orize those laws wh ich forbid teachin g the slave to read the B ible&wh ich imprison s ministersfor preaching it&and even female s for teaching its precepts &None but barbarians have ever had such a system of laws

,

and if Southerner s are n ot,they are an except ion . God

a llowed no such laws as are found on the statute books ofou r Slave cod e, to the Jews w i th al l thei r d arkn ess , idolatryand sen sual ity . Which of these d i lemmas w i ll S laverytake& If God authorized their system and gave them the bestthat the i r moral and inte l lectual cond ition would admit of,they must be a very benighted , sen sual , cruel , beastly peo

ple b u t if God d id not authorize the system they must bea great de al worse ; b e all this and knaves to boot, for theyclaim God for their system . The laws them selves prove the

authors of them to b e -a very cruel , unjust, Godless , graceless,heartless

,barbarous people . N O . such laws are found on the

statute books of any b u t such a people . Heathenism in i tsworst form s had b u t few thing s worse on this subj ect. That

16

I have not m isconstr ued the Jewish law ,we adduce th e

Saviou r’s exposition of it. The Jews— the Pharisees,for these

are the m en who are for t ight laws for others and loose onesfor themselves— appealed to Moses for th e law of d ivorce

,

— the r ight to put away a wife for any personal d isl ike.The Saviour answered them Moses

, becau se of the hardness of you r hearts , sufi

’

ered you to put away your wives ,but from the beg inning it was n ot so . And I say unto you ,

whosoever shal l put away h i s wife , except for forn icat ion , andshall marry another, comm itteth adu ltery .

”— Math. xix .

,3,9 .

This was a part of the Mosaic law , and like the rest of i tadapted to the circum stances Of the Jews at the time i t wasm ade. The th ing was al lowed as a part of their civ il po l i ty,not because i t was right in i tself

,but because circum stances

m ade it necessary.

& Moses found the custom in use . Hefound a hard -hearted and rebe ll ious people . In th is state ofth ings he d id not deem i t prud en t to forbid a practice soun iversal

,

” but d id the best he cou ld for th e people underthe circumstances . Among some heathen nations to whomth e gospel has been carri ed , who had never known anythingbut polygamy and slavery , someth ing has been allowed tothose who had several wives and held slaves when convertedto Christianity and if our Slave & holders are in th is con

d i tion something m ay be al lowed to them . The Sav iour’sexposit ion of the law i s not very cred itable to the intelligence and virtue Of any who prac tice or appeal to the law tojustify their conduct and sentiments . & Because of the hard

ness of you r hearts, M oses sufi’

erecl you because of w i cked

n ess , your love of w rong , your insen si bi li ty to wha t w as

r i g ht because ofyourperver se w i ll to do what was wrong ,and ha tred and res istance of what w as 7 i g ht because of

your enm i ty to God’s holy law, written on th e tables of

stone,and delivered by God h imself on Mount S inai

Moses allowed you to depart from that law, th e spirit of i t

at least but I say u nto you , the man who practices Moses’

l aw of d ivorce is guilty Of adultery , and by the same rule

the man who enslay es another is guilty of robbery and the

worst kind of robbery— for he robs a man of his inalienable

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18

reply to the Pharisees,who would perpetuate a system suited

to their prejudices an d their wicked ness ; and h i s answercarries wi th i t an expos i tion of the law

,and a tremendous

rebuke to all who take shel ter und er i t for Slave ry , po lygamyand sl ippery d ivorces . His an swer show s that the law wasm ade

,and was fi t only for m en who woul d not endure a

better one— men shrouded in moral d arkness and surround

ed with the wrong s which were tol era ted ; and he pronounced

i t i noperative,nul l and vo id to th e J ew s th emselves ; in the

better state of things to which they had arrived .

VI . The M osaic code of S lavery was d esigned to am elior

ate the cond ition of the slave,elevate him to manhood , make

him intel l igent,and fit him for usefu lness our system in all

i ts l aws and workings is calculated and des igned to brutal

ize the slave, to work manhood out of h im ,to keep him

ignorant,and to debase him and convert him from a man

to a thing.

1st. I n the Hebrew system he was to be educated in thei rrel igion and admitted to al l its pr iv ileges and ad vantages .& And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised amongyou

,every m an child in your generations

,he that is born in

thy house or bou g ht w i th m on ey of any str a ng er whi ch i s

not of thy seed . He that i s born in thy house and he thati s bough t with thy money mus t need s be circum cised and

my covenan t sha l l be i n you r flesh for an everlasting covenant .” This was the seal of membersh ip to th e coven an tm ad e w i th . A braham

,and secured them the privileges of

th at coven ant . These slaves or servants were i n stru cted inth e J ew ish reli g ion , went with their masters to the Pa ssover ,and all the great reli g iou s festiva ls of the Jews , heard theread ing of the l aw

,and had a l l th e precepts of the law not

only tau g ht them ,but they were compelled to keep them the

same as thei r children . Ex . xxi i i . , 14-17, and xxxiv.,23 The

s laves were likewise guests in the family festivals .” Andthere shall ye eat before the Lord your God

,and ye shal l

rejoice in al l that ye put your hand s unto, ye a n d you r

hou seholds, wherein th e Lord thy God hath blessed thee,

19

and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God,ye and your

sons , and your daughters , and you r m en servan ts,and you r

m a i dser van ts, and the Lev ite that i s w ithin thy gates .”

