But there were martyrs to the cause of freedom before the war. Everybody knows more or less of the story of John Brown, of Ossawatomie, whose soul kept "marching on," although his body was "a-mouldering in the grave."
There was another case involving the surrender of life to that cause, which has always struck me as having stronger claims to our sympathies than that of John Brown and his comrades in self-sacrifice.
I have already referred to Elijah P. Lovejoy who was a young Congregational clergyman, who went from the State of Maine to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1839. He became the editor of a religious journal in which he expressed, in very moderate terms, an opinion that was not favorable to slave-holding. The supporters of the institution were aroused at once. They demanded a retraction7. "I have sworn eternal hostility8 to slavery, and by the blessing9 of God I will never go back," was his reply. He also declared, "We have slaves here, but I am not one of them."
It was deemed advisable by Mr. Lovejoy and his friends to move his printing establishment to Alton, opposite Missouri, in the free State of Illinois. There, however, a pro-slavery antagonism10 immediately developed. His press was seized and thrown into the Mississippi River. The same fate awaited two others that were procured11. But, undismayed, Mr. Lovejoy and his friends once more decided12 that their rights and liberties should not be surrendered without a further effort. Another press was sent for. But in the meanwhile a violent public agitation had arisen. At the instance of certain pro-slavery leaders in the community a public meeting had been called to denounce the Abolitionists. Mr. Lovejoy was invited to attend it and declare what he would do.
"Gentlemen," said he, "as long as I am an American citizen; as long as American blood runs in my veins14, I shall hold myself at liberty to speak, to write, and to publish whatever I please on any subject, being amenable15 to the laws of my country for the same."
The fourth press arrived. It was landed from a passing boat in the small hours of the morning, and was safely conveyed to a warehouse16 where Mr. Lovejoy and several of his friends assembled with a view to its protection. What followed is thus described:
"An hour or two afterwards there came from the grog-shops a crowd of people who knocked at the door and demanded the press. One of the owners of the warehouse informed them it would not be given up. Presenting a pistol, the leader of the mob announced that they were resolved to have the press at any cost. Stones were thrown, windows broken, and shots were fired at the building. The cry of 'burn them out' was raised. Ladders were procured, and some of the rioters mounted to the roof of the building and set it on fire. Mr. Lovejoy at this point stepped out of the building for the purpose of having a talk with his enemies, when he was fired upon. He received five balls, three in his breast. He was killed almost instantly."
The animosity of his enemies was such that they followed his remains17 with scoffings and insults on its way to the grave.
But the most cruel and brutal18 persecutions by the slave power were not always those that involved the sacrifice of life.
In Canterbury, in the State of Connecticut, lived a Quaker lady of the name of Prudence19 Crandall. She conducted a school for young ladies. Among those she admitted was a colored girl. The fact becoming known, objection was raised by the citizens of the place. The position in which Miss Crandall was placed was a most trying one. Having invested all her means in the school building and its equipment, she was confronted with the alternative of losing her business and her property, or dismissing the colored student who had done no wrong. She chose to stand by her principles.
A public meeting was called, and a resolution to prevent the maintenance of the school, if colored students were admitted, was adopted by the citizens. Nevertheless, that brave Quakeress opened her doors to several colored young women. That brought the issue to a head, and then began a system of most remarkable20 persecutions. The school building was bombarded with clubs and stones, the proprietress found the stores of the village closed against her, and the young lady students were grossly insulted when they appeared upon the streets. Even the well from which drinking water was obtained was polluted.
Finding that there was no law in Connecticut under which the instruction of colored people could be prohibited and punished, the enemies of Miss Crandall went to the Legislature of the State and asked for such an enactment21, and, to the eternal disgrace of that body, their request was complied with. It was made a crime in Connecticut to instruct colored people in the rudiments22 of an ordinary education.
Miss Crandall, as she made no change in her course of action, was arrested, brought before a committing magistrate23, and sent to jail. A man had shortly before been confined in the same prison for the murder of his wife, and therefrom had gone to execution. Miss Crandall was confined in the cell this man had occupied. Other indignities24 were heaped upon this devoted25 and courageous26 lady. Physicians refused to attend the sick of her household, and the trustees of the church she was accustomed to attend notified her that she and the members of her family were denied admission to that sanctuary27.
