December 8, 1850
The relation of master and slave has been called patriarchal, and only second in benignity1 and tenderness to that of the parent and child. This representation is doubtless believed by many northern people; and this may account, in part, for the lack of interest which we find among persons whom we are bound to believe to be honest and humane2. What, then, are the facts? Here I will not quote my own experience in slavery; for this you might call one-sided testimony3. I will not cite the declarations of abolitionists; for these you might pronounce exaggerations. I will not rely upon advertisements cut from newspapers; for these you might call isolated4 cases. But I will refer you to the laws adopted by the legislatures of the slave states. I give you such evidence, because it cannot be invalidated nor denied. I hold in my hand sundry5 extracts from the slave codes of our country, from which I will quote. * * *
Now, if the foregoing be an indication of kindness, what is cruelty? If this be parental6 affection, what is bitter malignity7? A more atrocious and blood-thirsty string of laws could not well be conceived of. And yet I am bound to say that they fall short of indicating the horrible cruelties constantly practiced in the slave states.
I admit that there are individual slaveholders less cruel and barbarous than is allowed by law; but these form the exception. The majority of slaveholders find it necessary, to insure obedience8, at times, to avail themselves of the utmost extent of the law, and many go beyond it. If kindness were the rule, we should not see advertisements filling the columns of almost every southern newspaper, offering large rewards for fugitive9 slaves, and describing them as being branded with irons, loaded with chains, and scarred by the whip. One of the most telling testimonies10 against the pretended kindness of slaveholders, is the fact that uncounted numbers of fugitives11 are now inhabiting the Dismal12 Swamp, preferring[344] the untamed wilderness13 to their cultivated homes—choosing rather to encounter hunger and thirst, and to roam with the wild beasts of the forest, running the hazard of being hunted and shot down, than to submit to the authority of kind masters.
I tell you, my friends, humanity is never driven to such an unnatural14 course of life, without great wrong. The slave finds more of the milk of human kindness in the bosom15 of the savage16 Indian, than in the heart of his Christian17 master. He leaves the man of the bible, and takes refuge with the man of the tomahawk. He rushes from the praying slaveholder into the paws of the bear. He quits the homes of men for the haunts of wolves. He prefers to encounter a life of trial, however bitter, or death, however terrible, to dragging out his existence under the dominion18 of these kind masters.
The apologists for slavery often speak of the abuses of slavery; and they tell us that they are as much opposed to those abuses as we are; and that they would go as far to correct those abuses and to ameliorate the condition of the slave as anybody. The answer to that view is, that slavery is itself an abuse; that it lives by abuse; and dies by the absence of abuse. Grant that slavery is right; grant that the relations of master and slave may innocently exist; and there is not a single outrage19 which was ever committed against the slave but what finds an apology in the very necessity of the case. As we said by a slaveholder (the Rev20. A. G. Few) to the Methodist conference, “If the relation be right, the means to maintain it are also right;” for without those means slavery could not exist. Remove the dreadful scourge—the plaited thong—the galling21 fetter22—the accursed chain—and let the slaveholder rely solely23 upon moral and religious power, by which to secure obedience to his orders, and how long do you suppose a slave would remain on his plantation24? The case only needs to be stated; it carries its own refutation with it.
Absolute and arbitrary power can never be maintained by one man over the body and soul of another man, without brutal25 chastisement26 and enormous cruelty.
To talk of kindness entering into a relation in which one party is robbed of wife, of children, of his hard earnings27, of home, of friends, of society, of knowledge, and of all that makes this life desirable, is most absurd, wicked, and preposterous28.
I have shown that slavery is wicked—wicked, in that it violates the great law of liberty, written on every human heart—wicked, in that it violates the first command of the decalogue—wicked, in that it fosters the most disgusting licentiousness—wicked, in that it mars and defaces[345] the image of God by cruel and barbarous inflictions—wicked, in that it contravenes29 the laws of eternal justice, and tramples30 in the dust all the humane and heavenly precepts31 of the New Testament32.
The evils resulting from this huge system of iniquity33 are not confined to the states south of Mason and Dixon’s line. Its noxious34 influence can easily be traced throughout our northern borders. It comes even as far north as the state of New York. Traces of it may be seen even in Rochester; and travelers have told me it casts its gloomy shadows across the lake, approaching the very shores of Queen Victoria’s dominions35.
