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diff --git a/14555-h/14555-h.htm b/14555-h/14555-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7a3c382 --- /dev/null +++ b/14555-h/14555-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,17380 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> +<html lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + + <title>William Lloyd Garrison (1891)</title><style type="text/css"> + .newpage { display: none; } + .pagenum:after { + display: inline; + content: "[" attr(title) "]"; + } + </style><meta name="author" content="Grimke, Archibald H. (1849-1930)"> + <meta name="generator" content="Text Encoding Initiative Consortium XSLT stylesheets"> + <meta name="DC.Title" content="William Lloyd Garrison (1891)"> + <meta name="DC.Type" content="Text"> + <meta name="DC.Format" content="text/html"> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14555 ***</div> + + <p><a name="TOP"></a></p> + <table summary="titlepage" class="header" width="100%"> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3"></td> + <td align="left"> + <h2 class="institution"></h2> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td align="left"> + <h1 class="maintitle">William Lloyd Garrison (1891)</h1> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td align="left"> By Grimke, Archibald H. (1849-1930) </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr> + <div class="frontispiece"> + <h2><a name="frontispiece"></a></h2><span class="center"><img src="images/garrison.png" alt="Wm. Lloyd Garrison"></span><p>Wm. Lloyd Garrison</p> + </div> + <div class="version"> + <h2><a name="pubhistory"></a></h2> + <p> + Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data + + </p> + <p> + Grimké, Archibald Henry, 1849-1930. + <br><br> + William Lloyd Garrison, the abolitionist. + + </p> + <p> + Reprint of the 1891 ed. published by Funk & Wagnalls, + New York. + + </p> + <p> + 1. Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879. + + </p> + <p> + Reprinted from the edition of 1891, New York + First AMS edition published in 1974 + + </p> + </div> + <div class="dedication"> + <h2><a name="dedication"></a></h2> + <p><i>To Mrs. Anna M. Day, who has been a mother to + my little girl, and a sister to me, this book is gratefully + and affectionately dedicated, by</i></p> + <p><i>The Author</i>. + + </p> + </div> + <div class="preface"> + <h2><a name="preface1"></a> + PREFACE. + + </h2> + <p> + The author of this volume desires by way of + preface to say just two things:—firstly, that it is his + earnest hope that this record of a hero may be an aid + to brave and true living in the Republic, so that the + problems knocking at its door for solution may find + the heads, the hands, and the hearts equal to the performance + of the duties imposed by them upon the + men and women of this generation. William Lloyd + Garrison was brave and true. Bravery and truth + were the secret of his marvelous career and achievements. + May his countrymen and countrywomen + imitate his example and be brave and true, not alone + in emergent moments, but in everyday things as + well. + + </p> + <p> + So much for the author's firstly, now for his secondly, + which is to acknowledge his large indebtedness + in the preparation of this book to that storehouse + of anti-slavery material, the story of the life of + William Lloyd Garrison by his children. Out of its + garnered riches he has filled his sack. + + </p> + <p> + HYDE PARK, MASS., May 10, 1891. + + </p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="TOC"></a> + CONTENTS. + + </h2> + <table summary="TOC"> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Dedication + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="vii" id="vii" title="vii"></a><a href="#dedication" class="ref">III</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Preface + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#preface1" class="ref">V</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER I. + <br><br> + The Father of the Man + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap1" class="ref">11</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER II. + <br><br> + The Man Hears a Voice: Samuel, Samuel! + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap2" class="ref">38</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER III. + <br><br> + The Man Begins his Ministry + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap3" class="ref">69</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER IV. + <br><br> + The Hour and the Man + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap4" class="ref">92</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER V. + <br><br> + The Day of Small Things + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap5" class="ref">110</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER VI. + <br><br> + The Heavy World is Moved + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap6" class="ref">118</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER VII. + <br><br> + Master Strokes + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap7" class="ref">133</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="viii" id="viii" title="viii"></a> + CHAPTER VIII. + <br><br> + Colorphobia + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap8" class="ref">157</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER IX. + <br><br> + Agitation and Repression + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap9" class="ref">170</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER X. + <br><br> + Between the Acts + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap10" class="ref">192</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XI. + <br><br> + Mischief Let Loose + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap11" class="ref">208</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XII. + <br><br> + Flotsam and Jetsam + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap12" class="ref">233</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XIII. + <br><br> + The Barometer Continues to Fall + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap13" class="ref">242</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XIV. + <br><br> + Brotherly Love Fails, and Ideas Abound + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap14" class="ref">263</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XV. + <br><br> + Random Shots + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap15" class="ref">292</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XVI. + <br><br> + The Pioneer Makes a New and Startling Departure + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap16" class="ref">306</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XVII. + <br><br> + As in a Looking Glass + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap17" class="ref">319</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XVIII. + <br><br> + The Turning of a Long Lane + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap18" class="ref">335</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="ix" id="ix" title="ix"></a> + CHAPTER XIX. + <br><br> + Face to Face + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap19" class="ref">356</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XX. + <br><br> + The Death-Grapple + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap20" class="ref">370</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + CHAPTER XXI. + <br><br> + The Last + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#chap21" class="ref">385</a></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Index + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#index" class="ref">397</a><a class="newpage" name="x" id="x" title="x"></a></td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap1"></a> + WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + CHAPTER I. + <br><br><br><br> + THE FATHER OF THE MAN. + + </h2> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_011" id="P_011" title="P_011"></a> + William Lloyd Garrison was born in Newburyport, + Massachusetts, December 10, 1805. Forty years + before, Daniel Palmer, his great-grandfather, emigrated + from Massachusetts and settled with three + sons and a daughter on the St. John River, in Nova + Scotia. The daughter's name was Mary, and it was + she who was to be the future grandmother of our + hero. One of the neighbors of Daniel Palmer was + Joseph Garrison, who was probably an Englishman. + He was certainly a bachelor. The Acadian solitude + of five hundred acres and Mary Palmer's charms + proved too much for the susceptible heart of + Joseph Garrison. He wooed and won her, and on + his thirtieth birthday she became his wife. The + bride herself was but twenty-three, a woman of + resources and of presence of mind, as she needed to + be in that primitive settlement. Children and cares + came apace to the young wife, and we may be sure + confined her more and more closely to her house. + But in the midst of a fast-increasing family and of + <a class="newpage" name="P_012" id="P_012" title="P_012"></a> + multiplying cares a day's outing did occasionally + come to the busy housewife, when she would go + down the river to spend it at her father's farm. + Once, ten years after her marriage, she had a narrow + escape on one of those rare days. She had started + in a boat with her youngest child, Abijah, and a lad + who worked in her household. It was spring and + the St. John was not yet clear of ice. Higher up the + river the ice broke that morning and came floating + down with the current. The boat in which Mary + Garrison and her baby rode was overtaken by the + fragments and wrecked. The mother with her child + sought refuge on a piece of ice and was driven shoreward. + Wrapping Abijah in all the clothes she could + spare she threw him ashore. She and the lad followed + by the aid of an overhanging willow bough. + The baby was unharmed, for she had thrown him + into a snow-bank. But the perils of the river gave + place to the perils of the woods. In them Mary + Garrison wandered with her infant, who was no less + a personage than the father of William Lloyd Garrison, + until at length she found the hut of a friendly + Indian, who took her in and "entertained her with + his best words and deeds, and the next morning + conducted her safely to her father's." + + </p> + <p> + The Palmers were a hardy, liberty-loving race of + farmers, and Joseph Garrison was a man of unusual + force and independence of character. The life which + these early settlers lived was a life lived partly + on the land and partly on the river. They were + equally at home with scythe or oar. Amid such + terraqueous conditions it was natural enough that + the children should develop a passion for the + <a class="newpage" name="P_013" id="P_013" title="P_013"></a> + sea. Like ducks many of them took to the water + and became sailors. Abijah was a sailor. The + amphibious habits of boyhood gave to his manhood + a restless, roving character. Like the element + which he loved he was in constant motion. + He was a man of gifts both of mind and body. + There was besides a strain of romance and adventure + in his blood. By nature and his seafaring life he + probably craved strong excitement. This craving + was in part appeased no doubt by travel and drink. + He took to the sea and he took to the cup. But he + was more than a creature of appetites, he was a man + of sentiment. Being a man of sentiment what should + he do but fall in love. The woman who inspired his + love was no ordinary woman, but a genuine Acadian + beauty. She was a splendid specimen of womankind. + Tall she was, graceful and admirably proportioned. + Never before had Abijah in all his wanderings + seen a creature of such charms of person. Her + face matched the attractions of her form and her mind + matched the beauty of her face. She possessed a + nature almost Puritanic in its abhorrence of sin, and + in the strength of its moral convictions. She feared + to do wrong more than she feared any man. With + this supremacy of the moral sense there went along + singular firmness of purpose and independence of + character. When a mere slip of a girl she was called + upon to choose between regard for her religious convictions + and regard for her family. It happened in + this wise. Fanny Lloyd's parents were Episcopalians, + who were inclined to view with contempt fellow-Christians + of the Baptist persuasion. To have + a child of theirs identify herself with this despised + <a class="newpage" name="P_014" id="P_014" title="P_014"></a> + sect was one of those crosses which they could not + and would not bear. But Fanny had in a fit of girlish + frolic entered one of the meetings of these low-caste + Christians. What she heard changed the current of + her life. She knew thenceforth that God was no + respecter of persons, and that the crucified Nazarene + looked not upon the splendor of ceremonies but upon + the thoughts of the heart of His disciples. Here in a + barn, amid vulgar folk, and uncouth, dim surroundings, + He had appeared, He, her Lord and Master. + He had touched her with that white unspeakable + appeal. The laughter died upon the fair girlish face + and prayer issued from the beautiful lips. If vulgar + folk, the despised Baptists, were good enough for the + Christ, were they not good enough for her? Among + them she had felt His consecrating touch and among + them she determined to devote herself to Him. Her + parents commanded and threatened but Fanny Lloyd + was bent on obeying the heavenly voice of duty rather + than father and mother. They had threatened that + if she allowed herself to be baptised they would turn + her out of doors. Fanny was baptised and her parents + made good the threat. Their home was no longer + her home. She had the courage of her conviction—ability + to suffer for a belief. + + </p> + <p> + Such was the woman who subsequently became the + wife of Abijah Garrison, and the mother of one of + the greatest moral heroes of the century. Abijah + followed the sea, and she for several years with an + increasing family followed Abijah. First from one + place and then another she glided after him in her + early married life. He loved her and his little ones + but the love of travel and change was strong within + <a class="newpage" name="P_015" id="P_015" title="P_015"></a> + him. He was ever restless and changeful. During + one of his roving fits he emigrated with his family + from Nova Scotia to the United States. It was in + the spring of 1805 that he and they landed in Newburyport. + The following December his wife presented + him with a boy, whom they called William + Lloyd Garrison. Three years afterward Abijah + deserted his wife and children. Of the causes which + led to this act nothing is now known. Soon after + his arrival in Newburyport he had found employment. + He made several voyages as sailing-master in + 1805-8 from that port. He was apparently during + these years successful after the manner of his craft. + But he was not a man to remain long in one place. + What was the immediate occasion of his strange + behavior we can only conjecture. Possibly an + increasing love for liquor had led to domestic differences, + which his pleasure-loving nature would not + brook. Certain it was that he was not like his wife. + He was not a man in whom the moral sense was + uppermost. He was governed by impulse and she + by fixed moral and religious principles. He drank + and she abhorred the habit. She tried first moral + suasion to induce him to abandon the habit, and + once, in a moment of wifely and motherly indignation, + she broke up one of his drinking parties in her + house by trying the efficacy of a little physical + suasion. She turned the company out of doors and + smashed the bottles of liquor. This was not the + kind of woman whom Abijah cared to live with as a + wife. He was not the sort of man whom the most + romantic love could attach to the apron-strings of + any woman. And in the matter of his cup he probably + <a class="newpage" name="P_016" id="P_016" title="P_016"></a> + saw that this was what he would be obliged to + do as the condition of domestic peace. The condition + he rejected and, rejecting it, rejected and cast-off + his wife and family and the legal and moral responsibilities + of husband and father. + + </p> + <p> + Bitter days now followed and Fanny Garrison + became acquainted with grief and want. She had + the mouths of three children to fill—the youngest an + infant at her breast. The battle of this broken-hearted + woman for their daily bread was as heroic as + it was pathetic. She still lived in the little house on + School street where Lloyd was born. The owner, + Martha Farnham, proved herself a friend indeed to + the poor harassed soul. Now she kept the wolf from + the door by going out as a monthly nurse—"Aunt + Farnham" looking after the little ones in her + absence. She was put to all her possibles during + those anxious years of struggle and want. Even + Lloyd, wee bit of a boy, was pressed into the service. + She would make molasses candies and send him upon + the streets to sell them. But with all her industry + and resource what could she do with three children + weighing her down in the fierce struggle for existence, + rendered tenfold fiercer after the industrial + crisis preceding and following the War of 1812. + Then it was that she was forced to supplement her + scant earnings with refuse food from the table of "a + certain mansion on State street." It was Lloyd who + went for this food, and it was he who had to run the + gauntlet of mischievous and inquisitive children + whom he met and who longed for a peep into his tin + pail. But the future apostle of non-resistance was + intensely resistant, we may be sure, on such occasions. + <a class="newpage" name="P_017" id="P_017" title="P_017"></a> + For, as his children have said in the story of + his life: "Lloyd was a thorough boy, fond of games + and of all boyish sport. Barefooted, he trundled his + hoop all over Newburyport; he swam in the Merrimac + in summer, and skated on it in winter; he was + good at sculling a boat; he played at bat and ball + and snowball, and sometimes led the 'Southend + boys' against the Northenders in the numerous conflicts + between the youngsters of the two sections; he + was expert with marbles. Once, with a playmate, he + swam across the river to 'Great Rock,' a distance of + three-fourths of a mile and effected his return against + the tide; and once, in winter, he nearly lost his life + by breaking through the ice on the river and reached + the shore only after a desperate struggle, the ice + yielding as often as he attempted to climb upon its + surface. It was favorite pastime of the boys of that + day to swim from one wharf to another adjacent, + where vessels from the West Indies discharged + their freight of molasses, and there to indulge in + stolen sweetness, extracted by a smooth stick inserted + through the bung-hole. When detected and chased, + they would plunge into the water and escape to the + wharf on which they had left their clothes." Such + was the little man with a boy's irrepressible passion + for frolic and fun. His passion for music was hardly + less pronounced, and this he inherited from his + mother, and exercised to his heart's content in the + choir of the Baptist Church. These were the bright + lines and spots in his strenuous young life. He + played and sang the gathering brood of cares out of + his own and his mother's heart. He needed to play + and he needed to sing to charm away from his spirit + <a class="newpage" name="P_018" id="P_018" title="P_018"></a> + the vulture of poverty. That evil bird hovered ever + over his childhood. It was able to do many hard things + to him, break up his home, sunder him from his + mother, force him at a tender age to earn his bread, + still there was another bird in the boy's heart, which + sang out of it the shadow and into it the sunshine. + Whatever was his lot there sang the bird within his + breast, and there shone the sun over his head and + into his soul. The boy had unconsciously drawn + around him a circle of sunbeams, and how could the + vulture of poverty strike him with its wings or stab + him with its beak. When he was about eight he was + parted from his mother, she going to Lynn, and he, + wee mite of a man, remaining in Newburyport. It was + during the War of 1812, and pinching times, when + Fanny Garrison was at her wit's end to keep the wolf + from devouring her three little ones and herself into + the bargain. With what tearing of the heart-strings + she left Lloyd and his little sister Elizabeth + behind we can now only imagine. She had + no choice, poor soul, for unless she toiled they + would starve. So with James, her eldest son, she + went forth into the world to better theirs and her + own condition. Lloyd went to live in Deacon Ezekiel + Bartlett's family. They were good to the little fellow, + but they, too, were poor. The Deacon, among other + things, sawed wood for a living, and Lloyd hardly + turned eight years, followed him in his peregrinations + from house to house doing with his tiny hands what + he could to help the kind old man. Soon Fanny + Lloyd's health, which had supported her as a magic + staff in all those bitter years since Abijah's desertion + of wife and children, began in the battle for bread in + <a class="newpage" name="P_019" id="P_019" title="P_019"></a> + Lynn, to fail her. And so, in her weakness, and with + a great fear in her heart for her babies, when she was + gone from them into the dark unknown forever, she + bethought her of making them as fast as possible self-supporting. + And what better way was there than to + have the boys learn some trade. James she had + already apprenticed to learn the mystery of shoemaking. + And for Lloyd she now sent and apprenticed + him, too, to the same trade. Oh! but it was + hard for the little man, the heavy lapstone and all + this thumping and pounding to make a shoe. Oh! + how the stiff waxen threads cut into his soft fingers, + how all his body ached with the constrained + position and the rough work of shoemaking. But + one day the little nine-year-old, who was "not much + bigger than a last," was able to produce a real shoe. + Then it was probably that a dawning consciousness + of power awoke within the child's mind. He himself + by patience and industry had created a something + where before was nothing. The eye of the boy + got for the first time a glimpse of the man, who was + still afar off, shadowy in the dim approaches of the + hereafter. But the work proved altogether beyond + the strength of the boy. The shoemaker's bench was + not his place, and the making of shoes for his kind + was not the mission for which he was sent into the + world. And now again poverty, the great scene-shifter, + steps upon the stage, and Fanny Lloyd and her + two boys are in Baltimore on that never-ending quest + for bread. She had gone to work in a shoe factory + established by an enterprising Yankee in that city. + The work lasted but a few months, when the proprietor + failed and the factory was closed. In a + <a class="newpage" name="P_020" id="P_020" title="P_020"></a> + strange city mother and children were left without + employment. In her anxiety and distress a new + trouble, the greatest and most poignant since Abijah's + desertion, wrung her with a supreme grief. James, + the light and pride of her life, had run away from + his master and gone to sea. Lloyd, poor little homesick + Lloyd, was the only consolation left the broken + heart. And he did not want to live in Baltimore, + and longed to return to Newburyport. So, mindful + of her child's happiness, and all unmindful of her + own, she sent him from her to Newburyport, which + he loved inexpressibly. He was now in his eleventh + year. Very happy he was to see once more the + streets and landmarks of the old town—the river, + and the old house where he was born, and the church + next door and the school-house across the way and + the dear friends whom he loved and who loved him. + He went again to live with the Bartletts, doing with + his might all that he could to earn his daily bread, + and to repay the kindness of the dear old deacon and + his family. It was at this time that he received his + last scrap of schooling. He was, as we have seen, but + eleven, but precious little of that brief and tender + time had he been able to spend in a school-house. + He had gone to the primary school, where, as his + children tell us, he did not show himself "an apt + scholar, being slow in mastering the alphabet, and + surpassed even by his little sister Elizabeth." During + his stay with Deacon Bartlett the first time, he was + sent three months to the grammar-school, and now + on his return to this good friend, a few more weeks + were added to his scant school term. They proved + the last of his school-days, and the boy went forth + <a class="newpage" name="P_021" id="P_021" title="P_021"></a> + from the little brick building on the Mall to finish + his education in the great workaday world, under those + stern old masters, poverty and experience. By and by + Lloyd was a second time apprenticed to learn a trade. + It was to a cabinetmaker in Haverhill, Mass. He made + good progress in the craft, but his young heart still + turned to Newburyport and yearned for the friends + left there. He bore up against the homesickness as + best he could, and when he could bear it no longer, + resolved to run away from the making of toy bureaus, + to be once more with the Bartletts. He had partly + executed this resolution, being several miles on the + road to his old home, when his master, the cabinetmaker, + caught up to him and returned him to Haverhill. + But when he heard the little fellow's story of + homesickness and yearning for loved places and + faces, he was not angry with him, but did presently + release him from his apprenticeship. And so the boy + to his great joy found himself again in Newburyport + and with the good old wood-sawyer. Poverty and + experience were teaching the child what he never + could have learned in a grammar-school, a certain + acquaintance with himself and the world around + him. There was growing within his breast a self-care + and a self-reliance. It was the autumn of 1818, + when, so to speak, the boy's primary education in + the school of experience terminated, and he entered on + the second stage of his training under the same rough + tutelage. At the age of thirteen he entered the office + of the Newburyport <i>Herald</i> to learn to set types. + At last his boy's hands had found work which his + boy's heart did joy to have done. He soon mastered + the compositor's art, became a remarkably rapid + <a class="newpage" name="P_022" id="P_022" title="P_022"></a> + composer. As he set up the thoughts of others, he + was not slow in discovering thoughts of his own + demanding utterance. The printer's apprentice felt + the stirrings of a new life. A passion for self-improvement + took possession of him. He began to read the + English classics, study American history, follow the + currents of party politics. No longer could it be + said of him that he was not an apt pupil. He was + indeed singularly apt. His intelligence quickened + marvelously. The maturing process was sudden + and swift. Almost before one knows it the boy in + years has become a man in judgment and character. + This precipitate development of the intellectual life + in him, produced naturally enough an appreciable + enlargement of the <i>ego</i>. The young eagle had + abruptly awakened to the knowledge that he possessed + wings; and wings were for use—to soar with. + Ambition, the desire to mount aloft, touched and + fired the boy's mind. As he read, studied, and + observed, while his hands were busy with his work, + there was a constant fluttering going on in the eyrie + of his thoughts. By an instinct analogous to that + which sends a duck to the water, the boy took to the + discussion of public questions. It was as if an innate + force was directing him toward his mission—the reformation + of great public wrongs. At sixteen he made + his first contribution to the press. It was a discussion + of a quasi-social subject, the relation of the + sexes in society. He was at the impressionable age, + when the rosy god of love is at his tricks. He was + also at a stage of development, when boys are least + attractive, when they are disagreeably virile, full of + their own importance and the superiority of their sex. + <a class="newpage" name="P_023" id="P_023" title="P_023"></a> + In the "Breach of the Marriage Promise," by "An + Old Bachelor," these signs of adolescence are by no + means wanting, they are, on the contrary, distinctly + present and palpable. But there were other signs + besides these, signs that the youth had had his eyes + wide open to certain difficulties which beset the + matrimonial state and to the conventional steps + which lead to it, and that he had thought quite + soberly, if not altogether wisely upon them. The + writer was verdant, to be sure, and self-conscious, + and partial in his view of the relations of the sexes, + but there was withal a serious purpose in the writing. + He meant to expose and correct what he conceived + to be reprehensible conduct on the part of the + gentler sex, bad feminine manners. Just now he + sees the man's side of the shield, a few years later he + will see the woman's side also. He ungallantly concludes + "to lead the '<em>single life</em>,' and not," as he + puts it, "trouble myself about the ladies." A most + sapient conclusion, considering that this veteran + misogynist was but sixteen years old. During the + year following the publication of this article, he plied + his pen with no little industry—producing in all + fifteen articles on a variety of topics, such as "South + American Affairs," "State Politics," "A Glance at + Europe," etc., all of which are interesting now chiefly + as showing the range of his growing intelligence, and + as the earliest steps by which he acquired his later mastery + of the pen and powerful style of composition. + In a letter addressed to his mother about this time, + the boy is full of Lloyd, undisguisedly proud of + Lloyd, believes in Lloyd. "When I peruse them + over" (<i>i.e.</i> those fifteen communications to the + <a class="newpage" name="P_024" id="P_024" title="P_024"></a> + press), "I feel absolutely astonished," he naïvely confesses, + "at the different subjects which I have discussed, + and the style in which they are written. + Indeed it is altogether a matter of surprise that I + have met with such signal success, seeing I do not + understand <em>one single rule of grammar</em>, and having a + very inferior education." The printer's lad was + plainly not lacking in the bump of approbativeness, + or the quality of self-assertiveness. The quick + mother instinct of Fanny Garrison took alarm at the + tone of her boy's letter. Possibly there was something + in Lloyd's florid sentences, in his facility of + expression, which reminded her of Abijah. He, too, + poor fellow, had had gifts in the use of the pen, and + what had he done, what had he come to? Had he + not forsaken wife and children by first forsaking the + path of holiness? So she pricks the boy's bubble, + and points him to the one thing needful—God in the + soul. But in her closing words she betrays what we + all along suspected, her own secret pleasure in her + son's success, when she asks, "Will you be so kind + as to bring on your pieces that you have written + for me to see?" Ah! was she not every inch a + mother, and how Lloyd did love her. But she was + no longer what she had been. And no wonder, for + few women have been called to endure such heavy + burdens, fight so hopelessly the battle for bread, all + the while her heart was breaking with grief. Disease + had made terrible inroads upon her once strong and + beautiful person. Not the shadow of the strength + and beauty of her young womanhood remained. She + was far away from her early home and friends, far + away from her darling boy, in Baltimore. James, + <a class="newpage" name="P_025" id="P_025" title="P_025"></a> + her pride, was at sea, Elizabeth, a sweet little maiden + of twelve, had left her to take that last voyage + beyond another sea, and Abijah, without one word + of farewell, with the silence of long years unbroken, + he, too, also! had hoisted sail and was gone forever. + And now in her loneliness and sorrow, knowing that + she, too, must shortly follow, a great yearning rose + up in her poor wounded heart to see once more her + child, the comfort and stay of her bitter life. And + as she had written to him her wish and longing, + the boy went to her, saw the striking change, saw + that the broken spirit of the saintly woman was day + by day nearing the margin of the dark hereafter, + into whose healing waters it would bathe and be + whole again. The unspeakable experience of mother + and son, during this last meeting is not for you and + me, reader, to look into. Soon after Lloyd's return + to Newburyport a cancerous tumor developed on her + shoulder, from the effects of which she died September + 3, 1823, at the age of forty-five. More than a + decade after her death her son wrote: "She has been + dead almost eleven years; but my grief at her loss is + as fresh and poignant now as it was at that period;" + and he breaks out in praise of her personal charms in + the following original lines: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"She was the masterpiece of womankind—<br>In shape and height majestically fine;<br>Her cheeks the lily and the rose combined;<br>Her lips—more opulently red than wine;<br>Her raven locks hung tastefully entwined;<br>Her aspect fair as Nature could design;<br>And then her eyes! so eloquently bright!<br>An eagle would recoil before her light."