Dent . x i i , 7, 12 . The whole family was included in theserel igious festivals . The slaves shared

'

equal ly w ith the

children in the rel igious instruction,in the festiv i ty

,in all

the ad vantages of their whole rel ig ious system . I n on e of

these great nati onal convocations,Moses thus addressed

them & Y e stand this day al l of you before the Lord your

G od ; your captains of you r tr ibes, your elders and yourofficers

,with all the men of Israel , your little on es , your

wives,and the s trang er that i s in thy camp, from the hewer

of thy wood u nto the draw er of thy w a ter ; that thoushou ldst en ter into covenant w i th the Lord thy God

,and

unto his oath which the Lord thy God m ake th w i th theethis d av .

” D ent. xxix. 10— 12 . All congregated together,

the mas ter and his servant,al l rece ived the same instruo

tion, all entered together into covenant with God

,a l l a te

together,all rej oiced together

,all had a mutual interest

,and

shared in each other’s we lfare.

Noth ing l ike this i s found in our system,b ut the very

reverse of i t all. The laws ofSouth Carolina forbid any a s

semblag e of sla ves for the pu rpose of m ental instru cti on , and

th e magis trates are required to d isperse any assemblage of

s laves,free negroes

,mulattoes and m estizores

,and author izes

inflicting corporeal punishmen t not exceed ing twen tv lashes .They are not perm itted to m eet even with white persons forthe purpose of m ental i nstru ction . &Brevard D ig. 254

The laws of Virginia are the same, imposing twen ty lashes

to any such persons . In Georgia they impose ten days’

imprisonment and thi rty-nine lashes . In North Carolina,to teach a slave to read or write, or sell , or give him anybook

, &th e Bible not excepted ,&or pamphlet, is punishedwith th irty-nine lashes or imprisonment. &L aw of

I n Georgia, if a white teach a slave to write , he i s finedfive hundred dollars

,and imprisoned at the d iscret ion of the

Court . A father m ay be flogg ed for teach ing his own ch ild .

&L aw of &entucky and Maryland are the bnly

20

States in which education i s not forbidden to the slaves .

The spirit and design of i t are shown in a speech of Mr.Berry , in the Virg inia House of Delegates i n 1832 .

&We

have ,” said M r. Berry, asfar as poss ible, closed every

avenu e by whi ch li g ht m i g ht enter the m inds of sla ves . &fwe cou ld extin g u i sh the capaci ty to see the li g ht, ou r w ork

wou ld be completed ; they w ou ld then be on a level w i th the

beasts of thefi eld , and w e shou ld be safe I am n ot cer ta in

tha t we would n ot do i t if w e couldfind ou t the process, and

t ha t on theplea of n ecess i ty .

”

Ministers have been imprisoned, females have been im

prisoned , and treated w i th al l k ind s of hardships and abusefor teaching slaves to read the B ib le . These cases have b ecome qu i te numerous of late vears

,and barbarous en ough

we should th ink to satisfy even a slave driver’s appetite forcruelty .

2d . The Jewish law m ade the slave a m an,regard ed h im

a m an, treated him as man ou r laws m ake him a chattel

,a

m ere beast of burthen , not a man but a thing . By the Jewshe w as treated with respect, worshipped with the family,eat with the family, sat with the fam ily, was entrusted withthe interests of the family , somet imes m arried into thefamily, and the children of them becam e the heirs of themaster . Abram d id not treat Hager’s son as Southernmasters d o their chi ldren by their slave s , sel l them intobondage . Jacob’s children

,by Bilhah and &ilpah

,his w i ves

slaves, were m ade equal with his children by Leah and Rachael . El iezer

,Abram’s servant, was entrusted w ith the

oversight of all his property , sent with weal th and author ityto select a wife for h i s son

,was received into the family of

Bethuel,and treated as the plenipotentiary of a great prince .

& Samuel took Saul and hi s servant, and brough t them intothe pa r lor , and m ade them si t in the chi efest place, among

them that were bidden,which were about thirty persons

,

1 . S am . i x. 22 . One of our slaves would have found a placein the kitchen . &iba , Saul

’s servant, had twenty servants of

his own,and large estate s , 2 . Sam . i x . 10. In 1 . Chron . i i .