The presence of slavery may be explained by—as it is the explanation of—the mobocratic violence which lately disgraced New York, and which still more recently disgraced the city of Boston. These violent demonstrations36, these outrageous37 invasions of human rights, faintly indicate the presence and power of slavery here. It is a significant fact, that while meetings for almost any purpose under heaven may be held unmolested in the city of Boston, that in the same city, a meeting cannot be peaceably held for the purpose of preaching the doctrine38 of the American Declaration of Independence, “that all men are created equal.” The pestiferous breath of slavery taints39 the whole moral atmosphere of the north, and enervates40 the moral energies of the whole people.
The moment a foreigner ventures upon our soil, and utters a natural repugnance41 to oppression, that moment he is made to feel that there is little sympathy in this land for him. If he were greeted with smiles before, he meets with frowns now; and it shall go well with him if he be not subjected to that peculiarly fining method of showing fealty42 to slavery, the assaults of a mob.
Now, will any man tell me that such a state of things is natural, and that such conduct on the part of the people of the north, springs from a consciousness of rectitude? No! every fibre of the human heart unites in detestation of tyranny, and it is only when the human mind has become familiarized with slavery, is accustomed to its injustice43, and corrupted44 by its selfishness, that it fails to record its abhorrence45 of slavery, and does not exult46 in the triumphs of liberty.
The northern people have been long connected with slavery; they have been linked to a decaying corpse47, which has destroyed the moral health. The union of the government; the union of the north and south, in the political parties; the union in the religious organizations of the land, have all served to deaden the moral sense of the northern people, and to impregnate them with sentiments and ideas forever in conflict with what as a nation we call genius of American institutions. Rightly viewed,[346] this is an alarming fact, and ought to rally all that is pure, just, and holy in one determined48 effort to crush the monster of corruption49, and to scatter50 “its guilty profits” to the winds. In a high moral sense, as well as in a national sense, the whole American people are responsible for slavery, and must share, in its guilt51 and shame, with the most obdurate52 men-stealers of the south.
While slavery exists, and the union of these states endures, every American citizen must bear the chagrin53 of hearing his country branded before the world as a nation of liars54 and hypocrites; and behold55 his cherished flag pointed56 at with the utmost scorn and derision. Even now an American abroad is pointed out in the crowd, as coming from a land where men gain their fortunes by “the blood of souls,” from a land of slave markets, of blood-hounds, and slave-hunters; and, in some circles, such a man is shunned57 altogether, as a moral pest. Is it not time, then, for every American to awake, and inquire into his duty with respect to this subject?
Wendell Phillips—the eloquent58 New England orator—on his return from Europe, in 1842, said, “As I stood upon the shores of Genoa, and saw floating on the placid59 waters of the Mediterranean60, the beautiful American war ship Ohio, with her masts tapering61 proportionately aloft, and an eastern sun reflecting her noble form upon the sparkling waters, attracting the gaze of the multitude, my first impulse was of pride, to think myself an American; but when I thought that the first time that gallant62 ship would gird on her gorgeous apparel, and wake from beneath her sides her dormant63 thunders, it would be in defense64 of the African slave trade, I blushed in utter shame for my country.”
Let me say again, slavery is alike the sin and the shame of the American people; it is a blot65 upon the American name, and the only national reproach which need make an American hang his head in shame, in the presence of monarchical66 governments.
With this gigantic evil in the land, we are constantly told to look at home; if we say ought against crowned heads, we are pointed to our enslaved millions; if we talk of sending missionaries67 and bibles abroad, we are pointed to three millions now lying in worse than heathen darkness; if we express a word of sympathy for Kossuth and his Hungarian fugitive brethren, we are pointed to that horrible and hell-black enactment68, “the fugitive slave bill.”
Slavery blunts the edge of all our rebukes69 of tyranny abroad—the criticisms that we make upon other nations, only call forth70 ridicule71, contempt, and scorn. In a word, we are made a reproach and a by-word to a[347] mocking earth, and we must continue to be so made, so long as slavery continues to pollute our soil.