<br><br></div> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_026" id="P_026" title="P_026"></a> + The influence of this superb woman was a lasting + power for truth and righteousness in the son's stormy + life. For a whole year after her death, the grief of + the printer's lad over his loss, seemed to have checked + the activity of his pen. For during that period nothing + of his appeared in the <i>Herald</i>. + But after the sharp + edge of his sorrow had worn off, his pen became + active again in the discussion of public men and public + questions. It was a period of bitter personal and + political feuds and animosities. The ancient Federal + party was <i>in articulo mortis</i>. The + death-bed of a great political organization proves oftentimes the + graveyard of lifelong friendships. For it is a scene + of crimination and recrimination. And so it happened + that the partisans of John Adams, and the + partisans of John Adams's old Secretary of State, + Timothy Pickering, were in 1824 doing a thriving + business in this particular line. Into this funereal + performance our printer's apprentice entered with + pick and spade. He had thus early a <i>penchant</i> for + controversy, a soldier's scent for battle. If there was + any fighting going on he proceeded directly to have + a hand in it. And it cannot be denied that that hand + was beginning to deal some manly and sturdy blows, + whose resound was heard quite distinctly beyond + the limits of his birthplace. His communications + appeared now, not only in the <i>Herald</i>, but in the + Salem <i>Gazette</i> as well. Now it was the + Adams-Pickering controversy, now the discussion of General + Jackson as a presidential candidate, now the state of + the country in respect of parties, now the merits of + "American Writers," which afforded his 'prentice + hand the requisite practice in the use of the pen. He + <a class="newpage" name="P_027" id="P_027" title="P_027"></a> + had already acquired a perfect knowledge of typesetting + and the mechanical makeup of a newspaper. + During his apprenticeship he took his first lesson in + the art of thinking on his feet in the presence of an + audience. The audience to be sure were the members + of a debating club, which he had organized. He + was very ambitious and was doubtless looking forward + to a political career. He saw the value of extempore + speech to the man with a future, and he + wisely determined to possess himself of its advantage. + He little dreamt, however, to what great use he was + to devote it in later years. There were other points + worth noting at this time, and which seemed to + prophecy for him a future of distinction. He + possessed a most attractive personality. His energy + and geniality, his keen sense of humor, his social and + bouyant disposition, even his positive and opinionated + temper, were sources of popular strength to him. + People were strongly drawn to him. His friends + were devoted to him. He had that quality, which + we vaguely term magnetic, the quality of attaching + others to us, and maintaining over them the ascendency + of our character and ideas. + + </p> + <p> + In the midst of all this progress along so many + lines, the days of his apprenticeship in the + <i>Herald</i> + office came to an end. He was just twenty. With true + Yankee enterprise and pluck, he proceeded to do for + himself what for seven years he had helped to do for + another—publish a newspaper. And with a brave + heart the boy makes his launch on the uncertain sea + of local journalism and becomes editor and publisher + of a real, wide-awake sheet, which he calls the <i>Free + Press.</i> The paper was independent in politics and + <a class="newpage" name="P_028" id="P_028" title="P_028"></a> + proved worthy of its name during the six months + that Garrison sat in the managerial chair. Here is + the tone which the initial number of the paper holds + to the public: "As to the political course of the + <i>Free Press</i>, it shall be, in the widest sense of + the term, <em>independent</em>. The publisher does not mean by this, to + rank amongst those who are of everybody's and of + nobody's opinion; ... nor one of whom the + old French proverb says: + <i>Il ne soit sur quel pied danser</i>. + [He knows not on which leg to dance.] Its + principles shall be open, magnanimous and free. It + shall be subservient to no party or body of men; and + neither the craven fear of loss, nor the threats of the + disappointed, nor the influence of power, shall ever + awe one single opinion into silence. Honest and fair + discussion it will court; and its columns will be open + to all temperate and intelligent communications + emanating from whatever political source. In fine + we will say with Cicero: 'Reason shall prevail with + him more than popular opinion.' They who like + this avowal may extend their encouragement; and if + any feel dissatisfied with it, they must act accordingly. + The publisher cannot condescend to solicit + their support." This was admirable enough in its + way, but it was poor journalism some will say. And + without doubt when judged by the common commercial + standard it <em>was</em> poor journalism. In this + view it is a remarkable production, but in another aspect + it is still more remarkable in that it took with + absolute accuracy the measure of the man. As a + mental likeness it is simply perfect. At no time during + his later life did the picture cease to be an exact + moral representation of his character. It seems quite + <a class="newpage" name="P_029" id="P_029" title="P_029"></a> + unnecessary, therefore, to record that he proceeded + immediately to demonstrate that it was no high + sounding and insincere declaration. For in the + second number, he mentions with that singular + serenity, which ever distinguished him on such occasions, + the discontinuance of the paper on account of + matter contained in the first issue, by ten indignant + subscribers. "Nevertheless," he adds, "our happiness + at the loss of such subscribers is not a whit + abated. We <em>beg</em> no man's patronage, and shall ever + erase with the same cheerfulness that we insert the + name of any individual.... Personal or political + offence we shall studiously avoid—truth <em>never</em>." + Here was plainly a wholly new species of the <i>genus + homo</i> in the editorial seat. What, expect to make a + newspaper pay and not beg for patronage? Why + the very idea was enough to make newspaperdom + go to pieces with laughter. Begging for patronage, + howling for subscribers, cringing, crawling, changing + color like the chameleon, howling for Barabbas or + bellowing against Jesus, all these things must your + newspaper do to prosper. On them verily hang the + whole law and all the profits of modern journalism. + This is what the devil of competition was doing in + that world when William Lloyd Garrison entered it. + It took him up into an exceedingly high mountain, we + may be certain, and offered him wealth, position, and + power, if he would do what all others were doing. And + he would not. He went on editing and publishing + his paper for six months regardful only of what his + reason approved—regardless always of the disapproval + of others. Not once did he palter with his + convictions or juggle with his self-respect for the + <a class="newpage" name="P_030" id="P_030" title="P_030"></a> + sake of pelf or applause. His human horizon was + contracted, to be sure. It could hardly be otherwise + in one so young. His world was his country, and + patriotism imposed limits upon his affections. "Our + country, our whole country, and nothing but our + country," was the ardent motto of the + <i>Free Press</i>. + The love of family comes, in the order of growth, before + the love of country; and the love of country + precedes the love of all mankind. "First the blade, + then the ear, then the full corn in the ear," is the + great law of love in the soul as of corn in the soil. Besides + this contraction of the affections, there was also + manifest in his first journalistic venture a deficiency + in the organ of vision, a failure to see into things and + their relations. What he saw he reported faithfully, + suppressing nothing, adding nothing. But the objects + which passed across the disk of his editoral intelligence + were confined almost entirely to the + surface of things, to the superficies of national + life. He had not the ken at twenty to penetrate beneath + the happenings of current politics. Of the existence + of slavery as a supreme reality, we do not + think that he then had the faintest suspicion. No + shadow of its tremendous influence as a political + power seemed to have arrested for a brief instant his + attention. He could copy into his paper this + atrocious sentiment which Edward Everett delivered + in Congress, without the slightest comment or + allusion. "Sir, I am no soldier. My habits and education + are very unmilitary, but there is no cause in + which I would sooner buckle a knapsack on my + back, and put a musket on my shoulder than that of + putting down a servile insurrection at the South." + <a class="newpage" name="P_031" id="P_031" title="P_031"></a> + The reason is plain enough. Slavery was a <i>terra + incognito</i> to him then, a book of which he had not + learned the ABC. Mr. Everett's language made + no impression on him, because he had not the key to + interpret its significance. What he saw, that he set + down for his readers, without fear or favor. He had + not seen slavery, knew nothing of the evil. Acquaintance + with the deeper things of life, individual or + national, comes only with increasing years, they are + hardly for him who has not yet reached his majority. + Slavery was the very deepest thing in the life of the + nation sixty-four years ago. And if Garrison did not + then so understand it, neither did his contemporaries, + the wisest and greatest of them so understand it. + The subject of all others which attracted his attention, + and kept his editorial pen busy, was the claim + of Massachusetts for indemnity from the general government, + for certain disbursements made by her for + the defence of her sea-coast during the war of 1812. + This matter, which forms but a mere dust point in + the perspective of history, his ardent young mind + mistook for a principal object, erected into a permanent + question in the politics of the times. But the + expenditure of enormous energies upon things of + secondary and of even tertiary importance, to the + neglect of others of prime and lasting interest, is + supremely human. He was errant where all men go + astray. But the schoolmaster of the nation was + abroad, and was training this young man for the + work he was born to do. These six months were, + therefore, not wasted, for in the university of experience + he did ever prove himself an apt scholar. + One lesson he had learned, which he never needed to + <a class="newpage" name="P_032" id="P_032" title="P_032"></a> + relearn. Just what that lesson was, he tells in his + valedictory to the subscribers of the + <i>Free Press</i>, as + follows: "This is a time-serving age; and he who + attempts to walk uprightly or speak honestly, cannot + rationally calculate upon speedy wealth or preferment." + A sad lesson, to be sure, for one so young + to learn so thoroughly. Perhaps some reader will + say that this was cynical, the result of disappointment. + But it was not cynical, neither was it the result + of disappointment. It was unvarnished truth, + and more's the pity, but truth it was none the less. + It was one of those hard facts, which he of all men, + needed to know at the threshold of his experience + with the world. Such a revelation proves disastrous + to the many who go down to do business in that + world. Ordinary and weak and neutral moral constitutions + are wrecked on this reef set in the human + sea. Like a true mariner he had written it boldly on + his chart. There at such and such a point in the voyage + for the golden fleece, were the rocks and the + soul-devouring + dragons of the way. Therefore, oh! my + soul, beware. What, indeed, would this argonaut of + the press take in exchange for his soul? Certainly + not speedy wealth nor preferment. Ah! he could + not praise where he ought to reprobate; could not + reprobate where praise should be the meed. He had + no money and little learning, but he had a conscience + and he knew that he must be true to that conscience, + come to him either weal or woe. Want renders + most men vulnerable, but to it, he appeared, at this + early age, absolutely invulnerable. Should he and + that almost omnipotent inquisitor, public opinion, + ever in the future come into collision upon any principle + <a class="newpage" name="P_033" id="P_033" title="P_033"></a> + of action, a keen student of human nature + might forsee that the young recusant could never be + starved into silence or conformity to popular + standards. And with this stern, sad lesson treasured + up in his heart, Garrison graduated from another + room in the school-house of experience. All the discoveries + of the young journalist were not of this + grim character. He made another discovery altogether + different, a real gem of its kind. The drag-net + of a newspaper catches all sorts of poets and + poetry, good, bad, and indifferent—oftener the bad + and indifferent, rarely the good. The drag-net of the + <i>Free Press</i> was no exception to this rule; but, + one day, it fetched up from the depths of the hard commonplaces + of our New England town life a genuine + pearl. We will let Mr. Garrison tell the story in his + own way: + + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Going up-stairs to my office, one day, I observed + a letter lying near the door, to my address; which, on + opening, I found to contain an original piece of poetry + for my paper, the <i>Free Press</i>. The ink was very + pale, the handwriting very small; and, having at that + time a horror of newspaper original poetry—which + has rather increased than diminished with the lapse + of time—my first impulse was to tear it in pieces, + without reading it; the chances of rejection, after its + perusal, being as ninety-nine to one; ... but summoning + resolution to read it, I was equally surprised + and gratified to find it above mediocrity, and so gave + it a place in my journal.... As I was anxious to + find out the writer, my post-rider, one day, divulged + the secret, stating that he had dropped the letter in + the manner described, and that it was written by a + <a class="newpage" name="P_034" id="P_034" title="P_034"></a> + Quaker lad, named Whittier, who was daily at work + on the shoemaker's bench, with hammer and lapstone, + at East Haverhill. Jumping into a vehicle, I + lost no time in driving to see the youthful rustic + bard, who came into the room with shrinking diffidence, + almost unable to speak, and blushing like a + maiden. Giving him some words of encouragement, + I addressed myself more particularly to his parents, + and urged them with great earnestness to grant him + every possible facility for the development of his + remarkable genius." + + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Garrison had not only found a true poet, but a true + friend as well, in the Quaker lad, John Greenleaf + Whittier. The friendship which sprang up between + the two was to last during the lifetime of the + former. Neither of them in those days of small + things could have possibly by any flight of the imagination + foreseen how their two lives, moving in parallel + lines, would run deep their shining furrows + through one of the greatest chapters of human history. + But I am anticipating, and that is a vice of + which no good storyteller ought to be guilty. So, + then, let me incontinently return from this excursion + and pursue the even tenor of my tale. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison had stepped down from his elevated position + as the publisher and editor of the <i>Free Press</i>. + He was without work, and, being penniless, it behooved + him to find some means of support. With + the instinct of the bright New England boy, he determined + to seek his fortunes in Boston. If his honesty + and independence put him at a disadvantage, as publisher + and editor, in the struggle for existence, he + had still his trade as a compositor to fall back upon + <a class="newpage" name="P_035" id="P_035" title="P_035"></a> + As a journeyman printer he would earn his bread, + and preserve the integrity of an upright spirit. And + so without a murmur, and with cheerfulness and persistency, + he hunted for weeks on the streets of Boston + for a chance to set types. This hunting for a job in + a strange city was discouraging enough. Twice before + had he visited the place, which was to be his + future home. Once when on his way to Baltimore + to see his mother, and once afterward when on a sort + of pleasure tramp with three companions. But the + slight knowledge which he was able to obtain of the + town and its inhabitants under these circumstances + did not now help him, when from office to office he + went in quest of something to do. After many failures + and renewed searchings, he found what he was + after, an opportunity to practice his trade. Business + was dull, which kept our journeyman printer on the + wing; first at one and then at another printing office + we find him setting types for a living during the + year 1827. The winning of bread was no easy matter; + but he was not ashamed to work, neither was he + afraid of hard work. During this year, he found + time to take a hand in a little practical politics. + There was in July, 1827, a caucus of the Federal party + to nominate a successor to Daniel Webster in the + House of Representatives. Young Garrison attended + this caucus, and made havoc of its cut and dried programme, + by moving the nomination of Harrison + Gray Otis, instead of the candidate, a Mr. Benjamin + Gorham, agreed upon by the leaders. Harrison Gray + Otis was one of Garrison's early and particular idols. + He was, perhaps, the one Massachusetts politician + whom the young Federalist had placed on a + <a class="newpage" name="P_036" id="P_036" title="P_036"></a> + pedestal. And so on this occasion he went into the + caucus with a written speech in his hat, eulogistic of + his favorite. He had meant to have the speech at + his tongue's end, and to get it off as if on the spur + of the moment. But the speech stayed where it was + put, in the speaker's hat, and failed to materialize + where and when it was wanted on the speaker's + tongue. As the mountain would not go to Mahomet, + Mahomet like a sensible prophet went to the mountain. + Our orator in imitation of this illustrious + example, bowed to the inevitable and went to his + mountain. Pulling his extempore remarks out of his + hat, he delivered himself of them to such effect as to + create quite an Otis sentiment in the meeting. This + performance was, of course, a shocking offence in the + eyes of those, whose plans it had disturbed. With + one particular old fogy he got into something of a + newspaper controversy in consequence. The "consummate + assurance" of one so young fairly knocked + the breath out of this Mr. Eminent Respectability; + it was absolutely revolting to all his "ideas of propriety, + to see a stranger, a man who never paid a tax + in our city, and perhaps no where else, to possess the + impudence to take the lead and nominate a candidate + for the electors of Boston!" The "young gentleman + of six months standing," was not a whit abashed or + awed by the commotion which he had produced. + That was simply a case of cause and effect. But he + seemed in turn astonished at his opponent's evident + ignorance of William Lloyd Garrison. "It is true," + he replied, with the proud dignity of conscious power, + "it is true that my acquaintance in this city is limited. + I have sought none. Let me assure him, however, + <a class="newpage" name="P_037" id="P_037" title="P_037"></a> + that if my life be spared, my name shall one + day be known to the world—at least to such extent + that common inquiry shall be unnecessary. This, I + know will be deemed excessive vanity—but time + shall prove it prophetic." To the charge of youth + he makes this stinging rejoinder, which evinces the + progress he was making in the tournament of language: + "The little, paltry sneers at my youth by + your correspondent have long since become pointless. + It is the privileged abuse of old age—the + hackneyed allegation of a thousand centuries—the + damning <em>crime</em> to which all men have been subjected. + I leave it to metaphysicians to determine the precise + moment when wisdom and experience leap into existence, + when, for the first time, the mind distinguishes + truth from error, selfishness from patriotism, and + passion from reason. It is sufficient for me that I am + understood." This was Garrison's first experience with + "gentlemen of property and standing" in Boston. + It was not his last, as future chapters will abundantly + show. + <a class="newpage" name="P_038" id="P_038" title="P_038"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap2"></a> + CHAPTER II. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE MAN HEARS A VOICE: SAMUEL, SAMUEL! + + </h2> + <p> + There is a moment in the life of every serious soul, + when things, which were before unseen and unheard + in the world around him become visible and audible. + This startling moment comes to some sooner, to others + later, but to all, who are not totally given up to the + service of self, at sometime surely. From that moment + a change passes over such an one, for more and + more he hears mysterious voices, and clearer and + more clear he sees apparitional forms floating up + from the depths above which he kneels. Whence + come they, what mean they? He leans over the + abyss, and lo! the sounds to which he hearkens are + the voices of human weeping and the forms at which + he gazes are the apparitions of human woe; they + beckon to him, and the voices beseech him in multitudinous + accent and heart-break: "Come over, come + down, oh! friend and brother, and help us." Then + he straightway puts away the things and the thoughts + of the past and girding himself with the things, and + the thoughts of the divine OUGHT and the almighty + MUST, he goes over and down to the rescue. + + </p> + <p> + Such an epochal first moment came to William + Lloyd Garrison in the streets of Boston. Amid the + hard struggle for bread he heard the abysmal voices, + saw the gaunt forms of misery. He was a constant + <a class="newpage" name="P_039" id="P_039" title="P_039"></a> + witness of the ravages of the demon of drink—saw + how strong men succumbed, and weak ones turned to + brutes in its clutch. And were they not his brothers, + the strong men and the weak ones alike? And how + could he, their keeper, see them desperately beset + and not fly to their help? Ah! he could not and did + not walk by on the other side, but, stripling though + he was, rushed to do battle with the giant vice, which + was slaying the souls and the bodies of his fellow + citizens. Rum during the three first decades of the + present century was, like death, no respecter of persons, + entering with equal freedom the homes of the + rich, and the hovels of the poor. It was in universal + demand by all classes and conditions of men. No + occasion was esteemed too sacred for its presence and + use. It was an honored guest at a wedding, a christening, + or a funeral. The minister whose hands were + laid in baptismal blessing on babes, or raised in the + holy sacrament of love over brides, lifted also the + glass; and the selfsame lips which had spoken the + last words over the dead, drank and made merry + presently afterward among the decanters on the + side-board. + It mattered not for what the building was + intended—whether for church, school, or parsonage, + rum was the grand master of ceremonies, the indispensable + celebrant at the various stages of its completion. + The party who dug the parson out after a + snow-storm, verily got their reward, a sort of prelibation + of the visionary sweets of that land, flowing + not, according to the Jewish notion, with milk and + <em>honey</em>, but according to the revised version of Yankeedom, + with milk and <em>rum</em>. Rum was, forsooth, a + very decent devil, if judged by the exalted character + <a class="newpage" name="P_040" id="P_040" title="P_040"></a> + of the company it kept. It stood high on the rungs + of the social ladder and pulled and pushed men from + it by thousands to wretchedness and ruin. So flagrant + and universal was the drinking customs of Boston then + that dealers offered on the commons during holidays, + without let or hindrance, the drunkard's glass to + the crowds thronging by extemporized booths and + bars. Shocking as was the excesses of this period + "nothing comparatively was heard on the subject of + intemperance—it was seldom a theme for the essayist—the + newspapers scarcely acknowledged its existence, + excepting occasionally in connection with some + catastrophes or crimes—the Christian and patriot, + while they perceived its ravages, formed no plans for + its overthrow—and it did not occur to any that a + paper devoted mainly to its suppression, might be + made a direct and successful engine in the great + work of reform. Private expostulations and individual + confessions were indeed sometimes made; but + no systematic efforts were adopted to give precision + to the views or a bias to the sentiments of the + people." Such was the state of public morals and + the state of public sentiment up to the year 1826, + when there occurred a change. This change was + brought about chiefly through the instrumentality + of a Baptist city missionary, the Rev. William + Collier. His labors among the poor of Boston had + doubtless revealed to him the bestial character of + intemperance, and the necessity of doing something + to check and put an end to the havoc it was working. + With this design he established the <i>National + Philanthropist</i> in Boston, March 4, 1826. The editor + was one of Garrison's earliest acquaintances in the + <a class="newpage" name="P_041" id="P_041" title="P_041"></a> + city. Garrison went after awhile to board with him, + and still later entered the office of the + <i>Philanthropist</i> + as a type-setter. The printer of the paper, Nathaniel + H. White and young Garrison, occupied the same + room at Mr. Collier's. And so almost before our + hero was aware, he had launched his bark upon the + sea of the temperance reform. Presently, when the + founder of the paper retired, it seemed the most + natural thing in the world, that the young journeyman + printer, with his editorial experience and ability, + should succeed him as editor. His room-mate, + White, bought the <i>Philanthropist</i>, and in April + 1828, formally installed Garrison into its editorship. Into + this new work he carried all his moral earnestness + and enthusiasm of purpose. The paper grew under + his hand in size, typographical appearance, and in + editorial force and capacity. It was a wide-awake + sentinel on the wall of society; and week after + week its columns bristled and flashed with apposite + facts, telling arguments, shrewd suggestions, cogent + appeals to the community to destroy the accursed + thing. No better education could he have had as + the preparation for his life work. He began to + understand then the strength of deep-seated public + evils, to acquaint himself with the methods and instruments + with which to attack them. The <i>Philanthropist</i> + was a sort of forerunner, so far as the training + in intelligent and effective agitation was concerned, + of the <i>Genius of Universal Emancipation</i> and + of the <i>Liberator</i>. One cannot read his sketch of + the progress made by the temperance reform, from + which I have already quoted, and published by him + in the <i>Philanthropist</i> in April, 1828, without + being + <a class="newpage" name="P_042" id="P_042" title="P_042"></a> + struck by the strong similitude of the temperance + to the anti-slavery movement in their beginnings. + "When this paper was first proposed," the young + temperance editor records, "it met with a repulsion + which would have utterly discouraged a less zealous + and persevering man than our predecessor. The + moralist looked on doubtfully—the whole community + esteemed the enterprise desperate. Mountains of + prejudice, overtopping the Alps, were to be beaten + down to a level—strong interest, connected by a + thousand links, severed—new habits formed; Every + house, and almost every individual, in a greater or + less degree, reclaimed. Derision and contumely + were busy in crushing this sublime project in its + birth—coldness and apathy encompassed it on every + side—but our predecessor, nevertheless, went boldly + forward with a giant's strength and more than a + giant's heart—conscious of difficulties and perils, + though not disheartened, armed with the weapons + of truth—full of meekness, yet certain of a splendid + victory—and relying on the promises of God for + the issue." What an inestimable object-lesson to + Garrison was the example of this good man going + forth singlehanded to do battle with one of the + greatest evils of the age! It was not numerical + strength, but the faith of one earnest soul that is + able in the world of ideas and human passions to remove + mountains out of the way of the onward march + of mankind. This truth, we may be sure, sunk many + fathoms deep into the mind of the young moralist. + And no wonder. For the results of two years agitation + and seed sowing were of the most astonishing + character. "The change which has taken place in + <a class="newpage" name="P_043" id="P_043" title="P_043"></a> + public sentiment," he continues, "is indeed remarkable ... incorporated + as intemperance <em>was</em>, and + still <em>is</em>, into our very existence as a people.... + A regenerating spirit is everywhere seen; a + strong impulse to action has been given, which, beginning + in the breasts of a few individuals, and + then affecting villages, and cities, and finally whole + States, has rolled onward triumphantly through the + remotest sections of the republic. As union and + example are the levers adopted to remove this gigantic + vice, temperance societies have been rapidly + multiplied, many on the principle of entire abstinence, + and others making it a duty to abstain from + encouraging the distillation and consumption of + spirituous liquors. Expressions of the deep abhorrence + and sympathy which are felt in regard to the + awful prevalence of drunkenness are constantly + emanating from legislative bodies down to various + religious conventions, medical associations, grand + juries, etc., etc. But nothing has more clearly + evinced the strength of this excitement than the + general interest taken in this subject by the conductors + of the press. From Maine to the Mississippi, + and as far as printing has penetrated—even among + the Cherokee Indians—but one sentiment seems to + pervade the public papers, viz., the necessity of + strenuous exertion for the suppression of intemperance." + Such a demonstration of the tremendous + power of a single righteous soul for good, we may + be sure, exerted upon Garrison lasting influences. + What a revelation it was also of the transcendent + part which the press was capable of playing in the + revolution of popular sentiment upon moral questions; + <a class="newpage" name="P_044" id="P_044" title="P_044"></a> + and of the supreme service of organization + as a factor in reformatory movements. The seeds + sowed were faith in the convictions of one man against + the opinions, the prejudices, and the practices of the + multitude; and knowledge of and skill in the use of + the instruments by which the individual conscience + may be made to correct and renovate the moral + sense of a nation. But there was another seed corn + dropped at this time in his mind, and that is the + immense utility of woman in the work of regenerating + society. She it is who feels even more than man the + effects of social vices and sins, and to her the moral reformer + should strenuously appeal for aid. And this, + with the instinct of genius, Garrison did in the + temperance reform, nearly seventy years ago. His editorials in the + <i>Philanthropist</i> in the year 1828 on + "Female Influence" may be said to be the <i>courier + avant</i> of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union + of to-day, as they were certainly the precursors of the + female anti-slavery societies of a few years later. + + </p> + <p> + But now, without his knowing it, a stranger from + a distant city entered Boston with a message, + which was to change the whole purpose of the young + editor's life. It was Benjamin Lundy, the indefatigable + friend of the Southern slave, the man who + carried within his breast the whole menagerie of + Southern slavery. He was fresh from the city + which held the dust of Fanny Garrison, who had + once written to her boy in Newburyport, how the + good God had cared for her in the person of a + colored woman. Yes, she had written: "The ladies + are all kind to me, and I have a colored woman that + waits on me, that is so kind no one can tell how kind + <a class="newpage" name="P_045" id="P_045" title="P_045"></a> + she is; and although a slave to man, yet a free-born + soul, by the grace of God. Her name is Henny, + and should I never see you again, and you should + come where she is, remember her, for your poor + mother's sake." And now, without his dreaming of + it, this devoted Samaritan in black, who, perhaps, + had long ago joined her dear friend in the grave, was + coming to that very boy, now grown to manhood, to + claim for her race what the mother had asked for + her, the kind slave-woman. Not one of all those little + ones of the nation but who had a home in the + many-mansioned + heart of Lundy. He had been an eye and + ear witness of the barbarism of slavery. "My + heart," he sobbed, "was deeply grieved at the gross + abomination; I heard the wail of the captive; I felt + his pang of distress, and the iron entered my soul." + With apostolic faith and zeal he had for a decade + been striving to free the captive, and to tie up his + bruised spirit. Sadly, but with a great love, he had + gone about the country on his self-imposed task. + To do this work he had given up the business of a + saddler, in which he had prospered, had sacrificed + his possessions, and renounced the ease that comes + with wealth; had courted unheard-of hardships, + and wedded himself for better and worse to poverty + and unremitting endeavor. Nothing did he esteem too + dear to relinquish for the slave. Neither wife nor + children did he withhold. Neither the summer's + heat nor the winter's cold was able to daunt him or + turn him from his object. Though diminutive and + delicate of body, no distance or difficulty of travel + was ever able to deter him from doing what his + humanity had bidden him do. From place to place, + <a class="newpage" name="P_046" id="P_046" title="P_046"></a> + through nineteen States, he had traveled, sowing as + he went the seeds of his holy purpose, and watering + them with his life's blood. Not Livingstone nor + Stanley on the dark continent exceeded in sheer + physical exertion and endurance the labors of this + wonderful man. He belongs in the category of + great explorers, only the irresistible passion and purpose, + which pushed him forward, had humanity, not + geography, as their goal. Where, in the lives of + either Stanley or Livingstone do we find a record of + more astonishing activity and achievement than what + is contained in these sentences, written by Garrison + of Lundy, in the winter of 1828? "Within a few + months he has traveled about twenty-four hundred + miles, of which upwards of nineteen hundred were + performed <em>on foot!