34— 35, we find this history ,

of a slave & & N ow Sheshan

had no sons but d aughters . And Sheshan had a servan t, an

Eg yptia n , whose name was Jarha , and Sheshan gave hi sdaughter to Jarha

,h is ser vant to wife , and she bare him

Attai .” What shameless amalg amationi sts those Hebrewswere & They not only m arri ed with their slaves

,but eleva

ted them to posts of honor . The grand son of th is Attai wasm ad e a noble in David’s army . 1 . Chron . xi . 11 .

Our slave laws do not recog nize slaves as m en,but as

chatte ls . The d ecisions of our S lave Judges are,that they

have no r ights as m en,no rel igious

,no civil rights . Judge

Cren shaw decided that & & A slave i s in absolute bondage .He has no civi l r i g hts .

” S tew art’s A la . Rep . 320 .

& S laves

a re depr i ved qf all c ivi l r i g hts .

” Judge Mathews , in Martin’s Lou . Rep. 559 . Chief Justice Tan ey has decided that& the s lave has no rights which white men are bound to respect . ” He i s not a citizen

,and has no rights as a man .

And the who le system of American Slavery is calculatedand d es igned to degrade h im from a man to a brute . If h eis permitted to go into church

,he must go into the n egro’s

pew in some ou t of the way corn er . If he comes to theLord’s tab le

,he mu st s i t by himse lf. In the family , he never

eats w i th the fam i ly— n ever perm i tted to s i t with the fam i ly- nor be educated with the fam i ly

,and even in th e Free

States i s excluded fr om the schools of the whites . Thewhole sys tem of A merican Slavery i s a stud ied effort to degrad e the slave

,to work manhood and human i ty out of him

,

to m ake him feel that he 13 an inferi0 1 be ing, and serv itudethe p lace for which God created him . We degrade h im ,

d ebase h im,b 1u talize h im

,and then excuse ou 1 selves for

en slav ing him by the argumen t that he is an inferior race &

What wou ld they be who boast ingly u se th i s argumen t, ifthey we re in the slaves’ place a few hundred years & The

argument itself shows that they are below m any of them now

inreasoning powers . He must be more than a man , whowou ld not be inferi or by such usage as the slave rece i ves,and surround ed with such circum stances as he is and has

always been.

22

VII. The Jews m ad e provis ion for giving freedom to

the i r slaves al l ou r provisions are to make Slavery perpetual the Jewish system abridged it

,ameliorated and abol

i shed i t ours in tens ifies i t in severi ty, perpetuates and extend s i t . If a Jew was sold for debt, or for crime, hereceived h is freed om in the year of release , or at the end ofs ix years at the longest. Exod . xxi . 2 . If he sold himselfthrough extreme poverty

,he could b e held only til l th e year

of Jubilee. Lev . xxv. 39— 41 . In this year was proclaimedthroughout the land

,universal freed om . This year— eve ry

fiftie th year,al l were m ade free

,and all lands reverted to

their ancient owners . & And ye shall hallow the fift iethyear

,and proclaim li ber ty throu g hou t all the land , u nto all

the i nha bi tan ts thereof. It shall be a j ubi lee unto you , and

ye shall retu rn every man unt o his possession,and unto h is

fam i ly .

” Lev. xxv . 8— 1 1 .

From the passage in Lev . xxv . 46,They shal l be your

bondmen forever,

” i t i s argued that s laves purchased fromthe heathen d id not receive the1r l iberty in th e year of J ub i lee . That th i s is not correct

,i s evident from these con

s iderat ion s1 st. That the word forever , is frequently used in a l im i tedsen se

,and is here . Lev . x . 15

,

& A nd i t shall be th ine,and

thy sons w ith thee by a statute forever .

” But this statutehas long since ceased . 1 . Sam l . i . 22

,Then w i l l I bring

h im,that he m ay appear before the Lord , and th ere abid e

forever,

”in the temple at Shiloh

,with Eli . But he abod e

there on ly during his l ife andforever , here meant on ly aslong as he l ived . Josh . i v. 7,

& And these s ton es shal l befor a memoria l un to the chi ldren of Israel forever for a

long time . In Exod . xxi . 6 , i t means til l the year of Jubilee ,as i s plain by compar ing i t with Lev. xxv . 39— 41 . InExod . xx i . 6 , i t is ordained that the Jew was m ade a slave

forever by a certain act of his ; and in Lev . xxv . 41 —54,

i t i s shown that this forever m eans only ti l l the year ofJub i lee .

2d . The word forever i s j ust as l ong with the heathen

slave as with the Jewish , and no long er . If it m eant to the

23

J u bi lee i n the one case,i t d id in the other for i t is appl ied

to both classes of slaves . ln Exod . xxv . 6 , i t is orda inedof the J ew ,

that he sha l l serve h im, &h i s master,&forever .

In Lev . xxv. 46,i t i s orda ined of hea then slaves, they shall

be your bondmen forever .

” Is forever in the one case anylonger than th e other & If i t be l imited in the one

,and not

the other, i t m ust be by some enactment or explanationwhich cannot be found .