We have heard much of late of the virtue72 of patriotism73, the love of country, &c., and this sentiment, so natural and so strong, has been impiously appealed to, by all the powers of human selfishness, to cherish the viper74 which is stinging our national life away. In its name, we have been called upon to deepen our infamy75 before the world, to rivet76 the fetter more firmly on the limbs of the enslaved, and to become utterly77 insensible to the voice of human woe78 that is wafted79 to us on every southern gale80. We have been called upon, in its name, to desecrate81 our whole land by the footprints of slave-hunters, and even to engage ourselves in the horrible business of kidnapping.
I, too, would invoke82 the spirit of patriotism; not in a narrow and restricted sense, but, I trust, with a broad and manly83 signification; not to cover up our national sins, but to inspire us with sincere repentance84; not to hide our shame from the the(sic) world’s gaze, but utterly to abolish the cause of that shame; not to explain away our gross inconsistencies as a nation, but to remove the hateful, jarring, and incongruous elements from the land; not to sustain an egregious85 wrong, but to unite all our energies in the grand effort to remedy that wrong.
I would invoke the spirit of patriotism, in the name of the law of the living God, natural and revealed, and in the full belief that “righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people.” “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from the holding of bribes86, he shall dwell on high, his place of defense shall be the munitions87 of rocks, bread shall be given him, his water shall be sure.”
We have not only heard much lately of patriotism, and of its aid being invoked88 on the side of slavery and injustice, but the very prosperity of this people has been called in to deafen89 them to the voice of duty, and to lead them onward90 in the pathway of sin. Thus has the blessing91 of God been converted into a curse. In the spirit of genuine patriotism, I warn the American people, by all that is just and honorable, to BEWARE!
I warn them that, strong, proud, and prosperous though we be, there is a power above us that can “bring down high looks; at the breath of whose mouth our wealth may take wings; and before whom every knee shall bow;” and who can tell how soon the avenging92 angel may pass over our land, and the sable93 bondmen now in chains, may become the instruments of our nation’s chastisement! Without appealing to any higher feeling, I would warn the American people, and the American government,[348] to be wise in their day and generation. I exhort94 them to remember the history of other nations; and I remind them that America cannot always sit “as a queen,” in peace and repose95; that prouder and stronger governments than this have been shattered by the bolts of a just God; that the time may come when those they now despise and hate, may be needed; when those whom they now compel by oppression to be enemies, may be wanted as friends. What has been, may be again. There is a point beyond which human endurance cannot go. The crushed worm may yet turn under the heel of the oppressor. I warn them, then, with all solemnity, and in the name of retributive justice, to look to their ways; for in an evil hour, those sable arms that have, for the last two centuries, been engaged in cultivating and adorning96 the fair fields of our country, may yet become the instruments of terror, desolation, and death, throughout our borders.
It was the sage97 of the Old Dominion that said—while speaking of the possibility of a conflict between the slaves and the slaveholders—“God has no attribute that could take sides with the oppressor in such a contest. I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that his justice cannot sleep forever.” Such is the warning voice of Thomas Jefferson; and every day’s experience since its utterance98 until now, confirms its wisdom, and commends its truth.
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1
benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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malignity
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| n.极度的恶意，恶毒；（病的）恶性 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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testimonies
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| （法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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fetter
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| n./vt.脚镣，束缚 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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contravenes
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| v.取消，违反( contravene的第三人称单数 ) | |
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tramples
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| 踩( trample的第三人称单数 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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taints
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| n.变质( taint的名词复数 )；污染；玷污；丑陋或腐败的迹象v.使变质( taint的第三人称单数 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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enervates
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| v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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exult
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| v.狂喜，欢腾；欢欣鼓舞 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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obdurate
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| adj.固执的，顽固的 | |
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chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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liars
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| 说谎者( liar的名词复数 ) | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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dormant
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| adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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enactment
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| n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过 | |
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rebukes
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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viper
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| n.毒蛇；危险的人 | |
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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rivet
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| n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力) | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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81
desecrate
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| v.供俗用，亵渎，污辱 | |
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82
invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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83
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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84
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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85
egregious
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| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
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86
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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87
munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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88
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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89
deafen
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| vt.震耳欲聋；使听不清楚 | |
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90
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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91
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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92
avenging
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| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
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93
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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94
exhort
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| v.规劝，告诫 | |
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95
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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96
adorning
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| 修饰，装饰物 | |
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97
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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98
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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