</em> during which time he has held + nearly fifty public meetings. Rivers and mountains + vanish in his path; midnight finds him wending his + solitary way over an unfrequented road; the sun is + anticipated in his rising. Never was moral sublimity + of character better illustrated." Such was the + marvelous man, whose visit to Boston, in the month + of March, of the year 1828, dates the beginning of a + new epoch in the history of America. The event of + that year was not the "Bill of Abominations," great + as was the national excitement which it produced; + nor was it yet the then impending political struggle + between Jackson and Adams, but the unnoticed + meeting of Lundy and Garrison. Great historic + movements are born not in the whirlwinds, the earthquakes, + and the pomps of human splendor and + power, but in the agonies and enthusiasms of grand, + heroic spirits. Up to this time Garrison had had, as + <a class="newpage" name="P_047" id="P_047" title="P_047"></a> + the religious revivalist would say, no "realizing + sense" of the enormity of slave-holding. Occasionally + an utterance had dropped from his pen which + indicated that his heart was right on the subject, but + which evinced no more than the ordinary opposition + to its existence, nor any profound convictions as to + his own or the nation's duty in regard to its extinction. + His first reference to the question appeared in + connection with a notice made by him in the <i>Free + Press</i> of a spirited poem, entitled "Africa," in which + the authoress sings of: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"The wild and mingling groans of writhing millions,<br>Calling for vengeance on my guilty land."<br><br></div> + <p> + He commended the verses "to all those who wish to + cherish female genius, and whose best feelings are + enlisted in the cause of the poor oppressed sons of + Africa." He was evidently impressed, but the impression + belonged to the ordinary, transitory sort. His + next recorded utterance on the subject was also in + the <i>Free Press</i>. It was made in relation with some + just and admirable strictures on the regulation Fourth + of July oration, with its "ceaseless apostrophes to + liberty, and fierce denunciations of tyranny." Such + a tone was false and mischievous—the occasion was + for other and graver matter. "There is one theme," + he declares, "which should be dwelt upon, till our + whole country is free from the curse—it is slavery." + The emphasis and energy of the rebuke and exhortation + lifts this second allusion to slavery, quite outside + of merely ordinary occurrences. It was not an ordinary + personal occurrence for it served to reveal in its + lightning-like flash the glow and glare of a conscience + taking fire. The fire slumbered until a few weeks + <a class="newpage" name="P_048" id="P_048" title="P_048"></a> + before Lundy entered Boston, when there were again + the glow and glare of a moral sense in the first stages + of ignition on the enormity of slave institutions. The + act of South Carolina in making it illegal to teach a + colored person to read and write struck this spark + from his pen: "There is something unspeakably + pitiable and alarming," he writes in the + <i>Philanthropist</i>, + "in the state of that society where it is deemed necessary, + for self-preservation, to seal up the mind and + debase the intellect of man to brutal incapacity.... + Truly the alternatives of oppression are terrible. But + this state of things cannot always last, nor ignorance + alone shield us from destruction." His interest in the + question was clearly growing. But it was still in the + gristle of sentiment waiting to be transmuted into + the bone and muscle of a definite and determined purpose, + when first he met Lundy. This meeting of the + two men, was to Garrison what the fourth call of God + was to Samuel, the Hebrew lad, who afterward became + a prophet. As the three previous calls of God and + the conversations with Eli had prepared the Jewish + boy to receive and understand the next summons of + Jehovah, so had Garrison's former experience and + education made him ready for the divine message + when uttered in his ears by Lundy. All the sense of + truth and the passion for righteousness of the young + man replied to the voice, "Here am I." The hardening + process of growth became immediately manifest + in him. Whereas before there was sentimental opposition + to slavery, there began then an opposition, + active and practical. When Lundy convened many + of the ministers of the city to expose to them the barbarism + of slavery, Garrison sat in the room, and as + <a class="newpage" name="P_049" id="P_049" title="P_049"></a> + Lundy himself records, "expressed his approbation + of my doctrines." The young reformer must needs + stand up and make public profession of his new faith + and of his agreement with the anti-slavery principles + of the older. But it was altogether different with the + assembled ministers. Lundy, as was his wont on + such occasions, desired and urged the formation of an + anti-slavery society, but these sons of Eli of that generation + were not willing to offend their slave-holding + brethren in the South. Eyes they had, but they + refused to see; ears, which they stopped to the cry of + the slave breaking in anguish and appeal from the + lips of this modern man of God. Garrison, eleven + years later, after the lips, which were eloquent then + with their great sorrow, were speechless in the grave, + told the story of that ministers' meeting. And + here is the story: + + </p> + <p> + "He (Lundy) might as well have urged the stones + in the streets to cry out in behalf of the perishing + captives. Oh, the moral cowardice, the chilling apathy, + the criminal unbelief, the cruel skepticism, that + were revealed on that memorable occasion! My soul + was on fire then, as it is now, in view of such a development. + Every soul in the room was heartily + opposed to slavery, but, it would terribly alarm and + enrage the South to know that an anti-slavery society + existed in Boston. But it would do harm rather than + good openly to agitate the subject. But <em>perhaps a + select</em> committee might be formed, to be called by some + name that would neither give offence, nor excite suspicion + as to its real design! One or two only were + for bold and decisive action; but as they had neither + station nor influence, and did not rank among the + <a class="newpage" name="P_050" id="P_050" title="P_050"></a> + wise and prudent, their opinion did not weigh very + heavily, and the project was finally abandoned. Poor + Lundy! that meeting was a damper to his feelings." + There is no doubt that Garrison was one of the very + few present, who "were for bold and decisive action" + against the iniquity. The grief and disappointment + of his brave friend touched his heart with a brother's + affection and pity. The worldly wisdom and lukewarmness + of the clergy kindled a righteous indignation + within his freedom-loving soul. This was his + first bitter lesson from the clergy. There were, alas, + many and bitterer experiences to follow, but of them + he little recked at the time. As this nineteenth-century + prophet mused upon the horrible thing the fires + of a life purpose burned within him. And oftener + thenceforth we catch glimpses of the glow and glare + of a soul bursting into flame. The editorials in the + <i>Philanthropist</i>, which swiftly followed Lundy's + visit, began to throw off more heat as the revolving wheels + of an electrical machine throw off sparks. The evil + that there was in the world, under which, wherever he + turned, he saw his brother man staggering and bleeding, + was no longer what it had been, a vague and + shadowy apparition, but rather a terrible and tremendous + reality against which he must go forth to fight + the fight of a lifetime. And so he girded him with his + life purpose and flung his moral earnestness against + the triple-headed curse of intemperance, slavery, and + war. A mighty human love had begun to flow + inward and over him. And as the tide steadily rose + it swallowed and drowned all the egoism of self and + race in the altruism of an all-embracing humanity. + When an apprentice in the office of the Newburyport + <a class="newpage" name="P_051" id="P_051" title="P_051"></a><i>Herald</i>, and writing on the subject of South + American affairs he grew hot over the wrongs suffered by + American vessels at Valparaiso and Lima. He was + for finishing "with cannon what cannot be done in a + conciliatory and equitable manner, where justice + demands such proceedings." This was at seventeen + when he was a boy with the thoughts of a boy. Six + years later he is a man who has looked upon the sorrows + of men. His old boy-world is far behind him, + and the ever-present sufferings of his kind are in + front of him. War now is no longer glorious, for it + adds immeasurably to the sum of human misery. + War ought to be abolished with intemperance and + slavery. And this duty he began to utter in the ears + of his country. "The brightest traits in the American + character will derive their luster, not from the laurels + picked from the field of blood, not from the magnitude + of our navy and the success of our arms," he + proclaimed, "but from our exertions to banish war + from the earth, to stay the ravages of intemperance + among all that is beautiful and fair, to unfetter those + who have been enthralled by chains, which we have + forged, and to spread the light of knowledge and + religious liberty, wherever darkness and superstition + reign.... The struggle is full of sublimity, the conquest + embraces the world." Lundy himself did not + fully appreciate the immense gain, which his cause + had made in the conversion of Garrison into an active + friend of the slave. Not at once certainly. Later he + knew. The discovery of a kindred spirit in Boston + exerted probably no little influence in turning for the + second time his indefatigable feet toward that city. + He made it a second visit in July, 1828, where again + <a class="newpage" name="P_052" id="P_052" title="P_052"></a> + he met Garrison. His experience with the ministers + did not deter him from repeating the horrible tale + wherever he could get together an audience. This + time he secured his first public hearing in Boston. + It was in the Federal Street Baptist Church. He + spoke not only on the subject of slavery itself, the + growth of anti-slavery societies, but on a new phase + of the general subject, viz., the futility of the Colonization + Society as an abolition instrument. Garrison + was present, and treasured up in his heart the words + of his friend. He did not forget how Lundy had + pressed upon his hearers the importance of petitioning + Congress for the abolition of slavery in the District + of Columbia, as we shall see further on. But + poor Lundy was unfortunate with the ministers. He + got this time not the cold shoulder alone but a clerical + slap in the face as well. He had just sat down + when the pastor of the church, Rev. Howard Malcolm, + uprose in wrath and inveighed against any intermeddling + of the North with slavery, and brought the + meeting with a high hand to a close. This incident + was the first collision with the church of the forlorn + hope of the Abolition movement. Trained as Garrison + was in the orthodox creed and sound in that creed + almost to bigotry, this behavior of a standard-bearer + of the church, together with the apathy displayed by + the clergy on a former occasion, caused probably the + first "little rift within the lute" of his creed, "that + by and by will make the music mute, and, ever widening, + slowly silence all." For in religion as in love, + "Unfaith in aught is want of faith in all." The Rev. + Howard Malcolm's arbitrary proceeding had prevented + the organization of an anti-slavery committee. + <a class="newpage" name="P_053" id="P_053" title="P_053"></a> + But this was affected at a second meeting of the + friends of the slave. Garrison was one of the twenty + gentlemen who were appointed such a committee. + His zeal and energy far exceeded the zeal and energy + of the remaining nineteen. He did not need the + earnest exhortation of Lundy to impress upon his + memory the importance of "activity and steady perseverance." + He perceived almost at once that everything + depended on them. And so he had formed + plans for a vigorous campaign against the existence + of slavery in the District of Columbia. But before he + was ready to set out along the line of work, which he + had laid down for Massachusetts, the scene of his + labors shifted to Bennington, Vermont. Before he + left Boston, Lundy had recognized him as "a valuable + coadjutor." The relationship between the two men + was becoming beautifully close. The more Lundy + saw of Garrison, the more he must have seemed to + him a man after his own heart. And so no wonder + that he was solicitous of fastening him to his cause + with hooks of steel. The older had written the + younger reformer a letter almost paternal in tone—he + must do thus and thus, he must not be disappointed + if he finds the heavy end of the burthen + borne by himself, while those associated with him do + little to keep the wheels moving, he must remember + that "a few will have the labor to perform and the + honor to share." Then there creeps into his words a + grain of doubt, a vague fear lest his young ally should + take his hands from the plough and go the way of all + men, and here are the words which Paul might have + written to Timothy: "I hope you will persevere in + your work, steadily, but not make too large calculations + <a class="newpage" name="P_054" id="P_054" title="P_054"></a> + on what may be accomplished in a particularly + stated time. You have now girded on a holy warfare. + Lay not down your weapons until honorable + terms are obtained. <em>The God of hosts is on your side.</em> + Steadiness and faithfulness will most assuredly overcome + every obstacle." The older apostle had yet to + learn that the younger always did what he undertook + in the field of morals and philanthropy. + + </p> + <p> + But the scene had shifted from Boston to Bennington, + and with the young reformer goes also his plan + of campaign for anti-slavery work. The committee + of twenty, now nineteen since his departure, slumbered + and slept in the land of benevolent intentions, + a practical illustration of Lundy's pungent saying, + that "philanthropists are the slowest creatures breathing. + They think forty times before they act." The + committee never acted, but its one member in Vermont + did act, and that promptly and powerfully as + shall shortly appear. Garrison had gone to Bennington + to edit the <i>Journal of the Times</i> in the interest + of the reelection of John Quincy Adams to the Presidency. + For this object he was engaged as editor of + the paper. What he was engaged to do he performed + faithfully and ably, but along with his fulfillment of + his contract with the friends of Mr. Adams, he carried + the one which he had made with humanity likewise. + In his salutatory he outlined his intentions in + this regard thus: "We have three objects in view, + which we shall pursue through life, whether in this + place or elsewhere—namely, the suppression of intemperance + and its associate vices, the gradual emancipation + of every slave in the republic, and the perpetuity + of national peace. In discussing these topics + <a class="newpage" name="P_055" id="P_055" title="P_055"></a> + what is wanting in vigor shall be made up in zeal." + From the issue of that first number if the friends of + Adams had no cause to complain of the character of + his zeal and vigor in their service, neither had the + friends of humanity. What he had proposed doing + in Massachusetts as a member of the anti-slavery + committee of twenty, he performed with remarkable + energy and success in Vermont. It was to obtain + signatures not by the hundred to a petition for the + abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, but + by the thousands, and that from all parts of the State. + He sent copies of the petition to every postmaster in + Vermont with the request that he obtain signatures + in his neighborhood. Through his exertions a public + meeting of citizens of Bennington was held and indorsed + the petition. The plan for polling the anti-slavery + sentiment of the State worked admirably. + The result was a monster petition with 2,352 names + appended. This he forwarded to the seat of Government. + It was a powerful prayer, but as to its effect, + Garrison had no delusions. He possessed even then + singularly clear ideas as to how the South would receive + such petitions, and of the course which it would + pursue to discourage their presentation. He was no less + clear as to how the friends of freedom ought to carry + themselves under the circumstances. In the <i>Journal + of the Times</i> of November, 1828, he thus expressed + himself: "It requires no spirit of prophecy to predict + that it (the petition) will create great opposition. + An attempt will be made to frighten Northern + 'dough-faces' as in case of the Missouri question. + There will be an abundance of furious declamation, + menace, and taunt. Are we, therefore, to approach + <a class="newpage" name="P_056" id="P_056" title="P_056"></a> + the subject timidly—with half a heart—as if we were + treading on forbidden ground? No, indeed, but earnestly, + fearlessly, as becomes men, who are determined + to clear their country and themselves from the guilt + of oppressing God's free and lawful creatures." + About the same time he began to make his assaults + on the personal representatives of the slave-power in + Congress, cauterizing in the first instance three + Northern "dough-faces," who had voted against some + resolutions, looking to the abolition of the slave-trade + and slavery itself in the District of Columbia. So + while the South thus early was seeking to frighten + the North from the agitation of the slavery question + in Congress, Garrison was unconsciously preparing + a countercheck by making it dangerous for a Northern + man to practice Southern principles in the + National Legislature. He did not mince his words, + but called a spade a spade, and sin, sin. He perceived + at once that if he would kill the sin of slave-holding, + he could not spare the sinner. And so he + spoke the names of the delinquents from the housetop + of the <i>Journal of the Times</i>, stamping upon their + brows the scarlet letter of their crime against liberty. + He had said in the October before: "It is time that + a voice of remonstrance went forth from the North, + that should peal in the ears of every slaveholder like + a roar of thunder.... For ourselves, we are resolved + to agitate this subject to the utmost; nothing but + death shall prevent us from denouncing a crime which + has no parallel in human depravity; we shall take + high ground. <em>The alarm must be perpetual.</em>" A voice + of remonstrance, with thunder growl accompaniment, + was rising higher and clearer from the pen of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_057" id="P_057" title="P_057"></a> + young editor. His tone of earnestness was deepening + to the stern bass of the moral reformer, and the + storm breath of enthusiasm was blowing to a blaze + the glowing coals of his humanity. The wail of + the fleeing fugitive from the house of bondage + sounded no longer far away and unreal in his ears, + but thrilled now right under the windows of his soul. + The masonic excitement and the commotion created + by the abduction of Morgan he caught up and shook + before the eyes of his countrymen as an object lesson + of the million-times greater wrong daily done the + slaves. "All this fearful commotion," he pealed, + "has arisen from the abduction of <em>one man</em>. More + than two millions of unhappy beings are groaning out + their lives in bondage, and scarcely a pulse quickens, + or a heart leaps, or a tongue pleads in their behalf. + 'Tis a trifling affair, which concerns nobody. Oh! + for the spirit that rages, to break every fetter of + oppression!" Such a spirit was fast taking possession + of the writer. + + </p> + <p> + Of this Lundy was well informed. He had not + lost sight of his young coadjutor, but had watched + his course with great hope and growing confidence. + In him he found what he had discovered in no one + else, anti-slavery activity and perseverance. He had + often found men who protested loudly their benevolence + for the negro, but who made not the slightest + exertion afterward to carry out their good wishes. + "They will pen a paragraph, perhaps an article, or + so—and then—<em>the subject is exhausted!</em>" It was not so + with his young friend, the Bennington editor. He + saw that "argument and useful exertion on the subject + of African emancipation can never be exhausted + <a class="newpage" name="P_058" id="P_058" title="P_058"></a> + until the system of slavery itself be totally annihilated." + He was faithful among the faithless found + by Lundy. To reassure his doubting leader, Garrison + took upon himself publicly a vow of perpetual consecration + to the slave. "Before God and our country," + he declares, "we give our pledge that the liberation + of the enslaved Africans shall always be uppermost + in our pursuits. The people of New England are + interested in this matter, and they must be aroused + from their lethargy as by a trumpet-call. They shall + not quietly slumber while we have the management + of a press, or strength to hold a pen." The question + of slavery had at length obtained the ascendency + over all other questions in his regard. And when + Lundy perceived this he set out from Baltimore to + Bennington to invite Garrison to join hands with + him in his emancipation movement at Baltimore. + He performed the long journey on foot, with staff in + hand in true apostolic fashion. The two men of + God met among the mountains of Vermont, and + when the elder returned from the heights the younger + had resolved to follow him to the vales where men + needed his help, the utmost which he could give + them. He agreed to join his friend in Baltimore and + there edit with him his little paper with the grand + name (<i>The Genius of Universal Emancipation</i>), + devoted to preaching the gospel of the gradual abolishment of + American slavery. Garrison was to take the position + of managing editor, and Lundy to look after the subscription + list. The younger to be resident, the elder + itinerant partner in the publication of the paper. + Garrison closed his relations with the <i>Journal of the + Times</i>, March 27, 1829, and delivered his valedictory + <a class="newpage" name="P_059" id="P_059" title="P_059"></a> + to its readers. This valedictory strikes with stern + hammer-stroke the subject of his thoughts. "Hereafter," + it reads, "the editorial charge of this paper + will devolve on another person. I am invited to + occupy a broader field, and to engage in a higher + enterprise; that field embraces the whole country—that + enterprise is in behalf of the slave population." + + </p> + <p> + "To my apprehension, the subject of slavery + involves interests of greater moment to our welfare as + a republic, and demands a more prudent and minute + investigation than any other which has come before + the American people since the Revolutionary struggle—than + all others which now occupy their attention. + No body of men on the face of the earth deserve + their charities, and prayers, and united assistance so + much as the slaves of this country; and yet they are + almost entirely neglected. It is true many a cheek + burns with shame in view of our national inconsistency, + and many a heart bleeds for the miserable + African. It is true examples of disinterested benevolence + and individual sacrifices are numerous, particularly + in the Southern States; but no systematic, + vigorous, and successful measures have been made to + overthrow this fabric of oppression. I trust in God + that I may be the humble instrument of breaking at + least one chain, and restoring one captive to liberty; + it will amply repay a life of severe toil." The causes + of temperance and peace came in also for an earnest + parting word, but they had clearly declined to a + place of secondary importance in the writer's regard. + To be more exact, they had not really declined, but + the slavery question had risen in his mind above both. + <a class="newpage" name="P_060" id="P_060" title="P_060"></a> + They were great questions, but it was <em>the</em> question—had + become <em>his</em> cause. + + </p> + <p> + Lundy, after his visit to Garrison at Bennington, + started on a trip to Hayti with twelve emancipated + slaves, whom he had undertaken to colonize + there. Garrison awaited in Boston the return of his + partner to Baltimore. The former, meanwhile, was + out of employment, and sorely in need of money. + Never had he been favored with a surplusage of the + root of all evil. He was deficient in the money-getting + and money-saving instinct. Such was plainly + not his vocation, and so it happened that wherever he + turned, he and poverty walked arm in arm, and the + interrogatory, "wherewithal shall I be fed and + clothed on the morrow?" was never satisfactorily + answered until the morrow arrived. This led him at + times into no little embarrassment and difficulty. But + since he was always willing to work at the case, + and to send his "pride on a pilgrimage to Mecca," + the embarrassment was not protracted, nor did the + difficulty prove insuperable. + + </p> + <p> + The Congregational societies of Boston invited + him in June to deliver before them a Fourth of July + address in the interest of the Colonization Society. + The exercises took place in Park Street Church. Ten + days before this event he was called upon to pay a + bill of four dollars for failure to appear at the May + muster. Refusing to do so, he was thereupon summoned + to come into the Police Court on the glorious + Fourth to show cause why he ought not to pay the + amercement. He was in a quandary. He did not + owe the money, but as he could not be in two places + at the same time, and, inasmuch as he wanted very + <a class="newpage" name="P_061" id="P_061" title="P_061"></a> + much to deliver his address before the Congregational + Societies, and did not at all long to make the acquaintance + of his honor, the Police Court Judge, he + determined to pay the fine. But, alack and alas! he + had "not a farthing" with which to discharge him + from his embarrassment. Fortunately, if he wanted + money he did not want friends. And one of these, + Jacob Horton, of Newburyport, who had married + his "old friend and playmate, Harriet Farnham," + came to his rescue with the requisite amount. + + </p> + <p> + On the day and place appointed Garrison appeared + before the Congregational Societies with an address, + to the like of which, it is safe to say, they had never + before listened. It was the Fourth of July, but the + orator was in no holiday humor. There was not, in + a single sentence of the oration the slightest endeavor + to be playful with his audience. It was rather + an eruption of human suffering, and of the humanity + of one man to man. What the Boston clergy saw + that afternoon, in the pulpit of Park Street Church, + was the vision of a soul on fire. Garrison burned + and blazed as the sun that July afternoon burned + and blazed in the city's streets. None without + escaped the scorching rays of the latter, none within + was able to shun the fervid heat of the former. + Those of my readers who have watched the effects + of the summer's sun on a track of sandy land and + have noted how, about midday, the heat seems to + rise in sparkling particles and exhalations out of the + hot, surcharged surface, can form some notion of the + moral fervor and passion of this Fourth of July address, + delivered more than sixty years ago, in Boston. + Through all the pores of it, over all the length and + <a class="newpage" name="P_062" id="P_062" title="P_062"></a> + breadth of it, there went up bright, burning particles + from the sunlit sympathy and humanity of the young + reformer. + + </p> + <p> + In beginning, he animadverted, among other + things, on the spread of intemperance, of political + corruption, on the profligacy of the press, and, amid + them all, the self-complacency and boastfulness of + the national spirit, as if it bore a charmed life. + + </p> + <p> + "But," he continued, "there is another evil which, + if we had to contend against nothing else, should + make us quake for the issue. It is a gangrene preying + upon our vitals—an earthquake rumbling under + our feet—a mine accumulating material for a national + catastrophe. It should make this a day of fasting + and prayer, not of boisterous merriment and idle + pageantry—a day of great lamentation, not of congratulatory + joy. It should spike every cannon, and + haul down every banner. Our garb should be sack-cloth—our + heads bowed in the dust—our supplications + for the pardon and assistance of Heaven. + + </p> + <p> + "Sirs, I am not come to tell you that slavery is a + curse, debasing in its effects, cruel in its operations, + fatal in its continuance. The day and the occasion + require no such revelation. I do not claim the discovery + as my own, that 'all men are born equal,' and + that among their inalienable rights are 'life, liberty, + and the pursuit of happiness.' Were I addressing any + other than a free and Christian assembly, the enforcement + of this truth might be pertinent. Neither do I + intend to analyze the horrors of slavery for your + inspection, nor to freeze your blood with authentic + recitals of savage cruelty. Nor will time allow me to + explore even a furlong of that immense wilderness of + <a class="newpage" name="P_063" id="P_063" title="P_063"></a> + suffering which remains unsubdued in our land. I + take it for granted that the existence of these evils is + acknowledged, if not rightly understood. My object + is to define and enforce our duty, as Christians and + philanthropists." + + </p> + <p> + This was, by way of exordium, the powerful skirmish + line of the address. Assuming the existence of + the evil, he advanced boldly to his theme, viz., the + duty of abolishing it. To this end he laid down four + propositions, as a skillful general plants his cannon + on the heights overlooking and commanding his + enemies' works. The first, broadly stated, asserted + the kinship of the slave to the free population of the + republic. They were men; they were natives of the + country; they were in dire need. They were ignorant, + degraded, morally and socially. They were the + heathen at home, whose claims far outranked those + in foreign lands; they were higher than those of the + "Turks or Chinese, for they have the privileges of + instruction; higher than the Pagans, for they are not + dwellers in a Gospel land; higher than our red men + of the forest, for we do not bind them with gyves, + nor treat them as chattels." + + </p> + <p> + Then he turned hotly upon the Church, exclaiming: + "What has Christianity done by direct effort for + our slave population? Comparatively nothing. She + has explored the isles of the ocean for objects of + commiseration; but, amazing stupidity! she can gaze + without emotion on a multitude of miserable beings + at home, large enough to constitute a nation of freemen, + whom tyranny has heathenized by law. In her + public services they are seldom remembered, and in + her private donations they are forgotten. From one + <a class="newpage" name="P_064" id="P_064" title="P_064"></a> + end of the country to the other her charitable societies + form golden links of benevolence, and scatter + their contributions like rain drops over a parched + heath; but they bring no sustenance to the perishing + slave. The blood of souls is upon her garments, yet + she heeds not the stain. The clanking of the prisoner's + chains strike upon her ear, but they cannot penetrate + her heart." + + </p> + <p> + Then, with holy wrath upon the nation, thus: + + </p> + <p> + "Every Fourth of July our Declaration of Independence + is produced, with a sublime indignation, to + set forth the tyranny of the mother country, and to + challenge the admiration of the world. But what a + pitiful detail of grievances does this document present, + in comparison with the wrongs which our slaves + endure? In the one case it is hardly the plucking of + a hair from the head; in the other, it is the crushing + of a live body on the wheel—the stings of the wasp + contrasted with the tortures of the Inquisition. Before + God I must say that such a glaring contradiction + as exists between our creed and practice the + annals of six thousand years cannot parallel. In view + of it I am ashamed of my country. I am sick of our + unmeaning declamation in praise of liberty and + equality; of our hypocritical cant about the inalienable + rights of man. I would not for my right hand + stand up before a European assembly, and exult that + I am an American citizen, and denounce the usurpations + of a kingly government as wicked and unjust; + or, should I make the attempt, the recollection of my + country's barbarity and despotism would blister my + lips, and cover my cheeks with burning blushes of + shame." + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_065" id="P_065" title="P_065"></a><p> + Passing to his second proposition, which affirmed + the right of the free States to be in at the death of + slavery, he pointed out that slavery was not sectional + but national in its influence. If the consequences of + slave-holding did not flow beyond the limits of the + slave section, the right would still exist, on the principle + that what affected injuriously one part must + ultimately hurt the whole body politic. But it was + not true that slavery concerned only the States where + it existed—the parts where it did not exist were + involved by their constitutional liability to be called + on for aid in case of a slave insurrection, as they were + in the slave representation clause of the national compact, + through which the North was deprived of its + "just influence in the councils of the nation." And, + furthermore, the right of the free States to agitate + the question inhered in the principle of majority rule—the + white population of the free States being almost + double that of the slave States, "and the voice of this + overwhelming majority should be potential." He + repelled in strong language the wrongfulness of + allowing the South to multiply the votes of those + freemen by the master's right to count three for every + five slaves, "because it is absurd and anti-republican + to suffer property to be represented as men, and <i>vice + versa</i>, because it gives the South an unjust ascendancy + over other portions of territory, and a power + which may be perverted on every occasion." + + </p> + <p> + He looked without shrinking upon the possibility + of disunion even then. + + </p> + <p> + "Now I say that, on the broad system of equal + rights," he declared, "this inequality should no + longer be tolerated. If it cannot be speedily put + <a class="newpage" name="P_066" id="P_066" title="P_066"></a> + down—not by force but by fair persuasion—if we are + always to remain shackled by unjust, constitutional + provisions, when the emergency that imposed them + has long since passed away; if we must share in the + guilt and danger of destroying the bodies and souls + of men <em>as the price of our Union</em>; if the slave States + will haughtily spurn our assistance, and refuse to consult + the general welfare, then the fault is not ours if + a separation eventually takes place." + + </p> + <p> + Considering that he was in his twenty-fourth year, + and that the Abolition movement had then no actual + existence, the orator evinced surprising prescience in + his forecast of the future, and of the strife and hostility + which the agitation was destined to engender. + + </p> + <p> + "But the plea is prevalent," he said, "that any + interference by the free States, however benevolent + or cautious it might be, would only irritate and + inflame the jealousies of the South, and retard the + cause of emancipation. If any man believes that + slavery can be abolished without a struggle with the + worst passions of human nature, quietly, harmoniously, + he cherishes a delusion. It can never be done, + unless the age of miracles returns. No; we must + expect a collision, full of sharp asperities and bitterness. + We shall have to contend with the insolence, + and pride, and selfishness of many a heartless being. + + </p> + <p> + "Sirs, the prejudices of the North are stronger + than those of the South; they bristle like so many + bayonets around the slaves; they forge and rivet the + chains of the nation. Conquer them and the victory + is won. The enemies of emancipation take courage + from our criminal timidity.... We are ... + afraid of our own shadows, who have been driven + <a class="newpage" name="P_067" id="P_067" title="P_067"></a> + back to the wall again and again; who stand trembling + under their whips; who turn pale, retreat, + and surrender at a talismanic threat to dissolve the + Union...." But the difficulties did not daunt + him, nor the dangers cow him. He did not doubt, + but was assured, that truth was mighty and would + prevail. "Moral influence when in vigorous exercise," + he said, "is irresistible. It has an immortal + essence. It can no more be trod out of existence by + the iron foot of time, or by the ponderous march of + iniquity, than matter can be annihilated. It may disappear + for a time; but it lives in some shape or other, + in some place or other, and will rise with renovated + strength. Let us then be up and doing. In the + simple and stirring language of the stout-hearted + Lundy, all the friends of the cause must go to work, + keep to work, hold on, and never give up." The + closing paragraph is this powerful peroration: "I + will say, finally, that I despair of the republic while + slavery exists therein. If I look up to God for success, + no smile of mercy or forgiveness dispels the + gloom of futurity; if to our own resources, they are + daily diminishing; if to all history our destruction is + not only possible but almost certain. Why should + we slumber at this momentous crisis? If our hearts + were dead to every thought of humanity; if it were + lawful to oppress, where power is ample; still, if we + had any regard for our safety and happiness, we + should strive to crush the vampire which is feeding + upon our life-blood. All the selfishness of our nature + cries aloud for a better security. Our own vices are + too strong for us, and keep us in perpetual alarm; + how, in addition to these, shall we be able to contend + <a class="newpage" name="P_068" id="P_068" title="P_068"></a> + successfully with millions of armed and desperate + men, as we must, eventually, if slavery do not cease?" + Exit the apprentice, enter the master. The period of + preparation is ended, the time of action begun. The + address was the fiery cry of the young prophet ere + he plunged into the unsubdued wilderness of + American slavery. + + </p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap3"></a> + CHAPTER III. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE MAN BEGINS HIS MINISTRY. + + </h2><a class="newpage" name="P_069" id="P_069" title="P_069"></a><p> + Some time in August, 1829, Garrison landed in Baltimore, + and began with Lundy the editorship of + <i>The Genius of Universal Emancipation</i>. Radical as + the Park Street Church address was, it had, nevertheless, + ceased to represent in one essential matter his anti-slavery + convictions and principles. The moral impetus + and ground-swell of the address had carried + him beyond the position where its first flood of feeling + had for the moment left him. During the composition + of the address he was transported with grief + and indignation at the monstrous wrong which + slavery did the slaves and the nation. He had not + thought out for himself any means to rid both of the + curse. The white heat of the address destroyed for + the instant all capacity for such thinking. "Who can + be amazed, temperate, and furious—in a moment? + No man. The expedition of his violent love outran + the pauser reason" He had accepted the colonization + scheme as an instrument for removing the evil, + and called on all good citizens "to assist in establishing + auxiliary colonization societies in every State, + county, and town"; and implored "their direct and + liberal patronage to the parent society." He had not + apparently, so much as dreamed of any other than + gradual emancipation. "The emancipation of all + <a class="newpage" name="P_070" id="P_070" title="P_070"></a> + the slaves of this generation is most assuredly out of + the question," he said; "the fabric which now towers + above the Alps, must be taken away brick by brick, + and foot by foot, till it is reduced so low that it may + be overturned without burying the nation in its + ruins. Years may elapse before the completion of + the achievement; generations of blacks may go + down to the grave, manacled and lacerated, without + a hope for their children." He was on the Fourth of + July a firm and earnest believer in the equity and + efficacy of gradualism. But after that day, and some + time before his departure for Baltimore, he began to + think on this subject. The more he thought the less + did gradualism seem defensible on moral grounds. + John Wesley had said that slavery was the "sum of + all villainies"; it was indeed the sin of sins, and as + such ought to be abandoned not gradually but immediately. + Slave-holding was sin and slaveholders + were sinners. The sin and sinner should both be denounced + as such and the latter called to instant repentance, + and the duty of making immediate restitution + of the stolen liberties of their slaves. This was + the tone ministers of religion held every where toward + sin and sinners, and this should be the tone held by + the preachers of Abolition toward slavery, and slaveholders. + To admit the principle of gradualism was for + Abolition to emasculate itself of its most virile quality. + Garrison, consequently rejected gradualism as + a weapon, and took up instead the great and quickening + doctrine of immediatism. Lundy did not know + of this change in the convictions of his coadjutor + until his arrival in Baltimore. Then Garrison frankly + unburdened himself and declared his decision to conduct + <a class="newpage" name="P_071" id="P_071" title="P_071"></a> + his campaign against the national iniquity along + the lines of immediate and unconditional emancipation. + The two on this new radicalism did not see + eye to eye. But Lundy with sententious shrewdness + and liberality suggested to the young radical: "Thee + may put thy initials to thy articles and I will put my + initials to mine, and each will bear his own burden." + And the arrangement pleased the young radical, for + it enabled him to free his soul of the necessity which + was then sitting heavily upon it. The precise state + of his mind in respect of the question at this juncture + in its history and in his own is made plain enough in + his salutatory address in <i>The Genius of Universal + Emancipation</i>. The vow made in Bennington ten + months before to devote his life to philanthrophy, + and the dedication of himself made six months afterward + to the extirpation of American slavery, he + solemnly renews and reseals in Baltimore. He does + not hate intemperance and war less, but slavery more, + and those, therefore, he formally relegates thenceforth + to a place of secondary importance in the endeavors + of the future. It is obvious that the colonization + scheme has no strong hold upon his intelligence. He + does not conceal his respect for it as an instrument + of freedom, but he puts no high value on its utility. + "It may pluck a few leaves," he remarks, "from the + Bohon Upas, but can neither extract its roots nor + destroy its withering properties. Viewed as an auxiliary, + it deserves encouragement; but as a remedy + it is altogether inadequate." But this was not all. + As a remedy, colonization was not only altogether inadequate, + its influence was indirectly pernicious, in + that it lulled the popular mind into "a belief that + <a class="newpage" name="P_072" id="P_072" title="P_072"></a> + the monster has received his mortal wound." He + perceived that this resultant indifference and apathy + operated to the advantage of slavery, and to the injury + of freedom. Small, therefore, as was the good + which the Colonization Society was able to achieve, it + was mixed with no little ill. Although Garrison has + not yet begun to think on the subject, to examine into + the motives and purposes of the society, it does not + take a prophet to foresee that some day he will. He + had already arrived at conclusions in respect of the + rights of the colored people "to choose their own + dwelling place," and against the iniquity of their expatriation, + which cut directly at the roots of the + colonization scheme. Later the pro-slavery character + of the society will be wholly revealed to him. But + truth in the breast of a reformer as of others must + needs follow the great law of moral growth, first the + blade, then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear. + It is enough that he has made the tremendous step + from gradual to immediate and unconditional emancipation + on the soil. + + </p> + <p> + At this period he tested the disposition of slaveholders + to manumit their slaves. The Colonization + Society had given it out that there was no little + desire on the part of many masters to set their slaves + free. All that was wanted for a practical demonstration + in this direction was the assurance of free + transportation out of the country for the emancipated + slaves. Lundy had made arrangement for the + transportation of fifty slaves to Hayti and their + settlement in that country. So he and Garrison + advertised this fact in the <i>Genius</i>, but they + waited in vain for a favorable response from the South—notwithstanding + <a class="newpage" name="P_073" id="P_073" title="P_073"></a> + the following humane inducement which this + advertisement offered: "THE PRICE OF PASSAGE WILL BE + ADVANCED, and everything furnished of which they + may stand in need, until they shall have time to prepare + their houses and set in to work." No master + was moved to take advantage of the opportunity. + This was discouraging to the believers in the efficacy + of colonization as a potent anti-slavery instrument. + But Garrison was no such believer. With unerring + moral instinct he had from the start placed his + reliance "on nothing but the eternal principles of + justice for the speedy overthrow of slavery." + + </p> + <p> + He obtained at this period an intimate personal + knowledge of the free colored people. He saw that + they were not essentially unlike other races—that + there was nothing morally or intellectually peculiar + about them, and that the evil or the good which they + manifested was the common property of mankind in + similar circumstances. He forthwith became their + brave defender against the common slanders of the + times. "There is a prevalent disposition among all + classes to traduce the habits and morals of our free + blacks," he remarked in the <i>Genius</i>. "The most + scandalous exaggerations in regard to their condition + are circulated by a thousand mischievous + tongues, and no reproach seems to them too deep or + unmerited. Vile and malignant indeed is this practice, + and culpable are they who follow it. We do + not pretend to say that crime, intemperance, and + suffering, to a considerable extent, cannot be found + among the free blacks; but we do assert that they are + as moral, peaceable, and industrious as that class of + the whites who are, like them, in indigent circumstances—and + <a class="newpage" name="P_074" id="P_074" title="P_074"></a> + far less intemperate than the great + body of foreign immigrants who infest and corrupt + our shores." This idea of the natural equality of the + races he presented in the <i>Genius</i> a few weeks + before with Darwinian breadth in the following admirable + sentences: "I deny the postulate that God has made, + by an irreversible decree, or any inherent qualities, + one portion of the human race superior to another. + No matter how many breeds are amalgamated—no + matter how many shades of color intervene between + tribes or nations give them the same chances to + improve, and a fair start at the same time, and the + result will be equally brilliant, equally productive, + equally grand." + + </p> + <p> + At the same time that he was making active, personal + acquaintance with the free colored people, he + was making actual personal acquaintance with the + barbarism of slavery also. "The distinct application + of a whip, and the shrieks of anguish" of the + slave, his residence in Baltimore had taught him was + "nothing uncommon" in that city. Such an instance + had come to him while in the street where the office + of the <i>Genius</i> was located. It was what was + occurring at almost all hours of the day and in almost all + parts of the town. He had not been in Baltimore + a month when he saw a specimen of the brutality of + slavery on the person of a negro, who had been mercilessly + flogged. On his back were thirty-seven gashes + made with a cowskin, while on his head were many + bruises besides. It was a Sunday morning, fresh + from his terrible punishment, that the poor fellow + had found the editors of the <i>Genius</i>, who, with + the compassion of brothers, took him in, dressed his + <a class="newpage" name="P_075" id="P_075" title="P_075"></a> + wounds, and cared for him for two days. Such an + experience was no new horror to Lundy, but it was + doubtless Garrison's first lesson in that line, and it + sank many fathoms deep into his heart. + + </p> + <p> + Maryland was one of the slave-breeding States and + Baltimore a slave emporium. There was enacted the + whole business of slavery as a commercial enterprise. + Here the human chattels were brought and here + warehoused in jails and other places of storage and + detention. Here they were put up at public auction, + and knocked down to the highest bidder, and from + here they were shipped to New Orleans, the great + distributing center for such merchandise. He heard + what Lundy had years before heard, the wail of + captive mothers and fathers, wives, husbands and + children, torn from each other; like Lundy, "he + felt their pang of distress; and the iron entered his + soul." He could not hold his peace in the midst of + such abominations, but boldly exposed and denounced + them. His indignation grew hot when he saw that + Northern vessels were largely engaged in the coastwise + slave-trade; and when, to his amazement, he + learned that the ship <i>Francis</i>, owned by Francis + Todd, a Newburyport merchant, had sailed for New + Orleans with a gang of seventy-five slaves, his indignation + burst into blaze. He blazoned the act and + the name of Francis Todd in the <i>Genius</i>, and did + verily what he had resolved to do, viz., "to cover with + thick infamy all who were concerned in this nefarious + business," the captain as well as the owner of the + ill-freighted ship. He did literally point at these + men the finger of scorn. Every device known to the + printer's art for concentrating the reader's attention + <a class="newpage" name="P_076" id="P_076" title="P_076"></a> + upon particular words and sentences, Garrison made + skillful use of in his articles—from the deep damnation + of the heavy black capitals in which he printed + the name Francis Todd, to the small caps in which + appeared the words, "sentenced to solitary confinement + for life," and which he flanked with two terrible + indices. But the articles did not need such embellishment. + They were red hot branding irons without + them. One can almost smell the odor of burning + flesh as he reads the words: "It is no worse to fit + out piratical cruisers or to engage in the foreign + slave-trade, than to pursue a similar trade along our + coast; and the men who have the wickedness to participate + therein, for the purpose of keeping up wealth + should be <b>==></b><b>SENTENCED + TO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR LIFE</b>; + <b><==</b><em>they are + the enemies of their own species—highway + robbers, and murderers</em>; and their final + doom will be, unless they speedily repent, <em>to occupy + the lowest depths of perdition</em>. I know that our laws + make a distinction in this matter. I know that the + man who is allowed to freight his vessel with slaves + at home, for a distant market, would be thought + worthy of death if he should take a similar freight + on the coast of Africa; but I know, too, that this + distinction is absurd, and at war with the common + sense of mankind, and that God and good men regard + it with abhorrence. + + </p> + <p> + "I recollect that it was always a mystery in Newburyport + how Mr. Todd contrived to make profitable + voyages to New Orleans and other places, when other + merchants, with as fair an opportunity to make + money, and sending to the same ports at the same + time invariably made fewer successful speculations. + <a class="newpage" name="P_077" id="P_077" title="P_077"></a> + The mystery seems to be unravelled. Any man can + gather up riches if he does not care by what means + they are obtained." + + </p> + <p> + A copy of the <i>Genius</i>, containing this article + Garrison sent to the owner of the ship <i>Francis</i>. + What followed made it immediately manifest that the branding + irons of the reformer had burned home with scarifying + effect. Mr. Todd's answer to the strictures + was a suit at law against the editors of the + <i>Genius</i> for five thousand dollars in damages. But + this was not all. The Grand Jury for Baltimore indicted them for + publishing "a gross and malicious libel against + Francis Todd and Nicholas Brown." This was at the + February Term, 1830. On the first day of March following, + Garrison was tried. He was ably and eloquently + defended by Charles Mitchell, a young lawyer + of the Baltimore Bar. But the prejudice of judge + and jury rendered the verdict of guilty a foregone + conclusion. April 17, 1830, the Court imposed a penalty + of fifty dollars and costs, which, with the fine + amounted in all to nearly one hundred dollars. The + fine and costs Garrison could not pay, and he was + therefore committed to jail as a common malefactor. + His confinement lasted seven weeks. He did not + languish during this period. His head and hands + were in fact hardly ever more active than during the + term of his imprisonment. Shut out by Maryland + justice from work without the jail, he found and did + that which needed to be done within "high walls and + huge." He was an extraordinary prisoner and was + treated with extraordinary consideration by the Warden. + He proved himself a genuine evangel to the + prisoners, visiting them in their cells, cheering them + <a class="newpage" name="P_078" id="P_078" title="P_078"></a> + by his bouyant and benevolent words, giving them + what he had, a brother's sympathy, which to these ill-fated + ones, was more than gold or silver. He indited + for such of them as he deemed deserving, letters and + petitions to the Governor praying their pardon; and + he had the great satisfaction of seeing many of his + efforts in this regard crowned with success. + + </p> + <p> + But more than this his imprisonment afforded him + an opportunity for a closer acquaintance with the + barbarism of slavery than he could possibly have + made had he lived otherwise in Baltimore. A Southern + jail was not only the place of detention of + offenders against social justice, but of slaves waiting + for the next market-day, of recaptured fugitives waiting + for their owners to reclaim them. Here they were + huddled and caged, pitiful and despairing in their + misery. Such scenes sickened the young reformer + every day. God had opened to him the darkest chapter + in the book of the negroes' wrongs. Here is a page + from that black volume of oppression and cruelty, the + record of which he has preserved in the following + graphic narrative: "During my late incarceration + in Baltimore prison, four men came to obtain a runaway + slave. He was brought out of his cell to confront + his master, but pretended not to know him—did + not know that he had ever seen him before—could + not recollect his name. Of course the master was + exceedingly irritated. 'Don't you remember,' said + he, 'when I gave you not long since thirty-nine lashes + under the apple-tree? Another time when I gave you + a sound flogging in the barn? Another time when + you was scourged for giving me the lie, by saying + that the horse was in a good condition?' 'Yes,' + <a class="newpage" name="P_079" id="P_079" title="P_079"></a> + replied the slave, whose memory was thus quickened, + 'I do recollect. You have beaten me cruelly without + cause; you have not given me enough to eat + and drink; and I don't want to go back again. + I wish you to sell me to another master. I + had rather even go to Georgia than to return + home!' + + </p> + <p> + "'I'll let you know, you villain,' said the master, + 'that my wishes and not <em>yours</em>, are to be consulted. + I'll learn you how to run away again.'" + + </p> + <p> + The other men advised him to take the black + home, and cut him up in inch pieces for his impudence, + obstinacy, and desertion—swearing tremendously + all the while. The slave was ordered back to + his cell. Then ensued the following colloquy between + Garrison and the master: + + </p> + <p> + G.—"Sir, what right have you to that poor creature?" + + </p> + <p> + M.—"My father left him to me." + + </p> + <p> + G.—"Suppose your father had broken into a bank + and stolen ten thousand dollars, and safely bequeathed + that as a legacy; could you conscientiously + keep the money? For myself, I had rather rob + any bank to an indefinite amount than kidnap a + fellow-being, or hold him in bondage; the sin would + be less injurious to society, and less sinful in the + sight of God." + + </p> + <p> + M.—"Perhaps you would like to buy the slave + and give him his liberty?" + + </p> + <p> + G.—"Sir, I am a poor man; and were I ever so + opulent, it would be necessary, on your part, to make + out a clear title to the services of the slave before I + could conscientiously make a bargain." + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_080" id="P_080" title="P_080"></a><p> + M—"Well, sir, I can prove from the Bible that + slavery is right." + + </p> + <p> + G.—"Ah! that is a precious book—the rule of conduct. + I have always supposed that its spirit was + directly opposed to everything in the shape of fraud + and oppression. However, sir, I should be glad to + hear your text." + + </p> + <p> + M. (hesitatingly)—"Ham—Noah's curse, you + know." + + </p> + <p> + G. (hastily)—"Oh, sir, you build on a very slender + foundation. Granting even—what remains to be + proved—that the Africans are the descendants of + Ham, Noah's curse was a <em>prediction</em> of future servitude, + and not an injunction to oppress. Pray, sir, is + it a careful desire to fulfill the Scriptures, or to make + money, that induces you to hold your fellow-men in + bondage?" + + </p> + <p> + M. (excitedly)—"Why, sir, do you really think that + the slaves are beings like ourselves?—that is, I mean + do you believe that they possess the same faculties + and capacities as the whites?" + + </p> + <p> + G. (energetically)—"Certainly, sir, I do not know + that there is any moral or intellectual quality in the + curl of the hair, or the color of the skin. I cannot + conceive why a black man may not as reasonably object + to my color, as I to his. Sir, it is not a black + face that I detest, but a black heart—and I find it + very often under a white skin." + + </p> + <p> + M. (derisively)—"Well, sir, how should you like to + see a black man President of the United States?" + + </p> + <p> + G. (severely)—"As to that, sir, I am a true Republican, + and bow to the will of the majority. If the + people prefer a black President, I should cheerfully + <a class="newpage" name="P_081" id="P_081" title="P_081"></a> + submit; and if he be qualified for the station, may + peradventure give him my vote." + + </p> + <p> + M. (triumphantly)—"How should you like to have + a black man marry your daughter?" + + </p> + <p> + G. (making a home thrust and an end of the dialogue)—"I am not + married—I have no daughter. + Sir, I am not familiar with <em>your</em> practices; but allow + me to say, that slaveholders generally should be the + last persons to affect fastidiousness on that point; for + they seem to be enamored with <em>amalgamation</em>." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison's pen was particularly busy during the + term of his imprisonment. He paid his respects to + the State's Attorney who prosecuted him, to the judge + who condemned him, and to Francis Todd, the owner + of the ship <i>Francis</i>. He prepared and scattered + broadcast a true account of his trial, showing how + the liberty of the press had been violated in the case. + He did not doubt that it would astonish Europe if it + were known there "that <em>an American citizen lies incarcerated + in prison, for having denounced slavery and + its abettors in his own country</em>." The fact created no + little astonishment in America. Slavery became distinctly + connected for the first time with abridgments + of the freedom of the press, and the right of free + speech. And the cause of the slave became involved + with the Constitutional liberties of the republic. In + punishing Garrison, the Abolitionist, the rights of + Garrison the white freeman were trampled on. And + white freemen in the North, who cared nothing for + Abolitionism, but a great deal for their right to speak + and write freely, resented the outrage. This fact was + the most important consequence, which flowed from + the trial and imprisonment of the young editor of + <a class="newpage" name="P_082" id="P_082" title="P_082"></a><i>The Genius of Universal Emancipation</i>. "As the + news of my imprisonment became extensively known," he + wrote, "and the merits of the case understood, not a + mail rolled into the city but it brought me consolatary + letters from individuals hitherto unknown to + me, and periodicals of all kinds from every section + of the Union (not even excepting the South), all + uniting to give me a triumphant acquittal—all + severely reprehending the conduct of Mr. Todd—and + all regarding my trial as a mockery of justice." + This unexpected result was one of those accidents of + history, which "have laws as fixed as planets have." + + </p> + <p> + The prosecution and imprisonment of Garrison + was without doubt designed to terrorize him into + silence on the subject of slavery. But his persecutors + had reckoned without a knowledge of their victim. + Garrison had the martyr's temperament and invincibility + of purpose. His earnestness burned the more + intensely with the growth of opposition and peril. + Within "gloomy walls close pent," he warbled gay + as a bird of a freedom which tyrants could not touch, + nor bolts confine: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"No chains can bind it, and no cell enclose,<br>Swifter than light, it flies from pole to pole,<br>And in a flash from earth to heaven it goes!"<br><br></div> + <p> + or with deep, stern gladness sang he to "The Guiltless + Prisoner" how: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"A martyr's crown is richer than a king's!<br>Think it an honor with thy Lord to bleed,<br>And glory 'midst intensest sufferings;<br>Though beat—imprisoned—put to open shame<br>Time shall embalm and magnify thy name."<br><br></div> + <p> + "Is it supposed by Judge Brice," the guiltless prisoner + <a class="newpage" name="P_083" id="P_083" title="P_083"></a> + wrote from his cell, "that his frowns can intimidate + me, or his sentence stifle my voice on the subject + of African oppression? He does not know me. + So long as a good Providence gives me strength and + intellect, I will not cease to declare that the existence + of slavery in this country is a foul reproach to the + American name; nor will I hesitate to proclaim the + guilt of kidnappers, slave abettors, or slaveowners, + wheresoever they may reside, or however high + they may be exalted. I am only in the <i>alphabet</i> + of my task; time shall perfect a useful work. + It is my shame that I have done so little for the + people of color; yea, before God, I feel humbled + that my feelings are so cold, and my language + so weak. A few white victims must be sacrificed + to open the eyes of this nation, and to show + the tyranny of our laws. I expect and am willing to + be persecuted, imprisoned, and bound for advocating + African rights; and I should deserve to be a slave + myself if I shrunk from that duty or danger." The + story of the trial of William Lloyd Garrison, from + which the above brave words are taken, fell into the + hands of that noble man and munificent merchant, + Arthur Tappan, of New York. From the reading of + it he rose "with that deep feeling of abhorrence of + slavery and its abettors which every one must feel + who is capable of appreciating the blessings of + liberty," and thereupon notified Lundy to draw upon + him for one hundred dollars if that amount would + give the young editor his liberty. The fine and costs + of court were accordingly paid and just forty-nine + days after entering Baltimore jail a prisoner, Garrison + recovered his freedom. The civil action of Todd + <a class="newpage" name="P_084" id="P_084" title="P_084"></a> + against him was still pending. Nothing daunted + Garrison went North two days after his discharge to + obtain certain evidence deemed important by his + counsel to his defence. He took with him an open + letter from Lundy looking to the renewal of + the weekly <i>Genius</i> under their joint control. + Prior to Garrison's trial the paper had fallen into great + stress for want of money. Lundy and he had made + a division of their labors, the latter doing the editorial + and office work, while the former traveled from + place to place soliciting subscriptions and collecting + generally the sinews of war. But the experiment + was not successful from a business standpoint. For + as Garrison playfully observed subsequently: + "Where friend Lundy could get one new subscriber, + I could knock a <em>dozen</em> off, and I did so. It was the + old experiment of the frog in the well, that went two + feet up and fell three feet back, at every jump." + Where the income of the paper did not exceed fifty + dollars in four months and the weekly expenditure + amounted to at least that sum, the financial failure of + the enterprise was inevitable. This unhappy event + did actually occur six weeks before the junior editor + went to jail; and the partnership was formally dissolved + in the issue of the <i>Genius</i> of March 5, 1830. + But when Arthur Tappan made his generous offer of + a hundred dollars to effect Garrison's release, he + made at the same time an offer of an equal amount + to aid the editors in reëstablishing the + <i>Genius</i>. This + proposition led to hopes on the part of the two + friends to a renewal of their partnership in the cause + of emancipation. And so Garrison's visit to the + North was taken advantage of to test the disposition + <a class="newpage" name="P_085" id="P_085" title="P_085"></a> + of Northern philanthropy to support such a paper. + But what he found was a sad lack of interest in the + slave. Everywhere he went he encountered what + appeared to him to be the most monstrous indifference + and apathy on the subject. The prejudices of the free + States seemed to him stronger than were those of + the South. Instead of receiving aid and encouragement + to continue the good work of himself and coadjutor, + and for the doing of which he had served a term + of seven weeks in prison, men, even his best friends + sought to influence him to give it up, and to persuade + him to forsake the slave, and to turn his time and + talents to safer and more profitable enterprises nearer + home. He was informed by these worldly wise men + and Job's counselors that his "scheme was visionary, + fanatical, unattainable." "Why should he make + himself," they argued, "an exile from home and all + that he held dear on earth, and sojourn in a strange + land, among enemies whose hearts were dead to every + noble sentiment?" Ah! he himself confessed that all + were against his return to Baltimore. But his love + of the slave was stronger than the strength of the + temptation. He put all these selfish objections behind + him. As he has recorded the result of this experience: + "Opposition served only to increase my ardor, and + confirm my purpose." Strange and incomprehensible + to his fellows is the man who prefers "persecution, + reproach, and poverty" with duty, to worldly ease + and honor and riches without it. When a man + appears in society who is not controlled by motives + which usually govern the conduct of other men he + becomes at first an object of pity, then of contempt, + and, lastly, of hate. Garrison we may be sure at the + <a class="newpage" name="P_086" id="P_086" title="P_086"></a> + end of this visit had made rapid transit from the first + to the second of these stages in the esteem of his + generation. + + </p> + <p> + His experience was not all of this deplorable kind. + He left Baltimore without the money required to pay + his way North, depending literally upon the good + God to provide for him the necessary means to complete + his journey. And such help was more than + once providentially afforded the young apostle of liberty. + At New York, when he did not know how he + was to go farther for want of means, he met a Mr. + Samuel Leggett who gave him a pass on the "splendid + steamboat <i>President</i>." It seems that this friend + in his need had read with indignation the story of his trial. + The bread which he had scattered from his prison on + the waters of public sentiment had thus returned to + him after many days in the timely assistance of a + sympathetic soul. And then, again, when he was in + Boston in sore distress for a little money, suddenly, + beautifully, the desire of his heart was satisfied. But + let him tell the incident in his own touching way. + His face was turned toward Baltimore: "But how + was I to return?" he asks. "I had not a dollar in + my pocket, and my time was expired. No one understood + my circumstances. I was too proud to beg, and + ashamed to borrow. My friends were prodigal of + pity, but of nothing else. In the extremity of my + uneasiness, I went to the Boston post-office, and found + a letter from my friend Lundy, inclosing a draft for + $100 from a stranger and as a remuneration for my + poor inefficient services in behalf of the slaves!" The + munificent stranger was Ebenezer Dole, of Hallowell, + Maine. Money thus acquired was a sacred trust to + <a class="newpage" name="P_087" id="P_087" title="P_087"></a> + this child of Providence. "After deducting the + expenses of traveling," he goes on to say, "the + remainder of the above-named sum was applied + in discharging a few of the debts incurred by the + unproductiveness of the <i>Genius</i>." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison returned to Baltimore, but he did not + tarry long in that slave-ruled city. Todd's suit + against him was tried after his departure, and the + jury soothed the Newburyport merchant's wounded + pride with a verdict for a thousand dollars. He never + attempted, however, to enforce the payment of the + same being content probably with the "vindication," + which his legal victory gave him. + + </p> + <p> + Before the reformer left Baltimore he had definitely + abandoned the plans looking to a revival of his interest + in the <i>Genius</i>. He determined instead to publish + a sheet devoted to the abolition of slavery under his + sole management and control. This paper he proposed + to call the <i>Public Liberator</i>, and to issue from + Washington. The prospectus of this journalistic + project bearing date, August, 1830, declares in its + opening sentence its "primary object" to be "the + abolition of slavery, and the moral and intellectual + elevation of our colored population." "I shall spare + no efforts," he pledged himself, "to delineate the + withering influence of slavery upon our national + prosperity and happiness, its awful impiety, its rapid + extension, and its inevitable consequences if it be + suffered to exist without hindrance. It will also be + my purpose to point out the path of safety, and a + remedy for the disease." This comprehensive and + aggressive plan of campaign signalized the rise of an + Abolitionism wholly unlike the Abolitionism of any + <a class="newpage" name="P_088" id="P_088" title="P_088"></a> + previous time in the history of the country. It did + in fact date the opening of a new era in the slavery + struggle in America. + + </p> + <p> + With Northern indifference and apathy on the subject + of emancipation, Garrison's previous visit to the + North had acquainted him. Their existence he saw + interposed the main obstacle to the success of his + new venture in journalism. "The cause of this callous + state of feeling," he believed, "was owing to + their exceeding ignorance of the horrors of slavery." + He accordingly made up his mind to throw the light + which he possessed into the midst of this darkness. He + had written in prison three lectures on "Slavery and + Colonization." What better could he now do than to + deliver those lectures at the North? If the good people + and their religious leaders knew what he knew, they + would presently feel as he did on the question. He was + loath to leave Baltimore without giving this testimony + against slavery. But unable to procure a room + for this purpose was finally compelled to content himself + with the witness he had already borne in the + <i>Genius</i> and in prison in behalf of the slave. + In Philadelphia he well-nigh failed to obtain a hall for his + lectures, but did finally succeed in getting the Franklin + Institute, where, to small audiences, he lifted up + his voice against the iniquity of the times. He repeated + his lectures in New York, New Haven, and + Hartford. But not many came out to hear him. + The nation, its churches, and politicians had thrust + their fingers in their ears to every cry coming up + from the slave. Why should they go to sup with a + madman on horrors, with which as patriotic people + they were forbidden to concern themselves. And so + <a class="newpage" name="P_089" id="P_089" title="P_089"></a> + for the most part Garrison could do nothing with + communities, which had eyes, but obstinately refused + to see with them upon any subject relating to the + abominations of slavery. In his own town of Newburyport, + officers of Christian churches not only refused + to hear his message themselves, but debarred + others from listening to the woes and wrongs of fellow-creatures + in bondage. As Mr. Garrison truly + said at the time: "If I had visited Newburyport to + plead the cause of twenty white men in chains, every + hall and every meeting-house would have been + thrown open, and the fervor of my discourses anticipated + and exceeded by my fellow-townsmen. The + fact that two millions of colored beings are groaning + in bondage, in this land of liberty, excites no interest + nor pity." If these damning facts are remembered + sixty years after their occurrence to the shame of + the trustees of the two churches, viz., the Presbyterian + Church on Harris street and the Second Congregational + Church, it is also remembered to the honor of + the two pastors, Rev. Dr. Daniel Dana, and the Rev. + Dr. Luther F. Dimmick, that they had thrown open + to the prophet the doors of their meeting-houses, + which the trustees afterward slammed in his face. + + </p> + <p> + In Boston the same hard luck followed him. In + all that city of Christian churches he could not obtain + the use of a single meeting-house, "in which to + vindicate the rights of TWO MILLIONS of American + citizens, who are now groaning in servile chains + in this boasted land of liberty; and also to + propose just, benevolent, and constitutional measures + for their relief." So ran an advertisement + in the Boston <i>Courier</i> of the sorely tried soul. + For + <a class="newpage" name="P_090" id="P_090" title="P_090"></a> + two weeks he had gone up and down the town in + search of a room free of cost, in which to deliver his + message. The door of every sanctuary was locked + against his cause. It was then, as a final recourse, + that he turned to the <i>Courier</i>, and made his last + appeal to the Christian charity of the city. The prayer + of the prophet was answered from an unexpected + quarter. It was that ecclesiastical dragon of the + times, Abner Kneeland, and his society of "blasphemers," + who proved afresh the truth of that + scripture which says: "Not every one that saith unto + me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of + heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father + which is in heaven." It was they that gave to liberty + a hearing, to the prophet of righteousness a chance + to deliver his message. It was in their meeting-house, + in Julian Hall, that Garrison gave his lectures, + giving the first one on the evening of October 15, + 1830. + + </p> + <p> + Samuel J. May, who was present, has preserved his + impressions of the lecture and lecturer. "Never + before," he records many years afterward, "was I so + affected by the speech of man. When he had ceased + speaking I said to those around me: 'That is a + providential man; he is a prophet; he will shake + our nation to its center, but he will shake slavery out + of it. We ought to know him, we ought to help + him. Come, let us go and give him our hands.' Mr. + Sewall and Mr. Alcott went up with me and we + introduced each other. I said to him, 'Mr. Garrison, + I am not sure that I can indorse all you have said + this evening. Much of it requires careful consideration. + But I am prepared to embrace you. I am + <a class="newpage" name="P_091" id="P_091" title="P_091"></a> + sure you are called to a great work, and I mean to + help you.' Mr. Sewall cordially assured him of his + readiness also to cooperate with him. Mr. Alcott + invited him to his home. He went and we sat with + him until twelve that night, listening to his discourse, + in which he showed plainly that <em>immediate, unconditional + emancipation, without expatriation, was the right of + every slave, and could not be withheld by his master an + hour without sin</em>. That night my soul was baptised + in his spirit, and ever since I have been a disciple and + fellow-laborer of William Lloyd Garrison." A new + force had arisen in our history, and a new epoch + had broken bolts for humanity. + + </p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap4"></a> + CHAPTER IV. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE HOUR AND THE MAN. + + </h2><a class="newpage" name="P_092" id="P_092" title="P_092"></a><p> + The providential man was not yet twenty-five. In + personal appearance he was quite the reverse of his + friend Lundy. Garrison was gifted with a body + that matched his mind, strong, straight, sound in + every part, and proportioned in every member. As + he stood he was much above the medium height. + His dark hair had already partially left the crown of + the high dome-shaped head. His forehead combined + height with breadth, which, taken in connection + with the brown eyes covered with the now + habitual glasses, lent to his countenance a striking + air of moral serenity and elevation. Force, firmness, + no ordinary self-reliance and courage found + masterly expression in the rest of the face. There + was through the whole physical man a nice blending + of strength and delicacy of structure. The impression + of fineness and finish was perhaps mainly owing + to the woman-like purity and freshness of skin and + color, which overspread the virile lines and features + of the face from brow to chin. What one saw in that + face was the quality of justice made flesh, good-will + to men personified. + + </p> + <p> + This characterization of the reformer's countenance + may be considered absurd by some readers. + But absurd it is not. People who had read his stern + <a class="newpage" name="P_093" id="P_093" title="P_093"></a> + denunciations of slave-holding and slaveholders, and + who had formed their image of the man from his + "hard language" and their own prejudices could not + recognize the original when they met him. His manner + was peculiarly winning and attractive, and in + personal intercourse almost instantly disarmed hostility. + The even gentleness of his rich voice, his unfailing + courtesy and good temper, his quick eye for + harmless pleasantries, his hearty laugh, the Quaker-like + calmness, deliberateness, and meekness, with + which he would meet objections and argue the righteousness + of his cause, his sweet reasonableness and + companionableness were in strange contrast to popular + misconceptions and caricatures of him. No one + needed to be persuaded, who had once conversed + with him, that there was no hatred or vindictiveness + in his severities of language toward slaveholders. + That he was no Jacobin, no enemy of society, was + perceived the moment one looked into his grave, + kind face, or caught the warm accents of his pacific + tones, or listened to the sedate intensity, and humanity + of his discourses on the enormity of American + slavery as they fell from him in conversations between + man and man. Here is a case in point, a typical incident + in the life of the reformer; it occurred, it is + true, when he was twenty-seven, but it might have + occurred at twenty-five quite as well; it is narrated + by Samuel J. May in his recollections of the anti-slavery + conflict: On his way from New York to + Philadelphia with Garrison, Mr. May fell into a discussion + with a pro-slavery passenger on the vexed + question of the day. There was the common pro-slavery + reasoning, which May answered as well as he + <a class="newpage" name="P_094" id="P_094" title="P_094"></a> + was able. Presently Mr. Garrison drew near the disputants, + whereupon May took the opportunity to + shift the anti-slavery burden of the contention to his + leader's shoulders. All of his most radical and unpopular + Abolition doctrines Garrison immediately + proceeded to expound to his opponent. "After a + long conversation," says Mr. May, "which attracted + as many as could get within hearing, the gentleman + said, courteously: 'I have been much interested, sir, + in what you have said, and in the exceedingly frank + and temperate manner in which you have treated the + subject. If all Abolitionists were like you, there would + be much less opposition to your enterprise. But, sir, + depend upon it, that hair-brained, reckless, violent + fanatic, Garrison, will damage, if he does not shipwreck, + any cause.' Stepping forward, I replied, 'Allow + me, sir, to introduce you to Mr. Garrison, of whom + you entertain so bad an opinion. The gentleman + you have been talking with is he.'" + + </p> + <p> + Or take Harriet Martineau's first impressions on + seeing him. "His aspect put to flight in an instant + what prejudices his slanderers had raised in me. I + was wholly taken by surprise. It was a countenance + glowing with health, and wholly expressive of purity, + animation and gentleness. I did not wonder at the + citizen who, seeing a print of Garrison at a shop window + without a name to it, went in and bought it, and + framed it as the most saintlike of countenances." + + </p> + <p> + The appearance of such a man on the stage of our + history as a nation, at this hour, was providential. + His coming was in the fulness of time. A rapid review + of events anterior to the advent of Garrison will + serve to place this matter more clearly before the + <a class="newpage" name="P_095" id="P_095" title="P_095"></a> + general reader. To begin, then, at the beginning we + have two ships off the American coast, the one casting + anchor in Plymouth harbor, the other discharging its + cargo at Jamestown. They were both freighted with + human souls. But how different! Despotism landed + at Jamestown, democracy at Plymouth. Here in the + germ was the Southern idea, slave labor, slave institutions; + and here also was the Northern idea, free labor, + free institutions. Once planted they grew, each seed + idea multiplying after its kind. In course of time + there arose on one side an industrial system in which + the plantation principle, race-rule and race-slavery, + were organic centers; and, on the other, a social + system in which the principle of popular power and + government, the town meeting, and the common school + were the ganglia of social expansion. Contrary ideas + beget naturally enough contrary interests and institutions. + So it is no matter for surprise that the local + interests and institutions of the thirteen revolted + colonies lacked homogeneity and identity. What + was calculated to promote the general welfare of the + Northern one, it was quite possible might work a + totally opposite result in the Southern. For, indeed, + while there were slaves in them all, the slave system + had taken root in Southern soil only; and while on + the other hand the spirit of freedom was existent in + each, free labor had rooted itself in Northern ground + solely. + + </p> + <p> + As the war of the Revolution was an uprising + against arbitrary power, and for the establishment of + political liberty, it pushed easily into the foreground + the larger subject of human rights. Most of the + leading actors felt the inconsistency of keeping some + <a class="newpage" name="P_096" id="P_096" title="P_096"></a> + men in bondage, when they were fighting to rid themselves + of a tyranny which, in comparison to the other, + was a state of honorable freedom. Their humanity + condemned African slavery, and they earnestly desired + its extinction. The Declaration of Independence + proves to how high a level the tide of freedom rose + in the colonies. The grand truths by it proclaimed + the signers of that instrument did not restrict in their + application to some men to the exclusion of other + men. They wrote "All men," and they meant exactly + what they wrote. Too simply honest and great + they were to mean less than their solemn and deliberate + words. + + </p> + <p> + On political as well as on moral grounds they desired + emancipation. But there was a difficulty which + at the time proved insuperable. The nation-making + principle, the idea of country, was just emerging out + of the nebulous civil conditions and relations of the + ante-Revolutionary epoch. There was no existent + central authority to reach the evil within the States + except the local governments of the States respectively. + And States in revolt against the central authority + of the mother country would hardly be disposed + to divest themselves of any part of their newly + asserted right to govern themselves for the purpose + of conferring the same upon any other political body. + To each State, then, the question was necessarily left + for settlement. + + </p> + <p> + The war, during its continuance, absorbed the + united resources and energies of the people and their + leaders. The anti-slavery movement made accordingly + but small progress. Reforms thrive only when + they get a hearing. Public attention is the food on + <a class="newpage" name="P_097" id="P_097" title="P_097"></a> + which they thrive. But precious little of this food + was the Abolition cause able to snatch in those bitter + years. It could not grow. It remained in the gristle—hardly + more than a sentiment. But the sentiment + was a seed, the promise and potency of kindlier times. + With the close of the long struggle other questions + arose; got the people's ears; fixed the attention of the + leaders. Scant notice could emancipation extort from + men who had to repair the ravages of an exhausting + war, reconstruct shattered fortunes, restore civil society + in parts tumbling into ruinous disorder. The + instinct of self-preservation was altogether too masterful + for the moral starveling. It succumbed to circumstances, + content to obtain an occasional sermon, + an annual address, a few scattered societies to keep a + human glow in the bosom of the infant Confederacy. + + </p> + <p> + The Confederation failed. The formation of a + more perfect union was demanded and undertaken. + This transcendent task straightway thrust into the + background every other enterprise and interest. The + feeble activity of the freedom-making principle was + checked, for the time being, by the energy of the + nation-making power. They were not antagonistic + forces—only in the natural order of things, the earliest + stages in the evolution of the former had to come + after the first steps were taken in the development of + the latter. Before there could start a general movement + against American slavery there must needs be + an American nation. An American nation was, in + the year 1787, in process of successful development. + With the adoption of the Constitution, the national + principle entered on a period of marvelous expansion + and activity. + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_098" id="P_098" title="P_098"></a><p> + Let it not, however, be hastily concluded that freedom + meanwhile was in total eclipse, that the anti-slavery + sentiment was absolutely without influence. + For it unquestionably inspired the Ordinance of 1787. + The Northwest Territory, out of which were subsequently + organized the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, + Michigan, and Wisconsin, was thereby, forever + secured to the Northern idea, and free labor. Supplementary + to this grand act was the Constitutional + prohibition of the African slave-trade after the year + 1808. Together they were intended to discourage + the growth of slavery—the first by restricting its territorial + extension, the second, by arresting its numerical + increase. And without doubt they would have + placed the evil in the way of ultimate extinction had + other and far reaching causes not intervened to produce + adverse social and political conditions. + + </p> + <p> + The first of these causes, in point of time, were certain + labor-saving inventions in England, which vastly + enhanced the demand for raw cotton. Arkwright's + invention of the spinning machine about twenty years + prior to the adoption of the Constitution, perfected + by the spinning-jenny of Hargreaves, and the mule + of Crompton, "turned Lancashire," the historian + Green says, "into a hive of industry." The then rapid + demand for cotton operated in time as a stimulus + to its production in America. Increased productivity + raised the value of slave property and slave + soil. But the slow and tedious hand method of separating + the fiber of the cotton bulb from the seed + greatly limited the ability of the Cotton States to + meet and satisfy the fast growing demand of the + English manufacturers, until Eli Whitney, in 1793, by + <a class="newpage" name="P_099" id="P_099" title="P_099"></a> + an ingenious invention solved the problem of supply + for these States. The cotton gin was not long in + proving itself the other half—the other hand of the + spinning machine. + + </p> + <p> + From that year the slave interests of the South + rose in market value, and its industrial system + assumed unexpected importance in the economic + world. The increased production of cotton led + directly to increased demand for slave labor and + slave soil. The increased demand for slave labor the + Constitutional provision relating to the African slave + trade operated in part to satisfy. The increased + demand for slave soil was likewise satisfied by the + cession to the United States by Georgia and North + Carolina of the Southwest Territory, with provisos + practically securing it to slavery. Out of this new + national territory were subsequently carved the slave + States of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. + + </p> + <p> + Slave soil unlike free soil, is incapable of sustaining + a dense population. Slave labor calls for large + spaces within which to multiply and prosper. The + purchase of Louisiana and the acquisition of Florida + met this agrarian necessity on the part of the South. + Immense, unsettled areas thus fell to the lot of the + slave system at the crisis of its material expansion and + prosperity. The domestic slave-trade under the impetus + of settling these vast regions according to the + plantation principle, became an enormous and spreading + industry. The crop of slaves was not less profitable + than the crop of cotton. A Southern white + man had but to buy a score of slaves and a few hundred + acres to get "rich beyond the dreams of avarice." + So at least calculated the average Southern man. + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_100" id="P_100" title="P_100"></a><p> + This revival of slavery disappointed the humane + expectation of its decline and ultimate extinction + entertained by the founders of the republic. It built + up instead a growing and formidable slave class, and + interest in the Union. With the rise of giant slave + interests, there followed the rise of a power devoted + to their encouragement and protection. + + </p> + <p> + Three far-reaching concessions the slave States + obtained in the convention of 1787, viz., the right to + import slaves from Africa until 1808; the rendition + of fugitive slaves escaping into the free States, and + the three-fifths slave representation clause of the + Constitution—all of which added vastly to the + security and value of this species of property, and + as a consequence contributed to the slave revival. + + </p> + <p> + The equality of the States in the upper branch of + the National Legislature, taken in connection with the + right of the slave States to count five slaves as three + freemen in the apportionment of representatives to + the lower House of Congress, gave the Southern section + an almost immediate ascendency in the Federal + Government. To the South was thus opened by an + unexpected combination of circumstances a wide + avenue for the acquisition of fabulous wealth, and to + Southern public men an incomparable arena for the + exercise of political abilities and leadership. An + institution, which thus ministered to two of the + strongest passions of mankind—avarice and ambition—was + certain to excite the most intense attachment. + Its safety naturally, therefore, became among + the slave class an object of prime importance. + Southern jealousy in this regard ultimated inevitably + in Southern narrowness, Southern sectionalism, which + <a class="newpage" name="P_101" id="P_101" title="P_101"></a> + early manifested themselves in the exclusion from + lead in national affairs of Northern public men, + reputed to be unfriendly to slavery. Webster as late + as 1830, protested warmly against this intolerance. + Like begets like. And the proscribing of anti-slavery + politicians by the South, created in turn not a little + sectional feeling at the North, and helped to stimulate + there a consciousness of sectional differences, of + antagonism of interests between the two halves of + the Union. + + </p> + <p> + Discontent with the original basis of the Union, + which had given the South its political coign of + vantage, broke out first in New England. The occasion, + though not the cause, of this discontent was, + perhaps, the downfall of the Federal party, whose + stronghold was in the East. The commercial and + industrial crisis brought on by the embargo, and + which beggared, on the authority of Webster, "thousands + of families and hundreds of thousands of individuals" + fanned this Eastern dissatisfaction into + almost open disaffection towards a government dominated + by Southern influence, and directed by Southern + statesmanship. To the preponderance of this + Southern element in national legislation New England + traced her misfortunes. She was opposed to + the War of 1812, but was overruled to her hurt by + the South. In these circumstances New England + went for correcting the inequalities of the original + basis of the Union, which gave to the South its + undue preponderance in shaping national laws and + policies. This was the purpose of the Hartford + Convention, which proposed the abrogation of the + slave representation clause of the Constitution, and + <a class="newpage" name="P_102" id="P_102" title="P_102"></a> + the imposition of a check upon the admission of new + States into the Union. The second proposition did + not say "new slave States," but new slave States was, + nevertheless, intended by the Convention. Here in + point of time and magnitude, was the first distinct + collision of the two sets of ideas and interests of the + Republic. + + </p> + <p> + Following the Treaty of Ghent other and imperious + questions engaged the public attention—questions of + the tariff, of finance, internal improvements, national + defence, a new navy, forts and fortifications. Hard + times, too, engrossed an enormous share of this attention. + The immediate needs and problems of the + hour pushed into the background all less pressing + ones. The slavery question amidst the clamor and + babel of emergent and material interests, lost something + of its sectional heat and character. But its + fires were not extinguished, only banked as events + were speedily to reveal. + + </p> + <p> + The application of Missouri for admission into the + Union as a slave State four years after the Hartford + Convention blew to a blaze the covered embers of + strife between the sections. The North was violently + agitated. For the admission of a new slave State + meant two more slave votes in the Senate, and an + increase on the old inequitable basis of slave representation + in the lower House of Congress. It meant + to the Northern section indefinite Southern ascendency, + prolonged Southern lead in national legislation. + All the smouldering passions of the earlier period, of + embargo, and non-intercourse, and the war of 1812, + flamed suddenly and fiercely in the heart of the free + States. + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_103" id="P_103" title="P_103"></a><p> + The length and bitterness of that controversy excited + the gravest apprehensions for the stability of + the Union. The dread of disunion led to mutual + concessions, to the Missouri Compromise. The slave-holding + section got its immediate claim allowed, and + the free States secured the erection of a line to the + north of which slavery was forever prohibited. And + besides this, the admission of Maine was supposed to + neutralize whatever political advantages, which would + accrue to the South from the admission of Missouri + as a slave State. Both sections were content, and the + slavery question was thought to be permanently + settled. With this final disposition of an ugly problem, + the peace and permanence of the Union were + viewed universally as fixed facts. Still, considering + the gravity of the case, a little precaution would not + go amiss. The slavery question had shaken men's + faith in the durability of the republic. It was therefore + adjudged a highly dangerous subject. The political + physicians with one accord prescribed on the + ounce-of-prevention principle, <em>quiet</em>, SILENCE, and + OBLIVION, to be administered in large and increasing + doses to both sections. Mum was the word, and + mum the country solemnly and suddenly became + from Maine to Georgia. But, alas! beneath the ashes + of this Missouri business, deep below the unnatural + silence and quiet, inextinguishable fires were burning + and working again to the surface of politics. In such + circumstances a fresh outbreak of old animosities + must occur as soon as the subterranean heat should + reach the point of highest combustibility in the + federal system. The tariff proved to be that point of + highest combustibility. + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_104" id="P_104" title="P_104"></a><p> + Alexander Hamilton inaugurated the policy of + giving governmental aid to infant manufactures. The + wisdom of diversifying the industries of the young + nation was acquiesced in by the leading statesmen of + both sections. Beset as the republic then was by + international forces hostile to democratic institutions, + it was natural enough that the great men who presided + over its early years should seek by Federal legislation + to render it, as speedily and completely as + possible, industrially self-dependent and self-supporting. + The war of 1812 enforced anew upon the + attention of statesmen the importance of industrial independence. + The war debt, together with certain governmental + enterprises and expenditures growing out + of the war, was largely, if not wholly, responsible for + the tariff of 1816. This act dates the rise of our + American system of protection. It is curious to note + that Southern men were the leaders of this new departure + in the national fiscal policy. Calhoun, Clay, + and Lowndes were the guiding spirits of that period + of industrial ferment and activity. They little dreamt + what economic evils were to fall in consequence + upon the South. That section was not slow to feel + the unequal action of the protective principle. The + character of its labor incapacitated the South from + dividing the benefits of the new revenue policy with + its free rival. The South of necessity was restricted + to a single industry, the tillage of the earth. Slave + labor did not possess the intelligence, the skill, the + patience, the mechanical versatility to embark successfully + in manufacturing enterprises. Free labor + monopolised the protected industries, and Northern + capital caught all the golden showers of fiscal legislation. + <a class="newpage" name="P_105" id="P_105" title="P_105"></a> + What the South needed, from an economic + point of view, was unrestricted access to the markets + of the world for her products, and the freest competition + of the world in her own markets. The limitations + imposed upon the slave States by their industrial + system was in itself a tremendous handicap in their + struggle for an advantageous place in the New World + of the nineteenth century; in their struggle with + their free sisters for political leadership in the Union. + But with the development of the protective principle + those States fell into sore financial distress, were + ground between the upper millstone of the protective + system and the nether millstone of their own industrial + system. Prosperity and plenty did presently + disappear from that section and settled in the North. + In 1828 Benton drew this dark picture of the state of + the South: + + </p> + <p> + "In place of wealth, a universal pressure for money + was felt; not enough for common expenses; the + price of all property down; the country drooping + and languishing; towns and cities decaying, and the + frugal habits of the people pushed to the verge of + universal self-denial for the preservation of their + family estates." + + </p> + <p> + He did not hesitate to charge to Federal legislation + the responsibility for all this poverty and distress, + for he proceeds to remark that: + + </p> + <p> + "Under this legislation the exports of the South + have been made the basis of the Federal revenue. + The twenty odd millions annually levied upon imported + goods are deducted out of the price of their + cotton, rice, and tobacco, either in the diminished + prices which they receive for those staples in foreign + <a class="newpage" name="P_106" id="P_106" title="P_106"></a> + ports, or in the increased price which they pay for + the articles they have to consume at home." + + </p> + <p> + A suffering people are not apt to reason clearly or + justly on the causes which have brought them to indigence. + They feel their wretchedness and reach out + for a victim. And the law-making power usually + happens to be that victim. As the distress of the + South increased, the belief that Federal legislation + was responsible for it increased likewise. The spread + and deepening of this conviction in the Southern + States precipitated among them an ominous crisis in + their attachment to the Union. Nullification and an + embittered sectionalism was the hateful legacy + bequeathed to the republic by the tariff controversy. + It left the South in a hyper-sensitive state in all matters + relating to her domestic interests. It left the + North in a hyper-sensitive condition on all matters + touching the peace and stability of the Union. The + silence and oblivion policy on the subject of slavery + was renewed with tenfold intensity. Ulysses-like the + free States bound themselves, their right of free + speech, and their freedom of the press on this subject, + for fear of the Siren voices which came thrilling on + every breeze from the South. Quiet was the word, + and quiet the leaders in Church and State sought to + enforce upon the people, to the end that the vision of + "States dissevered, discordant, belligerent, of a land + rent with civil feuds, or drenched it may be, in fraternal + blood," might not come to pass for their "glorious + Union." + + </p> + <p> + The increasing friction and heat between the sections + during twenty-five years, had effected every portion + of the Federal system, and created conditions + <a class="newpage" name="P_107" id="P_107" title="P_107"></a> + favorable to a violent explosion. Sectional differences + of a political and industrial complexion, forty years + had sufficed to develop. Sectional differences of a + moral and social character forty years had also sufficed + to generate. To kindle all those differences, all + that mass of combustible feelings and forces into a + general conflagration a spark only was wanted. And + out of the glowing humanity of one man the spark + was suddenly struck. + + </p> + <p> + It is curious to note that in the year 1829, the very + year in which William Lloyd Garrison landed in Baltimore, + and began the editorship of <i>The Genius of + Universal Emancipation</i>, the American Convention, or + national assembly of the old State societies for the + abolition of slavery, fell into desuetude. It was as if + Providence was clearing the debris of an old dispensation + out of the way of the new one which his + prophet was beginning to herald, as if guarding + against all possibility of having the new wine, then + soon to be pressed from the moral vintage of the + nation, put into old bottles. The Hour for a new + movement against slavery had come, and with its + arrival the Man to hail it had also come. + + </p> + <p> + Other men had spoken and written against slavery, + and labored for the freedom of the slave before Garrison + had thought upon the subject at all. Washington + and Jefferson, Franklin, Jay, and Hamilton had + been Abolitionists before he was born, but theirs was + a divided interest. The establishment of a more perfect + union was the paramount object of their lives. + John Wesley had denounced slavery in language + quite as harsh as Garrison's, but his, too, was a + divided interest, the religious revival of the eighteenth + <a class="newpage" name="P_108" id="P_108" title="P_108"></a> + century being his distinctive mission. Benezet, + Woolman, and Lundy were saints, who had yearned + with unspeakable sympathy for the black bondmen, + and were indefatigable in good works in his behalf, + but they had not that stern and iron quality without + which reforms cannot be launched upon the attention + of mankind. What his predecessors lacked, Garrison + possessed to a marvelous degree—the undivided + interest, the supremacy of a single purpose, the stern + stuff out of which the moral reformer is made, and in + which he is panoplied. They were all his, but there + was another besides—immediatism. This element + distinguished the movement against slavery, started + by him, from all other movements begun before he + arrived on the stage, for the emancipation of the + slaves in the Union. + + </p> + <p> + This doctrine of immediate as opposed to gradual + emancipation, was not original with Garrison, + nor was he the first to enunciate it. More than + a dozen years before he was converted to it, Rev. + George Bourne, in "The Book and Slavery Irreconcilable," + had shown that "the system (of slavery) is + so entirely corrupt that it admits of no cure but by + a <em>total and immediate abolition</em>. For a gradual emancipation + is a virtual recognition of the right, and establishes + the rectitude of the practice. If it be just + for one moment, it is hallowed forever; and if it be + inequitable, not a day should it be tolerated." In + 1824, eight years after the publication of Bourne's + book, and five years before Garrison announced the + doctrine in the <i>Genius</i>, the Rev. James Duncan + maintained it, in his "Treatise on Slavery," with no uncertainty + of sense or conviction. But neither Bourne + <a class="newpage" name="P_109" id="P_109" title="P_109"></a> + nor Duncan had been able to effect an incarnation of + the doctrine, without which the good which it aimed + at could not be achieved. What they failed to effect, + it is the glory of Garrison that he achieved in his + own person. He was "<em>total and immediate Abolition</em>" + personified. "Truth is mighty and will prevail," is + a wise saying and worthy of acceptation. But this + ultimate prevailing of TRUTH depends mainly upon + individual effort, applied not intermittently, but + steadily to a particular segment of the circle of conduct. + It is the long, strong, never-ending pull and tug + upon the wheels of conduct, which marks the great + reformer. He finds his age or country stuck in some + Serbonian bog of iniquity. He prays, but he prays + with his shoulders braced strenuously against the + body of society, and he does not cease his endeavors + until a revolution in conduct places his age or country + on firm ground beyond its Serbonian bog. The coming + of such a man is no accident. When the Hour is + ready and the Man comes, a new epoch in the life of + a people arises from the conjunction. Of such vast + consequence verily was the coming into American + history of William Lloyd Garrison. + + </p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap5"></a> + CHAPTER V. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS. + + </h2><a class="newpage" name="P_110" id="P_110" title="P_110"></a><p> + After leaving Baltimore, Garrison clung pathetically + to the belief that, if he told what he had seen + of the barbarism of slavery to the North, he would + be certain to enlist the sympathy and aid of its leaders, + political and ecclesiastical, in the cause of emancipation. + The sequel to his efforts in this regard + proved that he was never more mistaken in his life. + He addressed letters to men like Webster, Jeremiah + Mason, Lyman Beecher, and Dr. Channing, "holding + up to their view the tremendous iniquity of the land, + and begging them, ere it should be too late, to interpose + their great power in the Church and State, to + save our country from the terrible calamities which + the sin of slavery was bringing upon us." But there + is no evidence that this appeal produced the feeblest + ripple in the lives of the two first; and upon the two + last it was equally barren of result. Dr. Channing, + indeed, did not take the trouble to hear any one of + the three lectures of the young philanthropist. Dr. + Beecher, however, was at the pains to be present at + the first lecture given at Julien Hall. But he betrayed + no real interest in the subject. He had no + time to devote to anti-slavery, had, in fine, too many + irons in the fire already. To this impotent apology + of the great preacher of immediatism in his dealing + <a class="newpage" name="P_111" id="P_111" title="P_111"></a> + with all kinds of sin, except the sin of slave-holding, + for not espousing the cause of the slave, Mr. Garrison + made his famous retort: + + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Then you had better let all your irons burn than + neglect your duty to the slave." + + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + What more did this poor and friendless man, with + his one idea and his harsh language, know of duties + and dangers than Daniel Webster, who was busy saving + the Union; than Lyman Beecher, who was not + less busy saving souls; or than Dr. Channing, who was + quite as busy saving liberalism in matters of religion? + What folly and presumption it must have seemed to + these mighty men this attempt of Garrison to impress + upon them a proper sense of their obligations to their + country. + + </p> + <p> + "Your zeal," said Dr. Beecher to him, with unlimited + condescension of tone—"your zeal is commendable, + but you are misguided. If you will give up + your fanatical notions and be guided by us (the + clergy) we will make you the Wilberforce of + America." + + </p> + <p> + And so what was the young man, burning up with + his one idea, to do in presence of such a failure to + win these men to the leadership of the anti-slavery + movement? He could not hold his peace; his message + he was compelled to deliver in the ears of the + nation whether its leaders would hear or forbear. + Perhaps the common people would hearken to what + the wise and powerful had rejected. At any rate + they should hear what was resting upon his soul with + the weight of a great woe, the force of a supreme + command. But how was he, penniless and friendless, + to roll from his bosom the burden which was crushing + <a class="newpage" name="P_112" id="P_112" title="P_112"></a> + it; to pause long enough in the battle for bread + to fight the battle of the slave? Ah, if he had money! + but no money did he have, not a dollar in his pocket! + Oh, if he had rich friends who would dedicate their + riches to the preaching of the gospel of freedom! but + alas! rich friends there were none. Oh, if he could + cry to the Church for help in this hour of his need! + but it was slowly dawning on him that not from the + Church would help come to his cause; for a grievous + thing had happened to the Church. The slave gorgon + sat staring from the pews, and turning the pulpits + to stone, turning also to stone the hearts of the + people. + + </p> + <p> + Undismayed by the difficulties which were closing + in around him, Garrison resolutely set himself to + accomplish his purpose touching the establishment + of a weekly paper devoted to the abolition of slavery. + He had promised in his <i>Prospectus</i> to issue the + first number of the <i>Public Liberator</i> "as soon as + subscriptions thereto may authorize the attempt." But had + he waited for the fulfillment of this condition, the + experiment could never have been tried. When subscribers + did not come in, the paper, he determined + should go forth all the same. But there are some + things in the publication of a paper which no man + can dispense with, which indispensable somethings + are: types, a press, an office, and an assistant. All + these requisites were wanting to the man whose sole + possession seemed an indomitable will, a faith in himself, + and in the righteousness of his cause, which nothing + could shake, nor disappointment nor difficulty, + however great, was able to daunt or deter. To such + an unconquerable will, to such an invincible faith + <a class="newpage" name="P_113" id="P_113" title="P_113"></a> + obstacles vanish; the impossible becomes the attainable. + As Garrison burned to be about his work, help + came to him from a man quite as penniless and + friendless as himself. The man was Isaac Knapp, an + old companion of his in Newburyport, who had also + worked with him in the office of the <i>Genius</i>, in + Baltimore. He was a practical printer, and was precisely + the sort of assistant that the young reformer needed + at this juncture in the execution of his purpose; a + man like himself acquainted with poverty, and of unlimited + capacity for the endurance of unlimited hardships. + Together they worked out the financial problems + which blocked the way to the publication of the + paper. The partners took an office in Merchants' + Hall building, then standing on the corner of Congress + and Water streets, Boston, which gave their + joint enterprise a local habitation. It had already a + name. They obtained the use of types in the printing + office of the <i>Christian Examiner</i>, situated in the + same building. The foreman, Stephen Foster, + through his ardent interest in Abolition, made the + three first numbers of the paper possible. The publishers + paid for the use of the types by working + during the day at the case in the <i>Examiner's</i> + office. They got the use of a press from another foreman + with Abolition sympathies, viz., James B. Yerrington, + then the printer of the Boston <i>Daily Advocate</i>. + Thus were obtained the four indispensables to the publication + of the <i>Liberator</i>—types, a press, an office, and + an assistant. + + </p> + <p> + When at length the offspring of such labor and + sacrifices made its appearance in the world, which + was on January 1, 1831, it was, in point of size, insignificant + <a class="newpage" name="P_114" id="P_114" title="P_114"></a> + enough. It did not look as if its voice would + ever reach beyond the small dark chamber where it + saw the light. Picture, oh! reader, a wee sheet + with four columns to the page, measuring fourteen + inches one way and nine and a quarter the other, + and you will get an idea of the diminutiveness of the + <i>Liberator</i> on the day of its birth. The very paper + on which it was printed was procured on credit. To + the ordinary observer it must have seemed such a weakling + as was certain to perish from inanition in the + first few months of its struggle for existence in the + world of journalism. It was domiciled during successive + periods in four different rooms of the + Merchant's Hall building, until it reached No. 11, + "under the eaves," whence it issued weekly for many + years to call the nation to repentance. A photographic + impression of this cradle-room of the anti-slavery + movement has been left by Oliver Johnson, an eye-witness. + Says Mr. Johnson: "The dingy walls; + the small windows, bespattered with printer's ink; + the press standing in one corner; the composing-stands + opposite; the long editorial and mailing + table, covered with newspapers; the bed of the + editor and publisher on the floor—all these make + a picture never to be forgotten." For the first + eighteen months the partners toiled fourteen hours a + day, and subsisted "chiefly upon bread and milk, a + few cakes, and a little fruit, obtained from a baker's + shop opposite, and a petty cake and fruit shop in the + basement," and, alas, "were on short commons even at + that." Amid such hard and grinding poverty was + the <i>Liberator</i> born. But the great end of the + reformer glorified the mean surroundings: + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_115" id="P_115" title="P_115"></a><div class="lg">"O truth! O Freedom! how are ye still born<br>In the rude stable, in the manger nursed;<br>What humble hands unbar those gates of morn<br>Through which the splendors of the New Day burst."<br><br></div> + <p> + About the brow of this "infant crying in the night," + shone aureole-like the sunlit legend: <em>Our country is the + world—our countrymen are mankind.</em> The difference between + this motto of the <i>Liberator</i> and that of the + <i>Free Press</i>: <em>Our country, our whole country, + and nothing but our country</em>—measures the greatness of the revolution + which had taken place in the young editor. + The grand lesson he had learned, than which there is + none greater, that beneath diversities of race, color, + creed, language, there is the one human principle, + which makes all men kin. He had learned at the age + of twenty-five to know the mark of brotherhood made + by the Deity Himself: "Behold! my brother is man, + not because he is American or Anglo-Saxon, or white + or black, but because he is a fellow-man," is the simple, + sublime acknowledgment, which thenceforth he was + to make in his word and life. + + </p> + <p> + It was Mr. Garrison's original design, as we have + seen, to publish the <i>Liberator</i> from Washington. + Lundy had, since the issue of the <i>Prospectus</i> for + the new paper, removed the <i>Genius</i> to the capital + of the nation. This move of Lundy rendered the establishment + of a second paper devoted to the abolition of + slavery in the same place, of doubtful utility, but, + weighty as was this consideration from a mere business + point of view, in determining Garrison to locate + the <i>Liberator</i> in another quarter, it was not + decisive. Just what was the decisive consideration, he reveals + in his salutatory address in the <i>Liberator</i>. Here + it is: + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_116" id="P_116" title="P_116"></a><p> + "During my recent tour for the purpose of exciting + the minds of the people by a series of discourses on + the subject of slavery," he confides to the reader, + "every place that I visited gave fresh evidence of the + fact, that a greater revolution in public sentiment + was to be effected in the free States—<em>and particularly + in New England</em>—than at the South. I found contempt + more bitter, opposition more active, detraction + more relentless; prejudice more stubborn, and apathy + more frozen than among slaveowners themselves. + Of course there were individual exceptions to the + contrary. This state of things afflicted, but did not + dishearten me. I determined, at every hazard, to lift + up the standard of emancipation in the eyes of the + nation, <em>within sight of Bunker Hill, and in the birthplace + of liberty</em>." This final choice of Boston as a base from + which to operate against slavery was sagacious, and + of the greatest moment to the success of the experiment + and to its effective service to the cause. + + </p> + <p> + If the reformer changed his original intention respecting + the place of publication for his paper, he made + no alteration of his position on the subject of slavery. + "I shall strenuously contend," he declares in the salutatory, + "for the immediate enfranchisement of our + slave population." "In Park Street Church," he goes + on to add, "on the Fourth of July, 1829, in an address + on slavery, I unreflectingly assented to the popular + but pernicious doctrine of <em>gradual</em> abolition. I seize + this opportunity to make a full and unequivocal + recantation, and thus publicly to ask pardon of my + God, of my country, and of my brethren, the poor + slaves, for having uttered a sentiment so full of timidity, + injustice, and absurdity." + + </p><a class="newpage" name="P_117" id="P_117" title="P_117"></a><p> + To those who find fault with his harsh language he + makes reply: "I <em>will</em> be as harsh as truth, and as + uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not + wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. + No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a + moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his + wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother + to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into + which it has fallen—but urge me not to use moderation + in a cause like the present. I am in earnest—I + will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not + retreat a single inch—AND I WILL BE HEARD." Martin + Luther's "Here I take my stand," was not braver + or grander than the "I will be heard," of the American + reformer. It did not seem possible that a young + man, without influence, without money, standing + almost alone, could ever make good those courageous + words. The country, in Church and State, had + decreed silence on the subject of slavery; the patriotism + of the North, its commerce, its piety, its labor and + capital had all joined hands to smother agitation, and + stifle the discussion of a question that imperilled the + peace and durability of Webster's glorious Union. + But one man, tearing the gag from his lips, defying + all these, cried, "Silence, there shall not be!" and + forthwith the whole land began to talk on the forbidden + theme: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"O small beginnings ye are great and strong,<br>Based on a faithful heart and weariless brain!<br>Ye build the future fair, ye conquer wrong.<br>Ye earn the crown, and wear it not in vain!"<br><br></div> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap6"></a> + CHAPTER VI. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE HEAVY WORLD IS MOVED. + + </h2><a class="newpage" name="P_118" id="P_118" title="P_118"></a><p> + Archimedes with his lever desired a place to stand + that he might move the world of matter. Garrison + with his paper, having found a place for his feet, + demonstrated speedily his ability to push from its + solid base the world of mind. His plan was very + simple, viz., to reveal slavery as it then existed in its + naked enormity, to the conscience of the North, to be + "as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice." + And so, week after week, he packed in the columns of + the <i>Liberator</i> facts, the most damning facts, + against slaveholders, their cruelty and tyranny. He painted + the woes of the slaves as if he, too, had been a slave. + For the first time the masters found a man who + rebuked them as not before had they been rebuked. + Others may have equivocated, but this man called + things by their proper names, a spade, a spade, and + sin, sin. Others may have contented themselves with + denunciations of the sins and with excuses for the + sinner, as a creature of circumstances, the victim of + ancestral transgressions, but this man offered no excuses + for the slave-holding sinner. Him and his sin he + denounced in language, which the Eternal puts only + into the mouths of His prophets. It was, as he had + said, "On this subject I do not wish to think, or + speak, or write, with moderation." The strength and + resources of his mother-tongue seemed to him wholly + <a class="newpage" name="P_119" id="P_119" title="P_119"></a> + inadequate for his needs, to express the transcendent + wickedness of slave-holding. All the harsh, the + stern, the terrible and tremendous energies of the + English speech he drew upon, and launched at slaveholders. + Amid all of this excess of the enthusiast + there was the method of a calculating mind. He + aimed to kindle a conflagration because he had icebergs + to melt. "The public shall not be imposed + upon," he replied to one of his critics, "and men and + things shall be called by their right names. I retract + nothing, I blot out nothing. My language is exactly + such as suits me; it will displease many, I know; to + displease them is my intention." He was philosopher + enough to see that he could reach the national conscience + only by exciting the national anger. It was + not popular rage, which he feared but popular apathy. + If he could goad the people to anger on the + subject of slavery he would soon be rid of their apathy. + And so week after week he piled every sort of + combustible material, which he was able to collect on + board the <i>Liberator</i> and lighting it all, sent the + fiery messenger blazing among the icebergs of the Union. + Slaveholders were robbers, murderers, oppressors; + they were guilty of all the sins of the decalogue, were + in a word the chief of sinners. At the same moment + that the reformer denied their right of property in + the slave, he attacked their character also, held them + up in their relation of masters to the reprobation of + the nation and of mankind as monsters of injustice + and inhumanity. The tone which he held toward + them, steadily, without shadow of change, was the + tone of a righteous man toward the workers of iniquity. + The indifference, the apathy, the pro-slavery + <a class="newpage" name="P_120" id="P_120" title="P_120"></a> + sympathy and prejudice of the free States rendered the + people of the North hardly less culpable. They were + working iniquity with the people of the South. This + was the long, sharp goad, which the young editor + thrust in between the bars of the Union and stirred + the guilty sections to quick and savage outbursts of + temper against him and the bitter truths which he + preached. Almost directly the proofs came to him + that he was HEARD at the South and at the North + alike. Angry growls reached his ears in the first + month of the publication of the <i>Liberator</i> from + some heartless New England editors in denunciation of his + "violent and intemperate attacks on slaveholders." + The <i>Journal</i>, published at Louisville, Kentucky, + and edited by George D. Prentice, declared that, "some + of his opinions with regard to slavery in the United + States are no better than lunacy." The <i>American + Spectator</i> published at the seat of the National Government, + had hoped that the good sense of the "late talented + and persecuted junior editor" of the <i>Genius</i>, + "would erelong withdraw him even from the side of + the Abolitionists." And from farther South the growl + which the reformer heard was unmistakably ferocious. + It was from the State of South Carolina and + the Camden <i>Journal</i>, which pronounced the + <i>Liberator</i> + "a scandalous and incendiary budget of sedition." + These were the beginning of the chorus of curses, + which soon were to sing their serpent songs about his + head. Profane and abusive letters from irate slaveholders + and their Northern sympathisers began to + pour into the sanctum of the editor. Within a few + months after the first issue of the <i>Liberator</i> the + whole aspect of the world without had changed toward + <a class="newpage" name="P_121" id="P_121" title="P_121"></a> + him. "Foes are on my right hand, and on my left," + he reported to some friends. "The tongue of detraction + is busy against me. I have no communion with + the world—the world none with me. The timid, the + lukewarm, the base, affect to believe that my brains are + disordered, and my words the ravings of a maniac. + Even many of my friends—they who have grown up + with me from my childhood—are transformed into + scoffers and enemies." The apathy of the press, and + the apathy of the people were putting forth signs + that the long winter of the land was passing away. + + </p> + <p> + To a colored man belongs the high honor of having + been the <i>courier avant</i> of the slavery + agitation. This man was David Walker, who lived in Boston, and + who published in 1829 a religio-political discussion + of the status of the negroes of the United States in + four articles. The wretchedness of the blacks in consequence + of slavery he depicted in dark and bitter + language. Theodore Parker, many years afterward, + said that the negro was deficient in vengeance, the + lowest form of justice. "Walker's Appeal" evinced + no deficiency in this respect in its author. The pamphlet + found its way South, and was the cause of no + little commotion among the master-class. It was + looked upon as an instigation to servile insurrection. + The "Appeal" was proscribed, and a price put upon + the head of the author. Garrison deprecated the + sanguinary character of the book. For he himself + was the very reverse of Walker. Garrison was a full + believer in the literal doctrine of non-resistance as + enunciated by Jesus. He abhorred all war, and physical + collisions of every description, as wicked and + inhuman. He sang to the slave: + + </p> + <div class="lg"><a class="newpage" name="P_122" id="P_122" title="P_122"></a>"Not by the sword shall your deliverance be;<br>Not by the shedding of your master's blood,<br>Not by rebellion—or foul treachery,<br>Upspringing suddenly, like swelling flood;<br>Revenge and rapine ne'er did bring forth good.<br>God's <em>time is best</em>!—nor will it long delay;<br>Even now your barren cause begins to bud,<br>And glorious shall the fruit be!—watch and pray,<br>For lo! the kindling dawn that ushers in the day."<br><br></div> + <p> + He considered "Walker's Appeal" "a most injudicious + publication, yet warranted by the creed of an + independent people." He saw in our Fourth-of-July + demonstrations, in our glorification of force as an + instrument for achieving liberty, a constant incentive + to the slaves to go and do likewise. If it was right + for the men of 1776 to rise in rebellion against their + mother-country, it surely could not be wrong were + the slaves to revolt against their oppressors, and + strike for their freedom. It certainly did not lie in + the mouth of a people, who apotheosized force, to + condemn them. What was sauce for the white man's + goose was sauce for the black man's gander. + + </p> + <p> + The South could not distinguish between this sort + of reasoning, and an express and positive appeal to + the slaves to cut the throats of their masters. The + contents of the <i>Liberator</i> were quite as likely + to produce a slave insurrection as was "Walker's Appeal," + if the paper was allowed to circulate freely among + the slave population. It was, in fact, more dangerous + to the lives and interests of slaveholders by virtue of + the pictorial representation of the barbarism and + abomination of the peculiar institution, introduced + as a feature of the <i>Liberator</i> in its seventeenth + number, in the shape of a slave auction, where the slaves + <a class="newpage" name="P_123" id="P_123" title="P_123"></a> + are chattels, and classed with "horses and other + cattle," and where the tortures of the whipping-post + are in vigorous operation. Here was a message, + which every slave, however ignorant and illiterate + could read. His instinct would tell him, wherever + he saw the pictured horror, that a friend, not an + enemy, had drawn it, but for what purpose? What + was the secret meaning, which he was to extract from + a portrayal of his woes at once so real and terrible. + Was it to be a man, to seize the knife, the torch, to + slay and burn his way to the rights and estate of a + man? Garrison had put no such bloody import into + the cut. It was designed not to appeal to the passions + of the slaves, but to the conscience of the + North. But the South did not so read it, was incapable, + in fact, of so reading it. What it saw was a + shockingly realistic representation of the wrongs of + the slaves, the immediate and inevitable effect of + which upon the slaves would be to incite them to + sedition, to acts of revenge. Living as the slaveholders + were over mines of powder and dynamite, it + is not to be marveled at that the first flash of danger + filled them with apprehension and terror. The awful + memories of San Domingo flamed red and dreadful + against the dark background of every Southern + plantation and slave community. In the "belly" of + the <i>Liberator's</i> picture were many San Domingos. + Extreme fear is the beginning of madness; it is, indeed, + a kind of madness. The South was suddenly plunged + into a state of extreme fear toward which the + <i>Liberator</i> and "Walker's Appeal" were hurrying it, + by one of those strange accidents or coincidences of + history. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_124" id="P_124" title="P_124"></a> + This extraordinary circumstance was the slave insurrection + in Southampton, Virginia, in the month of + August, 1831. The leader of the uprising was the + now famous Nat Turner. Brooding over the wrongs + of his race for several years, he conceived that he + was the divinely appointed agent to redress them. + He was cast in the mould of those rude heroes, who + spring out of the sides of oppression as isolated trees + will sometimes grow out of clefts in a mountain. + With his yearning to deliver his people, there mingled + not a little religious frenzy and superstition. Getting + his command from Heaven to arise against the masters, + he awaited the sign from this same source of + the moment for beginning the work of destruction. + It came at last and on the night of August 21st; he and + his confederates made a beginning by massacring + first his own master, Mr. Joseph Travis, and his entire + family. Turner's policy was remorseless enough. + It was to spare no member of the white race, whether + man, woman, or child, the very infant at the mother's + breast was doomed to the knife, until he was able to + collect such an assured force as would secure the success + of the enterprise. This purpose was executed + with terrible severity and exactness. All that night + the work of extermination went on as the slave leader + and his followers passed like fate from house to + house, and plantation to plantation, leaving a wide + swathe of death in their track. Terror filled the + night, terror filled the State, the most abject terror + clutched the bravest hearts. The panic was pitiable, + horrible. James McDowell, one of the leaders of the + Old Dominion, gave voice to the awful memories + and sensations of that night, in the great anti-slavery + <a class="newpage" name="P_125" id="P_125" title="P_125"></a> + debate, which broke out in the Virginia Legislature, + during the winter afterward. One of the + legislators, joined to his idol, and who now, that + the peril had passed, laughed at the uprising as a + "petty affair." McDowell retorted—"Was that a + 'petty affair,' which erected a peaceful and confiding + portion of the State into a military camp, which outlawed + from pity the unfortunate beings whose brothers + had offended; which barred every door, penetrated + every bosom with fear or suspicion, which so + banished every sense of security from every man's + dwelling, that let but a hoof or horn break upon the + silence of the night, and an aching throb would be + driven to the heart? The husband would look to his + weapon, and the mother would shudder and weep + upon her cradle. Was it the fear of Nat Turner and + his deluded, drunken handful of followers which produced + such effects? Was it this that induced distant + counties, where the very name of Southampton was + strange, to arm and equip for a struggle? No, sir, it + was the <em>suspicion eternally + attached to the slave himself,</em>—a + suspicion that a Nat Turner might be in every + family, that the same bloody deed might be acted + over at any time and in any place, that the materials + for it were spread through the land, and were always + ready for a like explosion." + + </p> + <p> + Sixty one whites and more than a hundred blacks + perished in this catastrophe. The news produced a + profound sensation in the Union. Garrison himself, + as he records, was horror-struck at the tidings. + Eight months before he had in a strain of prophecy + penetrated the future and caught a glimpse of just + such an appalling tragedy: + + </p> + <div class="lg"><a class="newpage" name="P_126" id="P_126" title="P_126"></a>"Wo, if it come with storm, and blood, and fire,<br>When midnight darkness veils the earth and sky!<br>Wo to the innocent babe—the guilty sire—<br>Mother and daughter—friends of kindred tie!<br><em>Stranger and citizen alike shall die!</em><br>Red-handed slaughter his revenge shall feed,<br>And havoc yell his ominous death-cry,<br>And wild despair in vain for mercy plead—<br>While hell itself shall shrink and sicken at the deed!"