3d . Freedom in the Jubilee is procla imed to all . & Andye sha l lprocla im li ber ty throughout all the land

”— to whom&to a l l the Jewish slaves &to all of a particu lar class who areens laved & No, b u t & to all the i nhab i tan ts thereof,

” to allin bondage , to a l l whom it conce rned the stranger that isin thy camp

,the hewer of thy wood

,and drawer of thy

water .”

4th . It is proved by its results— it broke up Slavery, asd oubtless i t w as d es igned to do , and as such laws in ev itab lywould . We find no e v iden ce tha t S lavery existed amongthe Jews after Nehem iah’s day— and then i t was only J ewish Oppre ssion ; Jew s oppress ing Jews

,and not fore igners .

They ev id ently had no fore ign s laves at th is time, and there

i s no mention in any of the i r wri ters or writ ings of Slavery ,u nt i l the gospel came i n con tact w i th the heathen nat ion s , in

and after Ch ris t’s d ay and this accounts for Chri st say ing

n oth ing about it . While i t existed , the prOphets severe lyre buked i t, denounced its wickedness , the d ispleasure ofGod against it

,and a s one of the causes of the ir being sold

into S lavery . Ish . i . 17 ° lviii . 6— 7 . Ezek . xx i i . 29 ; xxxiv.17.

We have consid ered Jewish S lavery from the bri ef lawsand notices of i t as recorded i n the B ible in the beginn ing

of that nation , emerg ing from a state of S lavery them selves,and ent ire ly surrounded with i t in an ag e of great moral

d arkness but to just ify ou r S lavery by the i rs , i t should bewhen they had mad e their greatest attainments in re l ig ion

and Christian know ledge . Though they never had the l ight

and advan tages we have, they had enough to abol ish S la

very . Their laws,m ade m ore than three thousand years

24

ago,in al l their semi-barbarism

,had relig ion

,v irtue and

humanity enough i n them to undermine and destroy th ism ore than barbarous practice of enslaving the ir fel low m en .

The careful study of the B ible on this inst itut ion , cann ot fa i lto convince u s h ow gross ly it is m isunders tood— and sweep

away the infi del’s cavil against i ts inspiration . If ou r Sla

very is B ible S lavery,the infide l has a val id arg ument for

h is infidel i ty,for if God i s the au thor of such a system ,

he is

a monster whom al l would fear,but none could love . None

who wi l l look at the d iffe rence will fa i l to see how l i ttle theyresemble each other

,and how absurd

,d isingenuous at least,

to j ustify the one by the other . Hebrew S lavery existed inan ag e of great darkness, three thousand years ago ours inthe full sunshine of gospe l knowledge . The irs w as the bestthat could be done under the c ircumstances ours is th eworst that can be under the circums tances . Theirs w as ford ebts con tracted by the man himself

,for crimes committed ;

ours is for ne i the r debt n or crime . The irs was for a r ig hteous c laim or a j ust pun ishmen t ours i s w i thout the pre ten seof e i ther . When purchased of the heathen , or taken pris

on 'ers in war,they were educated in the Jewish rel igion ,

m ade members in the fam i ly ; our s laves are s tolen , kidnapped

,and denied a re l ig ious educat ion

,or a family m em

b e rship. Man-steal ing in the Jewish system w as punishedwith death ours i s a system of m an -steal ing entire ly .

Theirs was n ot a system of traffic in human be ings ours i s .Theirs w as m ild and humane ; ours is cruel and oppress i vein the extreme . The irs was by express perm i ss ion of God ,or d irection of God we have no such permissi on or d irec

tion . Theirswas d esigned to ame l iorate the state of S laverythen preva lent in the world ; ours i s no improvem ent 0 11

S lavery anywhere existing,but i s worse than any system.

found in the civ i lized world . Theirs was d esigned and calculated to e levate the sla ve to manhood ours is des ignedand cal culated to work manhood ou t of th e slave, and brutalize h im . Th ey m ade him a man we m ake him a. chattel .The Jew ish system m ad e prov i sion for the slave’s freedom ;ours makes every possible provision against i t. Theirs grew

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26

22— 23 . Ish . i . 17; v . 7— 9 ; xxx. 12—13 ; lxvii i . 6 . Jer .xxx i v . 17. Ezek . xxii . 29— 3 1 , and chapter xxx i v . Learnedand able writers on Jewish law assure us , that there is inHebrew no word for slave in the sense we use i t, and thelaws of Moses no where recogn izes such a r ight in man asslaveholders claim . Able and learned Jewish writers showconclus ively that the Mosa ic law was m uch m i lder than itappears to us

,d esigned for th e general good of the poor and

the oppressed,and worked out the prob lem i t designed

,of

elevat ing and free ing them .