Miss Crandall was finally convicted of the crime with which she was charged, but the case, being carried to the highest court of the State, was dismissed on a technicality. But, although the legal prosecution28 of this poor woman reached an end, her enemies did not cease their opposition29. The mob made an attack upon her dwelling30, which was also her schoolhouse. Doors and windows were broken in, and the building was so thoroughly31 wrecked32 as to be uninhabitable. Having no money with which to make repairs, she was forced to abandon the structure and her educational business at the same time.
The Crandall family became noted33 for its martyrs. A brother of Prudence Crandall was Dr. Reuben Crandall, of Washington City. He was a man of high attainments34, being a lecturer in a public scientific institution. While engaged in his office he received some packages that had been wrapped in newspapers, among which happened to be a copy or two of Abolition13 journals. At the request of a gentleman who was present at the unpacking35 he gave him one of the publications. Having looked it over the gentleman dropped it, where it was picked up by some one who was on the lookout36 for incendiary publications. No little excitement followed its discovery. The community was aroused. Indeed, so great was the agitation occasioned that Dr. Crandall, to whom the inhibited37 paper had been traced, was in great physical danger from mob violence. He was arrested, and, partly to save his life, was thrust into jail, where he remained for eight months. He was tried and, although acquitted38, was really made the subject of capital punishment. Tuberculosis39 developed as the result of his incarceration40, and death soon followed.
Of many cases of the kind that might be cited, perhaps none is more strikingly illustrative than that of Charles Turner Torrey, a New England man. He was accused of helping41 a slave to escape from the city of Baltimore, and being convicted on what was said to be perjured42 testimony43, was sent to the penitentiary44 for a long term of years. The confinement45 was fatal, a galloping46 consumption mercifully putting a speedy end to his confinement. And then a remarkable incident occurred. Torrey was a minister in good standing47 of the Congregational denomination48, and also a member of the Park Avenue Church of Boston. Arrangements were made for funeral exercises in that church, but its managers, taking alarm at the threats of certain pro-slavery men, withdrew their permission and locked the sanctuary's doors. Slavery punished the dead as well as the living.
The case of Amos Dresser, a young Southerner, may not improperly49 be mentioned here. He had gone to a Northern school, and had become a convert to Abolitionism. He went to Nashville, Tennessee, to canvass50 for a book called the Cottage Bible which would not ordinarily be supposed to be dangerous to well regulated public institutions. While peaceably attending to his business he was accused of Anti-Slaveryism. He did not deny the charge and was arrested, his trunk being broken open and its contents searched and scattered51. He was taken before a vigilance committee and by it was condemned52 to receive twenty lashes53 on his bare back, "well laid on," and then to be driven out of town. The sentence was carried out, we are told, in the presence of thousands of people of both sexes.
Of the many somewhat similar instances that might here be referred to the writer will make room for only one more.
A seafaring man of the name of Jonathan Walker undertook to convey in a sloop54 of which he was the owner seven colored fugitives55 to the Bahama Islands, where they would be free. Owing to an accident to his boat, he and his companions were captured. He was sentenced, among other things, to have his hand branded with the letters S.S., signifying "Slave Stealer."
The incident just referred to inspired one of the finest productions of Whittier's pen. Singing of that "bold plowman of the wave" he proceeds:
"Why, that hand is highest honor,
Than its traces never yet Upon old memorial hatchments was
A prouder blazon56 set; And the unborn generations, as they
Tread our rocky strand57, Shall tell with pride the story of
Their father's branded hand."
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1
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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3
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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4
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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retraction
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| n.撤消；收回 | |
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8
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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12
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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13
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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14
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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15
amenable
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| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
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16
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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17
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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18
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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enactment
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| n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过 | |
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rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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24
indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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30
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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31
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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34
attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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35
unpacking
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| n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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36
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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inhibited
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| a.拘谨的，拘束的 | |
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acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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39
tuberculosis
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| n.结核病，肺结核 | |
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40
incarceration
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| n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭 | |
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41
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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42
perjured
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| adj.伪证的，犯伪证罪的v.发假誓，作伪证( perjure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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44
penitentiary
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| n.感化院；监狱 | |
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45
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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46
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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47
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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48
denomination
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| n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
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49
improperly
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| 不正确地，不适当地 | |
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50
canvass
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| v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论 | |
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51
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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52
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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53
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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54
sloop
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| n.单桅帆船 | |
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55
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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56
blazon
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| n.纹章，装饰；精确描绘；v.广布；宣布 | |
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57
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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