A careful examination ofthe Mosaic laws will convince usl st . That there was no slavery in the modern sense of the

w ord among the Jews and2d . Therefore no slave insurrections

,as in every nation

where Slavery has preva i led ; i n Sici ly , Rom e, Crete , Sparta,Thessaly , Hayti , and the &nited States .3d . That their laws of serv ice prevented pauperism

,V 3.

gran cy,id leness , dzc . We fi nd no m en tion of poor-houses

,

a lms-houses,j ai ls

,prison s

,beggars

,and the l ike . Thei r

edy for poverty was work, for insolvency work and payth e debt, for theft, work They carried ou t God’s law

,& six

days shal t th ou labor,and made al l comply with it ; and

th is was much better, and accompl ish ed more in preventing

poverty,bankruptcy and cr im e

,than all m odern improve

ments for these ev i ls .S ince our attention has been called to the subj ect

,we mus t

not d ismiss i t w i thout n ot icing the teach ings of the NewTestam en t . It i s cla imed that Christ said nothing againstit

,and therefore b e approved i t. It is certain C hrist said

n othing for i t, and never manifested any interest for i t, thenhow comes it

,that those who profess to follow his example

can say so much for it,and manifest so deep an interest in

i t& If Chr i st said noth ing aga ins t it,i t was because it w as

not necessary he should for i t did not exist,was not prae

ticed by those to whom h i s te ach ings were given . His teachings were given to the church

,and it d id not exist i n the

church . The Jews,to whom his teachings were confined

,

were not guilty of i t, how cou ld he condemn it in them &

27

C hrist’s doctrines were not promulgated to the Rom an governm en t

,nor even to the centur ion , whose servan t b e healed

from w hofh he turned aw ay and directed his instructions tohis d isc ip les . Math . viii . 5— 13 .

But if the Saviour d id not cond emn it where i t d id notexist

,he gave his d isciples

,and through them ,

his church acode of law ‘which cu ts i t up by the roots— which at once

d estroys i t wherever,a nd by whomsoever hi s law i s em

braced . N0 law can be enacted against i t more sw eepingthan th i s & Thou shalt l ove thy neighbor as thyse lf.& Therefore al l thi ngs

,whatsoever ye wou ld that men should

d o to you , do ye even so to them for th is i s the law and

th e prOphe ts .

” M ath . vi i . 12 . Every law on the Southerns tatute book

,every law and every practice of m odern Sla

v ery i s opposed to th is . No m an wishes h is neighbor toensla ve h im

,therefore by this law

,he cannot enslave his

neighbor . As any m an i s averse to any of the wrongs andev i ls of S lavery

,and would not have them practiced on him

self or his ch ildren,so far as a Christian

,must he condemn

the system and al l its de tai ls .If i t b e a va l id argumen t

,tha t i t i s r igh t because the S a

v iou r said nothing aga inst i t,then a l l other practices and

l aws are righ t aga in st wh ich he d id not u tter h is protest.Now look into Roman history of tha t day

,and see what a

m ass ofwicked pract ices, and wicked laws we shal l be com

pel ted to justify . If w e find i t approved or condem ned inth e New Testament

,i t w i ll be when the New Testament

C hurch comes in contact with i t and this was not till afterC hrist’s death , for not ti l l then was the gospel preached to

th e heathen who held s laves . And what is the Teachi n g ofthe Apostles & What th ey taught, and its effects on Slavery , w i l l prove th is muchl st. That not a word of approval or of justification , for the

system,nor a l icense to any Christian to hold a slave , i s any

where to be found . A m an i s not expressly forbidden tohold a slave

,but he i s required to d o what entirely destroys

the system . Masters,give unto your servan ts that which

i s just and equal knowing that ye also have a m aster in

heaven .” C ol. iv . 1 .

28

Is it ju st or equal” to d eprive a m an of his wife, or child ,

or earn ings & What master would so regard it if practicedon h imse lf&Dr . Hodge , of Princeton , whom none will accuse of &A h

olition i sm,

” says on th i s text, Slaves are to be treated bytheir m as ters on the prin ciples of eg ua li ty. N ot that theyare to b e equal with their m asters in authority‘

,or stat ion ,

or circumstances ; but they are to be'

treated a s ha vin g , as

men , a s hu sbands , and a s pa ren ts, eg ual r i g hts w i th their

masters . I t i s ju st a s g r ea t a s i n to depr ive a slave of the

ju st r ecompense for hi s labor , or keep him i n i g noran ce, or

take him from his w ife or child , as i t is to act thu s to a freeman . Th i s i s the equal ity which th e law ofGod demand s,and on thi s principle the final j udgment is to be administered .

How much of a slave i s that m an who has equ al rightswith h is master in everyth ing but h is station and circumstances&” Has a r ight to his wages , an education , to hi sw ife an d chi ldren & Have we any such Slavery as this &Was this Roman Slavery & No on e wil l obj ect to such

Slavery as this,but slave own ers and those who are for de

pri ving men of these gospel r ights . This i s a good regulation for ma s ter and ser van t, b ut a d eath blow to m aster and

slave. It effectual ly abol ishes Slavery . Eve ry commen tarywh ich I have seen , takes th is view of the text

,some directly

and others inferential ly .

It i s argued that those passages which sujom obedien ce to

masters , as Eph . vi . 5— 8,and others , approve the condition

of m aste r and slave. We have men North of Mason a nd

Dixon’s lin e,who have committed these scrip tures by heart

,

and repeat them as conclusive arguments that the apostlesjust ified Slavery ; b u t one circumstan ce militates againsttheir honesty or their in tel l igen ce ; they e ither d o not know,or w il l not repeat what the apostle said to masters . I haveheard Eph . vi . 5— 8 , quoted very accu rately ; b ut the s toppingplace was at the 8th verse . The 9 th verse either d id notm ake for the system , or i t was too hard to le arn , or thoughtnot to have a connection. This d is ingenuousness of i ts ad

29

vocates is a very strong argument that these m en d o notbel ieve the apostles taught S lavery . S lave own ers arewill ing you shou ld preach what the Bible enj o ins on theservant to their slaves , but he had better b e out of D ix ie ifhe ventures to preach what the scriptures enjoin on the

m aster . What stronger argument can we have that the

Bible does not justify S lavery &That we may S ee how m uch the arg ument i s worth , let

u s co l late i t with other passages . & But I say unto you ,love your enem ies

,b l ess them that curse you

,do good to

them that hate you , and pray for them which despitefullyu se you , and persecute you .

” Math . v . 44 .

& L et everysou l be subj ect unto the h igher powers .” Rom . xii i . 1 .

Do these commands approve or justify enmity,hate

,

persecution , cursing, and d espiteful abuse& Does ob e

d ience to a bad government justify bad government&The apostles command ed obed ience to the Roman governm ent, a government tolerating persecution for C hrist ianity,feeding Christian s to w i ld beas ts , burning, torturing them ,

agovernment that gave the father power to kill hi s chi ldren

,

the husband h is wife,and enjo in ed the death of hundreds or

thousands of slaves for the m urd er of the master ; does hi scommand to be obed ient and serve such a governm ent

,ap

prove or sanc tion it & Just as much as his commands to be'

ob etli en t to a m aster who violates the laws of God and nature , sanctions such a master , or such a system .

2d . That slavery i s not a good condition to be in , andtherefore it i s not good to hold a man in it. & If thou mayestbe made free

,use it rather .” 1 . Cor . vii . 21 . If you cannot

be free i t i s not your fault, but the fau lt of another— if youcan be

,i t i s you r duty to be free . If i t i s the slave’s duty

to be free,i t is every m an’s duty not to enslave him Sla

very i s not as good a state as freedom ; then every man isguilty of a wrong w ho forces such a state . The apostleplainly d eclares that Slave ry i s not as good a state for m en

as freedom ,then how can he justify any for forcing th i s

worse state on men & It is no where justified by Christ or

his apostles .

30

3d . The effect of Bible teach ing,of C hristianity ,

i s to deS troy S lavery ; how then could i t be that Christ and hisapostles taught i t to b e right& The converted heathen gavefreed om to their slaves . Owners of slaves when converted

,

m anum i tted the ir slaves in hundreds , and i t i s said thousands

,as inconsistent with the principles of thei r new rel i

gion . In the d ays of Constantine by an ord er of the Em

peror i t w as done in the church and before the whole congre

g ation . The real Bible port ion of the world objected stronglyagainst American Slavery , when introduced by enslav ingthe Ind ians . Las Casas & Rej ected with ind ignation theidea

,that any race of men was born to servitud e

,as irre

lig ious , and inhuman .

” Rob . Am . 1,book I I I . It was the

Bible in England which brought it to an end in the WestInd i es . It was Bib le teaching in N ew England and Atlantic States

,which banished i t from eve ry State where i t

existed,North of Mason and D ixon’s l ine . The re su l t of

Bib le teach ing, if practiced , would be j ust what i t was inth e case of One simu s

,and what Pau l exhorted Philemon to

,

the servant set free,and received as a brother be loved .

Here is a sample of New Testament teaching, and practice .Pau l tells Phi lemon he m i g ht enjo in h im as a C hr i s ti an , yetfor love’s sake , he beseeches h im as a C hristian brother, to

receive his servant— but not as a servan t or slave,but a

brother,beloved . Taking Paul’s Ep i stle to Ph i lemon as

thei r g u id e , how m any Christi ans would hold slaves& Nay— how many cou ld & Paul says he m igh t command as aninspired apostle

,what he ask s Ph i lem on to do— not to hold

Onesimus as a slave , but regard him above a slave— a broth

er— an equal by the law of Christ ianity . If this is the lawof Christ ian i ty, who then plead s Christiani ty to justifyAm erican S lavery& Phil . verses 8 , 10— 16 . A M i ss ionaryin the Wes t Ind ies before the abolition of S lavery there

,

was charged with read ing an inflammatory chapte r fromthe B ible to his congregation . It might have been true

,for

the B ible has many such chapters, and as offens ive to our

slaveholders as to the West Ind ians.Great numbers in every age, since Christ

’s advent can

31

say , with C ochin , I owe to C hr istian i ty the horror wi th

whi ch S lavery in sp ires me.

4 th . The apostles place our Slavery among the worstcrimes . 1 . Tim . i . 9— 10 , in enumerating th ings agains twh ich the law is orda in ed he spe c ifies

,the & profane

,mur

derere Of fathers and mothers,man-S layers

,whore

m ongers m en -stea lers, liars , and perjured persons .” O ur

Slavery i s founded in man -stea l ing, and i t will be found to

embrace all this catalogue of crime,profan ity

,m urd ering

fathers and mothers,m an -slaying

,whoredom

,lying and

perj ury. John Wesley expressed very briefly what Paul

particularizes,

& Slavery is the sum of al l v i llan ies .” There

is not a crime forb idden in the Bible,which American Sla

very does not tolerate and practice .

There are hard problems in eth ics and some m en’s systemOf theology

,the solv ing ofwhich would confer a favor on th e

unskil led and dull Of apprehension . I have n ot been ableto solve these

,and w i ll acknowledge my obligations to

any one who w i ll .1st. How i t i s that the Bible teache s Slavery, and yet

slave‘

owners will not allow it to be taught t o their slave s .Slaveholders

,and the advocates Of S lavery are v ery sure

the Bible teaches S lavery,and yet Slavery makes i t a cr im e

to teach a s lave to read the B ible . Are they afraid theirsl aves will find out it i s a sin to be free & Or that God m adethem for slaves

,and doomed them to this state&

2d . How i t i s that Slavery is good , and v et productive of

untold ev i ls ; good , and yet always end s ln misch ief. In

nearly every State or kingdom where it has not been aboliehed by law, i t has ended in civ i l w ars , insurrect ion s, m obs,&c as in Greece, Rome , Hayti , and the &n ited States . What

a Southern father told h i s ch ildren would b e the resul t ofSlavery in th is country

,

& That the sun of S la ve ry wou ldset i n blood ,

” was pred icted from the h i story Of Slavery andOppression i n other countries . This has been its history .

We need not go abroad to know what d emoral ization , v i olation of the decencies and amenities of l ife , bruta l i t ies and

cruelties i t breeds . We have all these and every s in forbid

32

d en in the d ecalogue,as th e result of i t in our land . God

approve s S lavery , His word teaches i t, and His provid encei s always against it , from the day He drowned the Egyptiansin the Red Sea ti ll to-d ay

,when He is drowning American

Slavery & in destruction and perd ition .

” How is this aocounted for &3d . How is it, th at God has implanted in the human soula desire for freedom , a fact wh ich every one knows in hi sown experience, and yet created men to be slaves & Does

G od make such con tradictions, or is the desire of freedom a

part Of Ad am’s s in &4 th. How i s i t that the Bible teaches Slavery

, and yetwherever the Bible goes

,S lavery is abolished . I t univer

sally prevailed i h th e heathen wor ld at the com ing of Christ,but d id not preva il among the Jews

,and i t d isappeared

from the heathen world wherever the Bible was introduced ,and believed as the word of God .

5th. Slavery is a Divine institution— a Bible institutionord ained and taught by prophets and apos tles

,then how is

it, that nearly all good m en in ev ery age,have been Opposed

to it &and such a m ajor i ty of bad m en are in favor of it&Tod ay

,ninety-nine out Of on e hundred of all Evangel

ical M inisters throughout C hristendom,are Opposed to it,

at least those who have not an interest in i t,or are not in

s ome way invo lved in i t . The scanda l Of being abolition i stshas belonged to Christi ans in all ages

,and the glory of ap

proving and justifying Slavery,to b ut very few . Thousand s

in this country are heartily Opposed to the system,who

have h itherto been Opposed to meddl ing with i t in the States,until those States have sought to enforce i t on th e country , and

to found a slave empire,have waged war on the Government.

This hasbeen my position until this war. Though called an ab

Oli tion ist, 1 have not ti ll l ately been enti tled to the cred it,or scandal

,as you please to regard i t . I am now thorough ly

converted . and have no scruples in placing it where Paulhas

,among the worst of crimes, and am so far a Wesleyan

as to belie ve w i th the author OfWesleyanism ,that & i t is the

sum of all villainies .” & A Divine Insti tution&” a d ivine

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

34

and prosperity of the church over which God has pl aced me ,h ad something to d o in the matter. The church i s worth

m any such th ings as myself. Every m ember i s as preciou sin the eye of God as myself, and I would not Offend one OfChris t’s l ittle ones . I fear th e millstone . I have read th emaled ict ions of pol iticians on the floor of Congress against

m in isters, and heard them i n the streets by the drunken tool s

of pol iticians , for m eddling with poli tics , when pray ing forour country, for the Government, was the sin , when the merem ention of Slavery was politics , and this by m en who branded every m an as an abolitionist who was not heart and handfor Slavery . These were not my trouble

,but friends in th e

fold OfC hri st— who, perhaps , were h is in the covenant Ofredemption

,but were m isl ed , were in the dark on the s ub

j cet,and who suffered th e bl indness

,perhaps in the provi

dence of G od to rebuke my _own unfaithfulness

,and be a

th orn i n the flesh to keep m e sensi tive to duty,and cure

pride . The effect has been a careful examination as to duty

on the subj ect now discussed , and to th e church and govern

m ent . I hav e not been able to prove to my satisfaction ,that a Christian Minister may not be , or ou g ht not to be a

patriot, love h i s coun try, pray for th e Government or thathis patriotism s hould be less at a time above all otherswhen patriotism i s dem anded , or h is prayers or efforts beless w hen his country is in danger, and great efforts made tooverthrow the Governm ent . I am convinced that a C hr i sti an mu st be a pa triot, and none the less for being a m in

ister that i n time Of need,as I conceive the presen t to be

,

he ought to be willing to m ake any sacrifice Of time,labor

,

fr iends, money, and l ife , if need be . A good Government i sGod’s gift

,and the best gift to m en for this world

,and ours

i s unquest ionably the best the'

world has or perhaps ever

has had , being founded on the principle of universal freedom to all , and in which all help to govern the very kindof government indeed , which God him self gave to hi s ownchosen people separate tribes

,but on e general govern

m ent ; the tribes d i stinct, and yet one ; a wri tten C on stitution for each S tate , and a National one ; l aws enacted by

35

the people,ru lers and j udges chosen by the peop le

,and

from among the people, and full provis ion m ade for amending and correcting any b ad law, and th e rem ova l of everybad magistrate

,and redressing every wrong What m ore

can any people ask& What better can G od d o for them in

th e bestowment of a governm ent& Being fully pursnadedof these facts

,I have preached som e four patriotic ser

m ons since the war began,in my feebl e way trying to

convin ce my people of these truths,and our duties in con

nection with them . Holding these sentiments,I cannot b ut

regard every man in error who lightly esteem s the ri chboon which God has conferred on us i n the Governm ent hehas given us and e very man who , from party m ot ives , orany other, takes part against the Government or those laboring to sustain it against thi s rebel l ion , as the enemies of thecountry

,my enemies and yours ; and every system ,

andeveryth ing which endangers the peace and perpetu i ty of

this Government as mischievou s,wrong

,wicked . Such I

regard Slavery . It i s at the bottom of, and the authorthe sole cause of thi s war. As a patriot then , I ought to hateSlavery ; i t h as sought, an d i s now struggling to destroymy country ; as a friend to good Governm ent, I ought tohate i t ; i t has undermined and fired the train, to blow tofrag m en ts

,the best Governm en t in the world . A s th e frien d

Of universal,civ i l

,and religious l iberty , I ought to hate i t ;

i t i s the monster tyrant that seeks th e destruction of humanl iberty

,and to extend i ts empire of darkness and oppress ion

O ver the world . A s the friend of education , of l igh t andin telligence

,I ought to hate i t ; i t has Opposed and Obstructed

all these as far as i t could . As a Chr i stian , I ought to hateit,and al l kinds of Oppress ion ; al l the prophets , and good

m en Of every age,have been i ts en em ies . A s a minis ter

of the gospe l of peace , I ough t to be i ts enemy i t has commenced

,and is now waging a b loody , cruel , causeless and bar

barous war,Of wh ich savages ought to be ashamed . As a ph i

lan thropi st, I ought to abominate i t what wrong has i t n ot

infl icted on men & What thousand s , yea w hat mi l l ions ,has i t robbed and murdered , and cast to the sharks Of the

36

ocean& No , there i s not a Christian em otion in the s oul ofman

,not a k ind or a right emotion

,which i s not opposed to

Am erican Slavery . We rej oice in the belief that i ts d ay ofdoom has come

,that the hand is seen writing on the wall

,

that the river i s turned,and

'

the army of de l iv erance i sentering & the two-leaved gates

,

” and soon God’s captivesshall be set free

,and the American Belshazzar and h is

impiou s Lord s be slain,and Babylon be utterly destroyed .

A & vo i ce from heaven,

” the providence of God,the sign s

Of the times , say to God’s peop le

,Come out of her

,my

people , that ye be n ot partakers of h er sins , an d that yereceive not of her plagues . &or he r s ins have reachedun to h eaven

,and God hath remembered her iniquities .

Reward h er accord ing to her works i n the cup which she

hath fi l led,fi l l to he r doub le . How much sh e hath glori

fi ed herself and l ived del ic i ously,so much torm en t and

s orrow give her ; for she saith in her heart, I si t a queen ,an d am no w id ow

,and shal l see n o sorrow . Therefore

shall her plagues come in on e day,d eath

,and mourning

,

and fam ine ; and she shal l be utterly burned with fire , fors trong i s the Lord God who j udgeth her .”