<br><br></div> + <p> + After the Southampton insurrection the slavery + agitation increased apace, and the <i>Liberator</i> and + its editor became instantly objects of dangerous notoriety + in it. The eyes of the country were irresistibly + drawn to them. They were at the bottom of the uprising, + they were instigating the slaves to similar + outbreaks. The savage growlings of a storm came + thrilling on every breeze from the South, and wrathful + mutterings against the agitator and his paper + grew thenceforth more distinct and threatening + throughout the free States. October 15, 1831, Garrison + records in the <i>Liberator</i> that he "is constantly + receiving from the slave States letters filled with the + most diabolical threats and indecent language." In + the same month Georgetown, S.C., in a panic made + it unlawful for a free colored person to take the + <i>Liberator</i> + from the post-office. In the same month the + Charleston <i>Mercury</i> announced that "gentlemen of + the first respectability" at Columbia had offered a + reward of fifteen hundred dollars for the arrest and + conviction of any white person circulating the + <i>Liberator</i>, + Walker's pamphlet, "or any other publication of + seditious tendency." In Georgia the same symptoms + of fright were exhibited. In the same month the + <a class="newpage" name="P_127" id="P_127" title="P_127"></a> + grand jury at Raleigh, N.C., indicted William Lloyd + Garrison and Isaac Knapp for circulating the + <i>Liberator</i> + in that county. It was even confidently expected + that a requisition would be made by the Executive of + the State upon the Governor of Massachusetts for + their arrest, when they would be tried under a law, + which made their action felony. "Whipping and + imprisonment for the first offence, and death, without + benefit of clergy, for the second." Governor Floyd + said in his message to the Virginia Legislature in + December that there was good cause to suspect that + the plans of the Southampton massacre were "designed + and matured by unrestrained fanatics in some + of the neighboring States." Governor Hamilton sent + to the South Carolina Legislature in the same month + an excited message on the situation. He was in + entire accord with the Virginia Executive as to the + primary and potent agencies which led to the slave + uprising in Virginia. They were "incendiary newspapers + and other publications put forth in the non-slave-holding + States, and freely circulated within the + limits of Virginia." As specimens of "incendiary + newspapers and other publications, put forth in the + non-slave-holding States," the South Carolina official + sent along with his message, copies of the + <i>Liberator</i> + and of Mr. Garrison's address to the "Free People of + Color," for the enlightenment of the members of the + Legislature. But it remained for Georgia to cap the + climax of madness when her Legislature resolved: + + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "That the sum of five thousand dollars be, and the + same is hereby appropriated, to be paid to any person + or persons who shall arrest, bring to trial and prosecute + to conviction, under the laws of this State, the editor + <a class="newpage" name="P_128" id="P_128" title="P_128"></a> + or publisher of a certain paper called the + <i>Liberator</i>, + published in the town of Boston and State of Massachusetts; + or who shall arrest and bring to trial and + prosecute to conviction, under the laws of this State, + any other person or persons who shall utter, publish, + or circulate within the limits of this State said paper + called the <i>Liberator</i>, or any other paper, + circular, pamphlet, letter, or address of a seditious character." + + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This extraordinary resolve was signed Dec. 26, 1831, + by "Wilson Lumpkin, Governor." The whole South + was in a state of terror. In its insane fright it would + have made short shrift of the editor of the + <i>Liberator,</i> + had he by accident, force, or fraud have fallen into + the clutches of its laws. The Georgia reward of five + thousand dollars was as Mr. Garrison put it, "a bribe + to kidnappers." The Southern method of dealing + with the agitation within the slave States was violent + and effective. There could be no agitation after the + agitators were abolished. And the Southern method + was to abolish the agitators. + + </p> + <p> + The suppression of Abolitionism within the slave + States was no difficult matter, but its suppression at + the North was a problem of a wholly different nature, + as the South was not long in finding out. It would + not understand why its violent treatment of the disease + within its jurisdiction could not be prescribed as a + remedy by the non-slave-holding half of the Union + within its borders. And so the South began to call + loudly and fiercely for the suppression of a movement + calculated to incite the slaves to insubordination and + rebellion. This demand of the South had its influence + at the North. Such newspapers as the <i>National + Intelligencer,</i> and the Boston <i>Courier</i> + suggested + <a class="newpage" name="P_129" id="P_129" title="P_129"></a> + amendments to the laws whereby the publication of + incendiary writings in the free States might be prohibited. + The latter journal allowed that under the + criminal code of Massachusetts "every man has a + right to advocate Abolition, or conspiracy, or murder; + for he may do all these without breaking our + laws, although in any Southern State public justice + and public safety would require his punishment." + "But," the editor goes on to remark, "if we have no + laws upon the subject, it is because the exigency + was not anticipated.... Penal statutes against + treasonable and seditious publications are necessary + in all communities. We have them for our own protection; + if they should include provisions for the protection + of our neighbors it would be no additional + encroachment upon the liberty of the press." The + Governors of Virginia and Georgia remonstrated with + Harrison Gray Otis, who was Mayor of Boston in + the memorable year of 1831, "against an incendiary + newspaper published in Boston, and, as they alleged, + thrown broadcast among their plantations, inciting to + insurrection and its horrid results." As a lawyer + Mayor Otis, however, "perceived the intrinsic, if not + insuperable obstacles to legislative enactments made + to prevent crimes from being consummated beyond + the local jurisdiction." But the South was not seeking + a legal opinion as to what it could or could not + do. It demanded, legal or illegal, that Garrison and the + <i>Liberator</i> be suppressed. To the Boston mayor the + excitement over the editor and his paper seemed like + much ado about nothing. The cause appeared to + his supercilious mind altogether inadequate to the + effect. And so he set to work to reduce the panic by + <a class="newpage" name="P_130" id="P_130" title="P_130"></a> + exposing the vulgarity and insignificance of the + object, which produced it. That he might give the + Southern bugaboo its <i>quietus</i>, he directed one of + his deputies to inquire into a publication, of which "no + member of the city government, nor any person," of + his honor's acquaintance, "had ever heard." The + result of this inquiry Mayor Otis reported to the + Southern functionaries. + + </p> + <p> + "Some time afterward," he wrote, "it was reported + to me by the city officers that they had ferreted out + the paper and its editor; that his office was an obscure + hole, his only visible auxiliary a negro boy, and + his supporters a very few insignificant persons of all + colors." + + </p> + <p> + With this bare bodkin Harrison Gray Otis thought + to puncture the Southern panic. But the slaveholders + had correcter notions of the nature and tendency + of the Abolition enterprise than had the Boston + mayor. They had a strange, an obstinate presentiment of disaster from the + first instant that the <i>Liberator</i> + loomed upon their horizon. It was a battery + whose guns, unless silenced, would play havoc + with Southern interests and the slave system; <i>ergo</i>, + the paper must be suppressed; <i>ergo</i>, its editor must + be silenced or destroyed. And so when Otis, from + his serene height, assured them of his "belief that + the new fanaticism had not made, nor was likely to + make, proselytes among the respectable classes of + our people," they continued to listen to their fears, + and to cry the louder for the suppression of the + "incendiary newspaper published in Boston." + + </p> + <p> + The editor of that paper never flinched before the + storm of malignity which was gathering about his + <a class="newpage" name="P_131" id="P_131" title="P_131"></a> + head. He pursued the even tenor of his way, laboring + at the case more than fourteen hours every day, + except Sundays, upon the paper, renewing, week after + week, his assaults upon the citadel of the great iniquity, + giving no quarter to slave-holding sinners, but + carrying aloft the banner of IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL + EMANCIPATION. Otis had looked to numbers + and respectability as his political barometer and + cue; but when, after diligent search with official + microscopes, he failed to observe the presence of + either in connection with this "new fanaticism," wise + man that he was, he turned over and renewed his slumbers + on the edge of a volcano whose ominous rumbling + the Southern heart had heard and interpreted + aright. He was too near to catch the true import of + the detonations of those subterranean forces which + were sounding, week after week, in the columns of + the <i>Liberator</i>. They seemed trivial, harmless, + contemptible, like the toy artillery of children bombarding + Fort Independence. Garrison's moral earnestness + and enthusiasm seemed to the Boston mayor + like the impotent rage of a man nursing memories of + personal injuries suffered at the South. + + </p> + <p> + If there was panic in the South, there was none in + the office of the <i>Liberator</i>. Unterrified by the + commotion which his composing-stick was producing + near and far, he laughed to scorn the abuse and + threats of his enemies. When the news of the reward + of the State of Georgia "for the abduction of his + person" reached him, he did not quail, great as was + his peril, but boldly replied: + + </p> + <p> + "Of one thing we are sure: all Southern threats + and rewards will be insufficient to deter us from pursuing + <a class="newpage" name="P_132" id="P_132" title="P_132"></a> + the work of emancipation. As citizens of the + United States we know our rights and dare maintain + them. We have committed no crime, but are expending + our health, comfort, and means for the salvation + of our country, and for the interests and security of + infatuated slaveholders, as well as for the relief of + the poor slaves." + + </p> + <p> + Archimedes with his lever had moved the world. + Archimedes "in a small chamber, unfurnitured and + mean," had set a world of pro-slavery passions and + prejudices spinning away into space: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"Such earnest natures are the fiery pith,<br>The compact nucleus, 'round which systems grow;<br>Mass after mass becomes inspired therewith,<br>And whirls impregnate with the central glow."<br><a class="newpage" name="P_133" id="P_133" title="P_133"></a><br></div> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap7"></a> + CHAPTER VII. + + MASTER STROKES. + + </h2> + <p> + "Help came but slowly" to the reformer. With a + single instrument he had stirred the nation, as no + other man had done, on the slavery question. He had + thrown the South into widespread excitement, and + thawed the apathy of the North into widespread + attention. He had won an almost instant hearing for + his cause. But he knew that this was not enough. + Effective as he had shown the weapon of the press to + be, it alone was unequal to the conduct of prolonged + agitation. And prolonged agitation Garrison clearly + apprehended was to be the price of abolition. Back + of him and the <i>Liberator</i> he needed an organized + force, coadjutors like Aaron and Hur to hold up his + arms during the mighty conflict on which he had now + entered with the slave interests of the country. Those + interests were organized, and because they were + organized they were powerful. The sentiment of + freedom he determined to organize and to render it + thereby invincible. To organized wrong he designed + to oppose organized right, confident that organized + right would prevail in the end. He had knowledge + of the utility of temperance societies in advancing + the cause of sobriety among the people. He had + learned from Lundy how much he had relied upon + the union of men as anti-slavery helps. Garrison + determined to summon to his side the powerful + <a class="newpage" name="P_134" id="P_134" title="P_134"></a> + agency of an anti-slavery society devoted to + immediate and unconditional emancipation. He had + already made converts; he had already a small following. + At Julien Hall, on the occasion of his first + lecture on the subject of slavery, he had secured three + remarkable men to the movement, viz., Rev. Samuel + J. May, then a young Unitarian minister, Samuel E. + Sewall, a young member of the Bar, and A. Bronson + Alcott, a sage even in his early manhood. They had + all promised him aid and comfort in the great task + which he had undertaken. A little later two others, + quite as remarkable as those first three were drawn + to the reformer's side, and abetted him in the treason + to iniquity, which he was prosecuting through the + columns of the <i>Liberator</i> with unrivaled zeal and + devotion. These disciples were Ellis Grey Loring + and David Lee Child. They were a goodly company, + were these five conspirators, men of intellect and + conscience, of high family and social connections, of + brilliant attainments and splendid promises for the + future. To this number must be added a sixth, + Oliver Johnson, who was at the time editing <i>The + Christian Soldier</i>, disciple of Garrison then, and ever + after his devoted friend. The early promises of this + noble half dozen friends of the slave were more than + fulfilled in after years. Often to the dingy room + "under the eaves" in Merchants' Hall they climbed + to carry aid and comfort to "one poor, unlearned + young man," and to sit at his feet in this cradle-room + of the new movement. It was there in communion + with the young master that suggestions looking to + the formation of an anti-slavery society, were doubtless + first thrown out. + <a class="newpage" name="P_135" id="P_135" title="P_135"></a></p> + <div class="lg">"The place was dark, unfurnitured and mean;<br>Yet there the freedom of a race began."<br><br></div> + <p> + It was not all clear sailing for the editor of the + <i>Liberator</i> even with such choice spirits. They did + not always carry aid and comfort to him, but differences + of opinions sometimes as well. He did not + sugar-coat enough the bitter truth which he was telling + to the nation. Some of them would have preferred + <i>The Safety Lamp</i> to the + <i>Liberator</i> as a title less + likely to offend the prejudices of many good people. + Some again objected to the pictorial heading of the + paper as an altogether unwise proceeding, and positively + mischievous. He had the same experience + when the formation of an Abolition society was under + consideration. He was confronted with this benevolent + aversion to giving offence by calling things by + their right names. But much as he desired to have + his friends and followers organized for associated + action, where a principle was at stake he was with + them as with slavery itself absolutely inflexible and + uncompromising. He was for organizing on the + principle of immediate emancipation. A few deemed + that ground too radical and revolutionary, and were + for ranging themselves under the banner of Gradualism, + thinking to draw to their ranks a class of people, + who would be repelled by Immediatism. But Garrison + was unyielding, refused to budge an inch to conciliate + friend or foe—not even such stanch supporters + as were Sewall and Loring, who supplied him again + and again with money needed to continue the publication + of the <i>Liberator</i>. No, he was right and they + were wrong, and they, not he, ought accordingly to + yield. The contention between the leader and his + <a class="newpage" name="P_136" id="P_136" title="P_136"></a> + disciples was not what was expedient, but what was + right. It was on the part of the leader the assertion + of a vital principle, and on this ground he was + pledged against retreat. The mountain could not go + to Mahomet, therefore Mahomet must needs go to the + mountain. Garrison could not abandon his position, + wherefore in due time Loring, Child, and Sewall surrendered + theirs. Finely has Lowell expressed this + righteous stubbornness, and steadfastness to principle + in three stanzas of his poem entitled, "The Day of + Small Things," and which have such an obvious lesson + for our own times that I shall venture to quote + them in this place: + + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h3><a name="SmallThings"></a></h3> + <div class="lg">"Who is it will not dare himself to trust?<br>Who is it hath not strength to stand alone?<br>Who is it thwarts and bilks the inward MUST?<br>He and his works, like sand from earth are blown.<br><br></div> + <div class="lg">"Men of a thousand shifts and wiles look here!<br>See one straightforward conscience put in pawn<br>To win a world! See the obedient sphere<br>By bravery's simple gravitation drawn!<br><br></div> + <div class="lg">"Shall we not heed the lesson taught of old,<br>And by the Present's lips repeated still,<br>In our own single manhood to be bold,<br>Fortressed in conscience and impregnable will?"<br><br></div> + </div> + <p> + The history of the making of this first society is an + interesting story. There were four meetings in all + before it was found possible to complete the work of + its organization. These meetings extended over a + space of nearly three months, so obstinate were a + minority against committing the proposed society + to the principle of immediate emancipation. The + <a class="newpage" name="P_137" id="P_137" title="P_137"></a> + very name which was to be given to the association + provoked debate and disagreement. Some were for + christening it "Philo-African," while Garrison would + no such milk-and-water title, but one which expressed + distinctly and graphically the real character of the organization, + viz., "New England Anti-Slavery Society." + He would sail under no false or neutral colors, but + beneath the red flag of open and determined hostility + to slavery. It should be a sign which no one + could possibly mistake. The first meeting was held + at the office of Samuel E. Sewall, November 13, 1831. + At the third meeting, convened New Year's evening + of 1832, which was the first anniversary of the publication + of the <i>Liberator</i>, the work of organization was + finished, with a single important exception, viz., the + adoption of the preamble to the constitution. The + character of the preamble would fix the character of + the society. Therefore that which was properly first + was made to come last. The fourth meeting took + place on the night of January 6th in the African Baptist + Church on what was then Belknap but now known + as Joy street. The young leader and fourteen of his + followers met that evening in the school-room for + colored children, situated under the auditorium of + the church. They could hardly have fallen upon a + more obscure or despised place for the consummation + of their enterprise in the city of Boston than was + this selfsame negro church and school-room. The + weather added an ever memorable night to the opprobrium + of the spot. A fierce northeaster accompanied + with "snow, rain, and hail in equal proportions" was + roaring and careering through the city's streets. To + an eye-witness, Oliver Johnson, "it almost seemed + <a class="newpage" name="P_138" id="P_138" title="P_138"></a> + as if Nature was frowning upon the new effort to + abolish slavery; but," he added, "the spirits of the + little company rose superior to all external circumstances." + + </p> + <p> + If there was strife of the elements without, neither + was there sweet accord within among brethren. + "The spirits of the little company" may have risen + superior to the weather, but they did not rise superior + to the preamble, with the principle of immediatism + incorporated in it. Eleven stood by the leader and + made it the chief of the corner of the new society, + while three, Messrs. Loring, Sewall, and Child, refused + to sign the Constitution and parted sorrowfully + from the small band of the New England Anti-Slavery + Society. But the separation was only temporary, for + each returned to the side of the reformer, and proved + his loyalty and valor in the trying years which followed. + + </p> + <p> + The preamble which was the bone of so much contention + declared that: "We, the undersigned, hold + that every person, of full age and sane mind, has a + right to immediate freedom from personal bondage + of whatsoever kind, unless imposed by the sentence + of the law for the commission of some crime. We + hold that man cannot, consistently with reason, + religion, and the eternal and immutable principles + of justice, be the property of man. We hold that + whoever retains his fellow-man in bondage is guilty + of a grievous wrong. We hold that a mere difference + of complexion is no reason why any man should be + deprived of any of his natural rights, or subjected to + any political disability. While we advance these + opinions as the principles on which we intend to act, + <a class="newpage" name="P_139" id="P_139" title="P_139"></a> + we declare that we will not operate on the existing + relations of society by other than peaceful and lawful + means, and that we will give no countenance to + violence or insurrection." + + </p> + <p> + Twelve, the apostolic number, affixed to the preamble + and constitution their names, and thus formed + the first Garrisonian Society for the abolition of slavery + in the United States. The names of these apostolic + men it is well to keep in mind. They are William + Lloyd Garrison, Oliver Johnson, Robert B. Hall, + Arnold Buffum, William J. Snelling, John E. Fuller, + Moses Thatcher, Joshua Coffin, Stillman B. Newcomb, + Benjamin C. Bacon, Isaac Knapp, and Henry + K. Stockton. The band of reformers, their work + done, had risen to pass out of the low, rude room into + the dark night. The storm was still raging. They + themselves had perchance been sobered by the experiences + of the evening. They had gone in fifteen, + they were returning twelve. And, after all, what had + they accomplished? What could they a mere handful + do to abolish slavery entrenched as it was in Church + and State? It is possible that some such dim discouragement, + some such vague misgiving of the + futility of the evening's labor, was in the hearts of + those wearied men, and that their leader divined as + much, for the spirit of prophecy fell upon Garrison + just as they "were stepping out into the storm and + darkness." "We have met to-night," he said, "in + this obscure school-house; our numbers are few and + our influence limited; but, mark my prediction, Faneuil + Hall shall erelong echo with the principles we + have set forth. We shall shake the nation by their + mighty power." Then the little band dispersed "into + <a class="newpage" name="P_140" id="P_140" title="P_140"></a> + the storm and darkness," carrying with them these + words charged with hope and courage. + + </p> + <p> + The fruitful seed of organized agitation Garrison + had securely planted in soil fertile and ready for its + reception. Its growth constitutes one of the marvels + of reforms. Within a few brief years it multiplied + into hundreds and thousands of societies throughout + the free States. But its beginnings were small and + humble enough. "The objects of the society" were + according to the second article of the constitution, + "to endeavor by all means sanctioned by law, humanity, + and religion, to effect the abolition of slavery in + the United States, to improve the character and condition + of the free people of color, to inform and correct + public opinion in relation to their situation and + rights, and to obtain for them equal civil and political + rights and privileges with the whites." The + means which were immediately adopted by the society + for the accomplishment of these objects were mainly + three, than which none others could have been + more effective. These were petitioning Congress on + the subject of slavery. The publication and circulation + of anti-slavery addresses and tracts, and the employment + of anti-slavery agents, "in obtaining or + communicating intelligence, in the publication and + distribution of tracts, books, or papers, or in the execution + of any measure which may be adopted to promote + the objects of the society." Such was the simple + but unequaled machinery which the New England + Anti-Slavery Society relied upon for success in the + war, which it had declared against American slavery. + The executive power of the body, and the operation + of its machinery were lodged in a board of managers + <a class="newpage" name="P_141" id="P_141" title="P_141"></a> + of which Garrison's was the leading, originating + mind. The society started out bravely in the use of + its means by memorializing Congress for the abolition + of slavery, "in the District of Columbia and in + the Territories of the United States under their jurisdiction," + and by preparing and distributing an address + in maintenance of the doctrine of immediate emancipation. + The board of managers set the machinery in + motion as far and as fast as the extremely limited + pecuniary ability of the society would permit. The + membership was not from the rich classes. It was + Oliver Johnson who wittily remarked that not + more than one or two of the original twelve, + "could have put a hundred dollars into the treasury + without bankrupting themselves." The remark was + true, and was quite as applicable to any dozen of the + new-comers as to the original twelve. The society + was never deficient in zeal, but it was certainly sadly + wanting in money. And money was even to such + men and to such a movement an important factor in + revolutionizing public opinion. + + </p> + <p> + The <i>Liberator</i> was made the official organ of the + society, and in this way was added to its other weapons + that of the press. This was a capital arrangement, + for by it both the paper and the society were + placed under the direction of the same masterly + guidance. There was still one arrow left in the moral + quiver of the organization to reach the conscience of + the people, and that was the appointment of an agent + to spread the doctrines of the new propaganda of + freedom. In August the board of managers, metaphorically + speaking, shot this arrow by making Garrison + the agent of the society to lecture on the subject + <a class="newpage" name="P_142" id="P_142" title="P_142"></a> + of slavery "for a period not exceeding three + months." This was the first drop from a cloud then + no bigger than a hand, but which was to grow and + spread until, covering the North, was, at the end of + a few short years, to flood the land with anti-slavery + agents and lecturers. + + </p> + <p> + Our anti-slavery agent visited portions of Massachusetts, + Maine, and Rhode Island, preaching the Abolition + gospel in divers places, and to many people—notably + at such centers of population as Worcester, + Providence, Bangor, and Portland, making at the + latter city a signal conversion to his cause in the person + of General Samuel Fessenden, distinguished then + as a lawyer, and later as the father of William Pitt + Fessenden. The anti-slavery schoolmaster was + abroad, and was beginning to turn New England and + the North into one resounding schoolhouse, where he + sat behind the desk and the nation occupied the + forms. + + </p> + <p> + So effective was the agitation prosecuted by the + society during the first year of its existence that it + was no empty declaration or boast of the + <i>Abolitionist</i>, + the new monthly periodical of the society, that + "probably, through its instrumentality, more public + addresses on the subject of slavery, and appeals in + behalf of the contemned free people of color, have + been made in New England, during the past year + (1832) than were elicited for forty years prior to its + organization." + + </p> + <p> + The introduction of the principle of association + into the slavery agitation, and the conversion of it + into an organized movement was an achievement of + the first importance. To Garrison, more than to any + <a class="newpage" name="P_143" id="P_143" title="P_143"></a> + man, or to all others put together, belongs the + authorship of this immense initiative. He it was, + who, having "announced the principle, arranged the + method" of the Abolition movement. The marshaling + of the anti-slavery sentiment of New England + under a common standard, in a common cause, was + a master stroke of moral generalship. This master + stroke the leader followed up promptly with a second + stroke not less masterly. That second stroke was his + "Thoughts on African Colonization," published in + the summer succeeding the formation of the New + England Anti-Slavery Society. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison's championship of the cause of the slave + had started with strong faith in the efficacy and disinterestedness + of the colonization scheme as an instrument + of emancipation. It commanded, therefore, his + early support. In his Park Street Church address he + evinced himself in earnest sympathy with the friends + of colonization. But after his arrival in Baltimore a + change began to exhibit itself in this regard. He + began to qualify his confidence in its utility; began + to discern in it influences calculated to retard general + emancipation. As these doubts and misgivings arose + within him he expressed them frankly in the + <i>Genius</i>. + Lundy had been suspicious of the pro-slavery purposes + or interests of the enterprise for many years. + He could not reconcile himself to the significant or, + at least, singular fact of so many slaveholders being + in the membership and the offices of the association. + Then, in addition to this lack of confidence on the + part of Lundy in the scheme, Garrison became acquainted, + for the first time, with the objects of the + society's philanthropy—the class of free people of + <a class="newpage" name="P_144" id="P_144" title="P_144"></a> + color. He found that these people were not at all + well affected to the society; that they had no appreciation + of its benevolent intentions in respect to themselves. + He found, on the contrary, that they were + positively embittered toward it and toward its designs + for their removal from the country as toward their + worst enemy. This circumstance was undoubtedly + a poser to their young friend. How could he reconcile + this deep-seated and widespread disbelief in the + purity of the motives of the Colonization Society, + with the simple integrity and humanity of the enterprise + itself? Later, his acquaintance with such representatives + of the free people of color in Philadelphia + as James Forten and his son-in-law, Robert Purvis, + served but to confirm those first impressions which + he received in Baltimore from the Watkinses and + the Greeners. It was the same experience in New + York and New Haven, in Boston and Providence. + He learned that from the very beginning, in the year + 1817, that the free people of color in Richmond and + Philadelphia had, by an instinctive knowledge of + threatened wrong and danger, met and resolved + against the society and its sinister designs upon + themselves. These people did not wish to leave the + country; they did not wish to be sent to Liberia; but + the society, bent on doing them good against their + will, did want them to leave the country, did want + to send them to Liberia. + + </p> + <p> + And why did the society desire to remove the free + people of color out of the country? Was it from motives + of real philanthropy? The colored people were + the first to detect its spurious humanity, the first to see + through the artful disguises employed to impose upon + <a class="newpage" name="P_145" id="P_145" title="P_145"></a> + the conscience of the republic. Their removal, they + intuitively divined, was proposed not to do their race + a benefit, but rather to do a service to the owners of + slaves. These objects of the society's pseudo-philanthropy + had the sagacity to perceive that, practically, + their expatriation tended to strengthen the + chains of their brethren then in slavery; for if the + South could get rid of its free colored population, its + slave property would thereby acquire additional + security, and, of consequence, increased market value. + Like cause, like effect. If the operation of the colonization + scheme was decidedly in the interest of the + masters, it was the part of wisdom to conclude as the + free colored people did actually conclude that the + underlying motive, the hidden purpose of the society + was also in the interest of the masters. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison did not reach his conclusions as to the + pro-slavery character and tendency of the society + abruptly. The scales fell away gradually from his + eyes. He was not completely undeceived until he + had examined the reports of the society and found + in them the most redundant evidence of its insincerity + and guilt. It was out of its own mouth that he + condemned it. When he saw the society in its true + character, he saw what he must do. It was a wolf in + sheep's skin running at large among the good shepherd's + flock, and inflicting infinite hurt upon his poor + sheep. He no longer wondered at the horror which + the colonization scheme inspired among the free + people of color. They were right. The society was + their dangerous and determined enemy; it was the + bulwark of the slave-holding classes. With the + instinct of a great purpose he resolved to carry this + <a class="newpage" name="P_146" id="P_146" title="P_146"></a> + powerful bulwark of slavery by assault. To the + attack he returned week after week in the + <i>Liberator</i>, + during a year and a half. Then he hurled himself + upon it with all his guns, facts, arguments, denunciations, + blowing away and burning up every shred of + false covering from the doctrines, principles, and + purposes of the society, revealing it to mankind in + its base and monstrous character. + + </p> + <p> + The society's one motive "to get rid of the free + people of color," was outrageous enough, but this + was not its only sin. There was another phase to the + mischief it was working, which lifted it to the rank of + a great sinner. It was not only harmful in its principles + and purposes. "It imperatively and effectually + seals up the lips," so Garrison accused it, "of a vast + number of influential and pious men, who, for fear of + giving offence to those slaveholders with whom they + associate, and thereby leading to a dissolution of the + compact, dare not expose the flagrant enormities of + the system of slavery, nor denounce the crime of holding + human beings in bondage. They dare not lead + to the onset against the forces of tyranny; and if + they shrink from the conflict, how shall the victory + be won? I do not mean to aver that in their sermons, + or addresses, or private conversations, they + never allude to the subject of slavery; for they do so + frequently, or at least every Fourth of July. But my + complaint is that they content themselves with representing + slavery as an evil—a misfortune—a calamity + which has been entailed upon us by former + generations,—<em>and + not as an individual</em> CRIME, embracing in its + folds, robbery, cruelty, oppression, and piracy. <em>They + do not identify the criminal</em>; they make no direct, + <a class="newpage" name="P_147" id="P_147" title="P_147"></a> + pungent, earnest appeal to the consciences of men-stealers." + This was a damning bill, but it was true + in every particular; and the evidence which Garrison + adduced to establish his charges was overwhelming + and irrefragable. + + </p> + <p> + Nearly fifty years afterward, Elizur Wright + described the baleful influence of the society upon + the humanity and philanthropy of the nation. "The + humanity and philanthropy," he said, "which could + not otherwise be disposed of, was ingeniously seduced + into an African Colonization Society, whereby all + slaves who had grown seditious and troublesome to + their masters could be transplanted on the pestiferous + African coast. That this wretched and seemingly + transparent humbug could have deluded anybody, + must now seem past belief; but I must with shame + confess the fact that I for one was deluded by it. And + that fact would put me in doubt of my own sanity at + the time if I did not know that high statesmen, presidents + of colleges, able editors, and that most + undoubted of firm philanthropists, Gerritt Smith, + shared the same delusion. Bible and missionary societies + fellowshipped that mean and scurvy device of + the kidnapper, in their holy work. It was spoken of + as the most glorious of Christian enterprises, had a + monthly magazine devoted to itself, and taxed about + every pulpit in the land for an annual sermon in its + favor." + + </p> + <p> + Such was the Colonization Society, and its + entrenched strength in the piety and philanthropy of + the country at the moment when Garrison published + his "Thoughts." It did not seem possible that a single + arm however powerful, was able to start its roots; + <a class="newpage" name="P_148" id="P_148" title="P_148"></a> + but, directly upon the launching of this bolt, the + roots of the Bohun Upas, as Garrison graphically + designated the society, were seen to have started, and + the enterprise appeared blasted as by fire. The + deluded intellect and conscience of the free States + saw in the fierce light, which the pamphlet of the + reformer threw upon the colonization scheme how + shamefully imposed upon they had been. They had + believed the society "the most glorious of Christian + enterprises," and, lo! it stood revealed to them a + "scurvy device of the kidnapper." The effect was + extraordinary. The book was seized and its contents + devoured by some of the finest minds of the + North. Here is an example of the interest which it + excited and the converts which it made: "Last Monday + evening was our Law Club meeting, and I had + the great satisfaction of hearing Judge Mellen, our + Chief-Justice, say he had read your 'Thoughts,' was a + thorough convert to your views, and was ready to do + all in his power to promote them. Mr. Longfellow + [father of Henry W. Longfellow] was present also, + and with equal warmth and clearness expressed himself + also in favor of your views. This is getting the + two first men in the State for talents and influence in + benevolent effort. I have no doubt they will head + the list of those who will subscribe to form here an + anti-slavery society. Mr. Greenleaf [Simon] also, + will cordially come in, and I need not say he is one of + the first [men] in the State, for his character is known." + This quotation is made from a letter of General Samuel + Fessenden, of Portland, Me., to Mr. Garrison, + dated December 14, 1832. Among the remarkable + minds which the "Thoughts" disillusioned in respect + <a class="newpage" name="P_149" id="P_149" title="P_149"></a> + of the character and tendency of the Colonization + Society were Theodore D. Weld, Elizur Wright, and + Beriah Green, N.P. Rogers, William Goodell, Joshua + Leavitt, Amos A. Phelps, Lewis Tappan, and James + Miller McKim. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison's assertion that "the overthrow of the + Colonization Society was the overthrow of slavery + itself," was, from the standpoint of a student of history, + an exaggerated one. We know now that the + claim was not founded on fact, that while they did + stand together they did not fall together. But the + position was, nevertheless, the strongest possible one + for the anti-slavery movement to occupy at the time. + In the disposition of the pro-slavery forces on the + field of the opening conflict in 1832, the colonization + scheme commanded the important approaches to the + citadel of the peculiar institution. It cut off the + passes to public opinion, and to the religious and + benevolent influences of the land. To reach these it + was necessary in the first place to dislodge the society + from its coign of vantage, its strategical point in + the agitation. And this is precisely what "The + Thoughts on African Colonization" did. It dislodged + the society from its powerful place in the moral sentiment + of the North. The capture of this position + was like the capture of a drawbridge, and the precipitation + of the assaulting column directly upon + the walls of a besieged castle. Within the pamphlet + was contained the whole tremendous enginery of + demolition. The anti-slavery agent and lecturer + thenceforth set it up wherever he spoke. + + </p> + <p> + To him it was not only the catapult; it furnished + the missile-like facts and arguments for + <a class="newpage" name="P_150" id="P_150" title="P_150"></a> + breaching the walls of this pro-slavery stronghold as + well. + + </p> + <p> + The effect of the publication of "The Thoughts" + in this country was extraordinary, but the result of + their circulation in England was hardly less so. It + produced there as here a revolution in public sentiment + upon the subject. The philanthropy and piety + of Great Britain had generally prior to the unmasking + of the society, looked upon it as an instrument of + Emancipation, and had accordingly given it their + powerful countenance, and not a little material support. + But from the moment that the pamphlet + reached England a decided change in this regard + became manifest. The society made fruitless attempts + to break the force of the blow dealt it by Garrison in + the United States. But wherever its emissaries + traveled "The Thoughts" confronted and confounded + them. So that Mr. Garrison was warranted in saying + that "all that sophistry or misrepresentation could + effect to overthrow its integrity has been attempted + in vain. The work, as a whole, stands irrefutable." + The attempts made to maintain its hold upon the + British public were characterized by duplicity and + misrepresentation beyond anything practiced in + America. The work of deceiving the philanthropy + of Great Britain was conducted by the emissary of + the society, Elliott Cresson, a man perfectly fitted to + perform his part with remarkable thoroughness and + industry. Three thousand miles away from America, + and practically secure from contradiction, he went + about making outrageous statements as to the anti-slavery + character and purpose of the colonization + enterprise. As there was no one in England sufficiently + <a class="newpage" name="P_151" id="P_151" title="P_151"></a> + acquainted with the operations and designs + of the society, he was enabled to falsify facts, to conceal + the real principles of the scheme with astonishing + audacity and activity. He approached Wilberforce, + and duped Clarkson into a belief in the anti-slavery + aim of the society. + + </p> + <p> + Unmasked in America, the time had come when the + interests of the Abolition movement on this side of + the Atlantic required that it should be stripped of its + disguises on the other side also. No better instrument + could be selected for this purpose than the man + who had torn the mask from its features in the United + States. And so in March, 1833, the Board of Managers + of the New England Anti-Slavery Society notified + the public of the appointment of "William Lloyd + Garrison as their agent, and that he would proceed to + England as soon as the necessary arrangements can + be made, for the purpose of procuring funds to aid + in the establishment of the proposed <b>MANUAL + LABOR SCHOOL FOR COLORED YOUTH</b>, and + of disseminating in that country the truth in relation + to American slavery, and to its ally, the American + Colonization Society." The managers offered in + justification of their step the fact that "Elliott Cresson + is now in England as an agent for the Colonization + Society, and that he has procured funds to a + considerable amount by representing that the object + of the society is 'to assist in the emancipation of all + the slaves now in the United States.' It is important + that the philanthropists of that country should be + undeceived, and that the real principles and designs + of the Colonization Society should be there made + known." + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_152" id="P_152" title="P_152"></a> + In pursuance of this mission Garrison sailed from + New York, May 2, 1833. Twenty days later he landed + in Liverpool. His arrival was opportune, for all + England was watching the closing scene in the drama + of West India Emancipation. He was an eye-witness + of the crowning triumph of the English Abolitionists, + viz., the breaking by Act of Parliament of the fetters + of eight hundred thousand slaves. He was in time to + greet his great spiritual kinsman, William Wilberforce, + and to undeceive him in respect of the Colonization + Society, before death claimed his body, and to follow + him to his last resting-place by the side of Pitt + and Fox, in Westminster Abbey. + + </p> + <p> + A highly interesting incident of this visit is best + told in Mr. Garrison's own words. He said: + + </p> + <p> + "On arriving in London I received a polite invitation + by letter from Mr. Buxton to take breakfast with + him. Presenting myself at the appointed time, when + my name was announced, instead of coming forward + promptly to take me by the hand, he scrutinized me + from head to foot, and then inquired, 'Have I the + pleasure of addressing Mr. Garrison, of Boston, in + the United States?' 'Yes, sir,' I replied, 'I am he; + and I am here in accordance with your invitation.' + Lifting up his hands he exclaimed, 'Why, my dear + sir, I thought you were a black man! And I have + consequently invited this company of ladies and + gentlemen to be present to welcome Mr. Garrison, + the black advocate of emancipation, from the United + States of America.' I have often said that that is the + only compliment I have ever had paid to me that I care + to remember or to tell of! For Mr. Buxton had + somehow or other supposed that no white American + <a class="newpage" name="P_153" id="P_153" title="P_153"></a> + could plead for those in bondage as I had done, and + therefore I must be black!" + + </p> + <p> + Garrison promptly threw down his challenge to + Elliott Cresson, offering to prove him an impostor + and the Colonization Society "corrupt in its principles, + proscriptive in its measures, and the worst + enemy of the free colored and slave population of + the United States." From the first it was apparent + that Cresson did not mean to encounter the author + of the "Thoughts" in public debate. Even a mouse + when cornered will show fight, but there was no + manly fight in Cresson. Garrison sent him a letter + containing seven grave charges against his society, + and dared him to a refutation of them in a joint discussion. + This challenge was presented four times + before the agent of colonization could be persuaded + to accept it. Garrison was bent on a joint public + discussion between himself and Mr. Cresson. But + Mr. Cresson was bent on avoiding his opponent. He + skulked under one pretext or another from vindicating + the colonization scheme from the seven-headed + indictment preferred against it by the agent of the + New England Anti-Slavery Society. As Cresson + could not be driven into a joint discussion with him + there was nothing left to Garrison but to go on without + him. His arraignment and exposure of the + society in public and private was thorough and overwhelming. + He was indefatigable in the prosecution + of this part of his mission. And his labor was not in + vain. For in less than three months after his reaching + England he had rendered the Colonization + Society as odious there as his "Thoughts" had made + it in America. The great body of the anti-slavery + <a class="newpage" name="P_154" id="P_154" title="P_154"></a> + sentiment in Great Britain promptly condemned the + spirit and object of the American Colonization Society. + Such leaders as Buxton and Cropper "termed + its objects <em>diabolical</em>;" while Zachary Macaulay, + father of the historian, did not doubt that "the + unchristian prejudice of color (which alone has + given birth to the Colonization Society, though + varnished over with other more plausible pretences, + and veiled under a profession of a Christian + regard for the temporal and spiritual interests of the + negro which is belied by the whole course of its + reasonings and the spirit of its measures) is so + detestable in itself that I think it ought not to be + tolerated, but, on the contrary, ought to be denounced + and opposed by all humane, and especially by all + pious persons in this country." + + </p> + <p> + The protest against the Colonization Society + "signed by Wilberforce and eleven of the most distinguished + Abolitionists in Great Britain," including + Buxton, Macaulay, Cropper, and Daniel O'Connell, + showed how thoroughly Garrison had accomplished + his mission. The protest declares, thanks to the + teachings of the agent of the New England Anti-Slavery + Society, that the colonization scheme "takes + its roots from a cruel prejudice and alienation in the + whites of America against the colored people, slave + or free. This being its source the effects are what + might be expected; that it fosters and increases the + spirit of caste, already so unhappily predominant; + that it widens the breach between the two races—exposes + the colored people to great practical persecution, + in order to <em>force</em> them to emigrate; and, finally, + is calculated to swallow up and divert that feeling + <a class="newpage" name="P_155" id="P_155" title="P_155"></a> + which America, as a Christian and free country, cannot + but entertain, that slavery is alike incompatible + with the law of God and with the well-being of man, + whether the enslaver or the enslaved." The solemn + conclusion of the illustrious signers of this mighty + protest was that: "That society is, in our estimation, + not deserving of the countenance of the British + public." This powerful instrument fell, as Garrison + wrote at the time, "like a thunderbolt upon the + society." The damage inflicted upon it was immense, + irreparable. The name of Thomas Clarkson was + conspicuous by its absence from the protest. He + could not be induced to take positive ground against + the society. Garrison had visited him for this purpose. + But the venerable philanthropist, who was + then blind, had taken position on <i>neutral ground</i>, + and could not, after an interview of four hours, be + induced to abandon it. But, fortunately, potent as + the name of Clarkson would have been in opposition + to the society, it was not indispensable to its overthrow + in Great Britain. Garrison had won to his + side "all the staunch anti-slavery spirits," while + Cresson was able to retain only "a few titled, wealthy, + high-pretending individuals." + + </p> + <p> + The success of the mission was signal, its service to + the movement against slavery in America manifold. + Garrison writing from London to the board of + managers, summarized the results produced by it as + follows: "1st, awakening a general interest among + the friends of emancipation in this country, and + securing their efficient coöperation with us in the abolition + of slavery in the United States; 2d, dispelling + the mists with which the agent of the American + <a class="newpage" name="P_156" id="P_156" title="P_156"></a> + Colonization Society has blinded the eyes of benevolent + men in relation to the design and tendency of + the society; 3d, enlisting able and eloquent advocates + to plead our cause; 4th, inducing editors of + periodicals and able writers to give us the weight of + their influence; 5th, exciting a spirit of emulation + in the redemption of our slave population among the + numerous female anti-slavery societies; 6th, procuring + a large collection of anti-slavery documents, + tracts, pamphlets, and volumes, which will furnish + us with an inexhaustible supply of ammunition." + These were indeed some of the grand results of + laborious weeks. His mission was ended. He was + profoundly grateful to the good God for its success. + The great movement which he had started against + oppression in his own country was awaiting his + aggressive leadership. He did not tarry abroad, + therefore, but set sail from London August 18, 1833, + for New York, where he landed six weeks later. + <a class="newpage" name="P_157" id="P_157" title="P_157"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap8"></a> + CHAPTER VIII + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + COLORPHOBIA + + </h2> + <p> + Garrison's Abolitionism was of the most radical + character. It went the whole length of the humanity + of the colored race, and all that that implied. They + were, the meanest members, whether bond or free, + his brothers and his sisters. From the first he regarded + them as bone of his bone and blood of his + blood, as children with him of a common father. + Poor and enslaved and despised to be sure, wronged + by all men, and contemned by all men, but for that + very reason they were deserving of his most devoted + love and labor. He never looked down upon them + as wanting in any essential respect the manhood + which was his. They were men and as such + entitled to immediate emancipation. They were + besides entitled to equality of civil and political + rights in the republic, entitled to equality and fraternity + in the church, equality and fraternity at the + North, equality and fraternity always and everywhere. + This is what he preached, this is what he practiced. + In not a single particular was he ever found separating + himself from his brother in black, saying to + him "thus far but no farther." He never drew the + line in public or private between him and the people + whose cause was his cause—not even socially. He + went into their homes and was in all things one with + <a class="newpage" name="P_158" id="P_158" title="P_158"></a> + them. He forgot that he was white, forgot that they + were black, forgot the pride of race, forgot the stigma + of race too in the tie of human kinship which bound + him to them. If he had what they did not possess, + the rights of a man, the civil and political position of + a man in the State, the equality of a brother in the + church, it could not make him feel better than they, + it filled him instead with a righteous sense of wrong, + a passionate sympathy, a supreme desire and determination + to make his own rights the measure of + theirs. + + </p> + <p> + "I lose sight of your present situation," he said + in his address before Free People of Color, "and + look at it only in futurity. I imagine myself surrounded + by educated men of color, the Websters, and + Clays, and Hamiltons, and Dwights, and Edwardses + of the day. I listen to their voice as judges and + representatives, and rulers of the people—the whole + people." This glowing vision was not the handiwork + of a rhetorician writing with an eye to its effect upon + his hearers. The ardent hope of the reformer was + rather the father of the golden dream. + + </p> + <p> + This practical recognition of the negro as a man + and a brother was the exact opposite of the treatment + which was his terrible lot in the country. Never in + all history was there a race more shamefully oppressed + by a dominant race than were the blacks by + the whites of America. Held as slaves in the South, + they were stamped as social outcasts at the North. + There was no one, however mean or vicious, who if + he possessed a white skin, was not treated more + humanely than were they. In the most enlightened + of the free States they were discriminated against by + <a class="newpage" name="P_159" id="P_159" title="P_159"></a> + public laws and proscribed by public opinion. They + were in a word pariahs of the republic. They were + shut out from all the common rights, and privileges + and opportunities enjoyed by the lowest of the + favored race. They were denied equality in the public + school. The principle of popular education had + no application to a class which was not of the people, + a class which the common sentiment of a Christian + nation had placed at the zero point of political values, + and meant to keep forever at that point. Entrance + to the trades were barred to the blacks. What did + they want with such things where there was no white + trash so forgetful of his superiority as to consent to + work by their side. Nowhere were they allowed the + same traveling accommodations as white men, and they + were everywhere excluded from public inns. Neither + wealth nor refinement was able to procure them + admission into other than "Jim Crow cars." If + heart-sick at the outrages by every one heaped upon + them they turned for consolation to the house of + God, even there the spirit of proscription and caste + prejudice met them, and pointed to the "negro pew" + where they sat corraled from the congregation as if + they had no equal share in the salvation which the + pulpit preached. Everywhere the white man had + the right of way, even on the highway to heaven! + And in no place was the negro made to feel the prejudice + against his color more gallingly than in + churches arrogating the name of Christian. He had + no rights on earth, he had none in trying to get into the + bosom of the founder of Christianity, which the white + sinners or saints were bound to respect. Even the + liberty-loving Quakers of Philadelphia were not + <a class="newpage" name="P_160" id="P_160" title="P_160"></a> + above the use of the "negro seat" in their meetings. + Somehow they discerned that there was a great gulf + separating in this life at least the white from the + black believer. That God had made of one blood all + nations of men, St. Paul had taught, but the American + church had with one accord in practice drawn + the line at the poor despised colored man. He was + excluded from ecclesiastical equality, for he was + different from other men for whom Christ died. The + Bible declared that man was made but a little lower + than the angels; the American people in their State + and Church supplemented this sentiment by acts + which plainly said that the negro was made but a + little above the brute creation. + + </p> + <p> + Here are instances of the length to which the + prejudice against color carried the churches in those + early years of the anti-slavery movement: + + </p> + <p> + In 1830, a colored man, through a business transaction + with a lessee of one of the pews in Park Street + Church, came into possession of it. Thinking to + make the best use of his opportunity to obtain religious + instruction for himself and family from this + fountain of orthodoxy, the black pew-holder betook + him, one Sunday, to "Brimstone Corner." But he + was never permitted to repeat the visit. "Brimstone + Corner" could not stand him another Lord's day, + and thereupon promptly expelled him and his family + out of its midst. The good deacons displayed their + capacity for shielding their flock from consorting + with "niggers," by availing themselves of a technicality + to relet the pew to a member who was not + cursed with a dark skin. On another Lord's day, in + another stronghold of Boston Christianity, Oliver + <a class="newpage" name="P_161" id="P_161" title="P_161"></a> + Johnson ran the battery of "indignant frowns of a + large number of the congregation" for daring to take + a fellow-Christian with a skin not colored like his + own into his pew, to listen to Dr. Beecher. The + good people of the old Baptist meeting-house, at + Hartford, Conn., had evidently no intention of disturbing + the heavenly calm of their religious devotions + by so much as a thought of believers with black + faces; for by boarding up the "negro pews" in front + and leaving only peep-holes for their occupants, they + secured themselves from a sight of the obnoxious + creatures, while Jehovah, who is no respecter of persons, + was in His holy place. Incredible as it may + seem, a church in the town of Stoughton, Mass., + to rid itself of even a semblance of Christian fellowship + and equality with a colored member, did actually + cut the floor from under the colored member's + pew! + + </p> + <p> + These cruel and anti-Christian distinctions in the + churches affected Garrison in the most painful manner. + He says: + + </p> + <p> + "I never can look up to these wretched retreats + for my colored brethren without feeling my soul + overwhelmed with emotions of shame, indignation, + and sorrow." + + </p> + <p> + He had such an intimate acquaintance with members + of this despised caste in Boston and Philadelphia, + and other cities, and appreciated so deeply their + intrinsic worth and excellence, as men and brethren, + that he felt their insults and injuries as if they were + done to himself. He knew that beneath many a + dark skin he had found real ladies and gentlemen, + and he knew how sharper than a serpent's tooth to + <a class="newpage" name="P_162" id="P_162" title="P_162"></a> + them was the American prejudice against their color. + In 1832, just after a visit to Philadelphia, where he + was the guest of Robert Purvis, and had seen much + of the Fortens, he wrote a friend: + + </p> + <p> + "I wish you had been with me in Philadelphia to + see what I saw, to hear what I heard, and to experience + what I felt in associating with many colored + families. There are colored men and women, young + men and young ladies, in that city, who have few + superiors in refinement, in moral worth, and in all + that makes the human character worthy of admiration + and praise." + + </p> + <p> + Strange to say, notwithstanding all their merits + and advancement, the free people of color received + nothing but disparagement and contempt from eminent + divines like Dr. Leonard W. Bacon and the emissaries + of the Colonization Society. They were "the + most abandoned wretches on the face of the earth"; + they were "all that is vile, loathsome, and dangerous"; + they were "more degraded and miserable than + the slaves," and <i>ad infinitum</i> through the whole + gamut of falsehood and traduction. It was human for the + American people to hate a class whom they had so + deeply wronged, and altogether human for them to + justify their atrocious treatment by blackening before + the world the reputation of the said class. That this + was actually done is the best of all proofs of the + moral depravity of the nation which slavery had + wrought. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison's vindication of the free people of color + in Exeter Hall, London, on July 13, 1833, from this + sort of detraction and villification is of historic value: + + </p> + <p> + "Sir," said he, addressing the chair, "it is not possible + <a class="newpage" name="P_163" id="P_163" title="P_163"></a> + for the mind to coin, or the tongue to utter + baser libels against an injured people. Their condition + is as much superior to that of the slaves as the + light of heaven is more cheering than the darkness + of the pit. Many of their number are in the most + affluent circumstances, and distinguished for their + refinement, enterprise, and talents. They have flourishing + churches, supplied by pastors of their own + color, in various parts of the land, embracing a large + body of the truly excellent of the earth. They have + public and private libraries. They have their temperance + societies, their debating societies, their moral + societies, their literary societies, their benevolent societies, + their saving societies, and a multitude of kindred + associations. They have their infant schools, + their primary and high schools, their sabbath schools, + and their Bible classes. They contribute to the support + of foreign and domestic missions to Bible and tract + societies, etc. In the city of Philadelphia alone they + have more than fifty associations for moral and intellectual + improvement. In fact, they are rising up, + even with mountains of prejudice piled upon them, + with more than Titanic strength, and trampling beneath + their feet the slanders of their enemies. A + spirit of virtuous emulation is pervading their ranks, + from the young child to the gray head. Among them + is taken a large number of daily and weekly newspapers, + and of literary and scientific periodicals, from + the popular monthlies up to the grave and erudite + <i>North American</i> and + <i>American Quarterly Reviews</i>. I + have at this moment, to my own paper, the + <i>Liberator</i>, + one thousand subscribers among this people; and, + from an occupancy of the editorial chair for more + <a class="newpage" name="P_164" id="P_164" title="P_164"></a> + than seven years, I can testify that they are more + punctual in their payments than any five hundred + white subscribers whose names I ever placed indiscriminately + in my subscription book." + + </p> + <p> + There was an earnest desire on the part of the free + people of color to raise the level of their class in the + Union. At a convention held by them in Philadelphia, + in 1831, they resolved upon a measure calculated + to make up, to some extent, the deprivations + which their children were suffering by being excluded + from the higher schools of learning in the land. So + they determined to establish a college on the manual-labor + system for the education of colored youth. + They appealed for aid to their benevolent friends, + and fixed upon New Haven as the place to build their + institution. Arthur Tappan, with customary beneficence, + "purchased several acres of land, in the southerly + part of the city, and made arrangements for the + erection of a suitable building, and furnishing it with + needful supplies, in a way to do honor to the city + and country." + + </p> + <p> + The school, however, was never established owing + to the violent hostility of the citizens, who with the + Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council resolved in + public meeting to "<em>resist</em> the establishment of the + proposed college in this place by every lawful means." + + </p> + <p> + The free people of color were derided because of + their ignorance by their persecutors, but when they + and their friends proposed a plan to reduce that ignorance, + their persecutors bitterly opposed its execution. + New Haven piety and philanthropy, as embodied + in the Colonization Society, were not bent on the + education of this class but on its emigration to the + <a class="newpage" name="P_165" id="P_165" title="P_165"></a> + coast of Africa solely. In such sorry contradictions + and cruelties did American prejudice against color + involve American Christianity and humanity. + + </p> + <p> + This outrage was perpetrated in 1831. Two years + afterward Connecticut enacted altogether the most + shameful crime in her history. There lived in the + year 1833, in the town of Canterbury, in that State, + an accomplished young Quaker woman, named Prudence + Crandall. Besides a superior education, she + possessed the highest character. And this was well; + for she was the principal of the Female Boarding + School located in that town. The institution was, in + 1833, at the beginning of its third year, and in a flourishing + condition. While pursuing her vocation of a + teacher, Miss Crandall made the acquaintance of the + <i>Liberator</i> through a "nice colored girl," who was + at service in the school. Abhorring slavery from childhood, + it is no wonder that the earnestness of the + <i>Liberator</i> exerted an immediate and lasting + influence upon the sympathies of the young principal. The + more she read and the more she thought upon the + subject the more aroused she became to the wrongs + of which her race was guilty to the colored people. + She, too, would lend them a helping hand in their + need. Presently there came to her a colored girl + who was thirsting for an education such as the Canterbury + Boarding School for young ladies was dispensing + to white girls. This was Miss Crandall's + opportunity to do something for the colored people, + and she admitted the girl to her classes. But she + had no sooner done so than there were angry objections + to the girl's remaining. + + </p> + <p> + "The wife of an Episcopal clergyman who lived in + <a class="newpage" name="P_166" id="P_166" title="P_166"></a> + the village," Miss Crandall records, "told me that if + I continued that colored girl in my school it would + not be sustained." + + </p> + <p> + She heroically refused to turn the colored pupil out + of the school, and thereby caused a most extraordinary + exhibition of Connecticut chivalry and Christianity. + + </p> + <p> + Seeing how matters stood with her in these circumstances, + Prudence Crandall conceived the remarkable + purpose of devoting her school to the education of + colored girls exclusively. She did not know whether + her idea was practicable, and so in her perplexity she + turned for counsel to the editor of the + <i>Liberator</i>. She + went to Boston for this purpose, and there, at the old + Marlboro' Hotel, on Washington street, on the evening + of January 29, 1833, she discussed this business + with Mr. Garrison. This visit and interview confirmed + the brave soul in her desire to change her + school into one for the higher education of colored + girls. It was expected that a sufficient number of + such pupils could be obtained from well-to-do colored + families in cities like Boston, Providence, and New + York to assure the financial success of the enterprise. + When Miss Crandall had fully matured her plans in + the premises she announced them to the Canterbury + public. But if she had announced that she contemplated + opening a college for the spread of contagious + diseases among her townspeople, Canterbury + could not possibly have been more agitated and + horrified. Every door in the village was slammed in + her face. She was denounced in town meetings, and + there was not chivalry enough to cause a single + neighbor to speak in her defence. Samuel J. May + had to come from an adjoining town for this purpose. + <a class="newpage" name="P_167" id="P_167" title="P_167"></a> + "But," says Mr. May, "they would not hear + me. They shut their ears and rushed upon me with + threats of personal violence." + + </p> + <p> + As there was nothing in the statutes of Connecticut + which made the holding of such a school as that + of Miss Crandall's illegal, the good Canterbury folk + procured the passage of a hasty act through the Legislature, + which was then in session, "making it a + penal offence, punishable by fine and imprisonment, + for any one in that State keeping a school to take as + his or her pupils the children of colored people of + other States." But the heart of the young Quaker + woman was the heart of a heroine. She dared to + disregard the wicked law, was arrested, bound over + for trial, and sent to jail like a common malefactor. + It was no use, persecution could not cow the noble + prisoner into submission to the infamous statute. In + her emergency truth raised up friends who rallied + about her in the unparalleled contest which raged + around her person and her school. There was no + meanness or maliciousness to which her enemies did + not stoop to crush and ruin her and her cause. "The + newspapers of the county and of the adjoining counties + teemed with the grossest misrepresentations, and + the vilest insinuations," says Mr. May, "against Miss + Crandall, her pupils, and her patrons; but for the + most part, peremptorily refused us any room in their + columns to explain our principles and purposes, or to + refute the slanders they were circulating." Four or + five times within two years she was forced into court + to defend her acts against the determined malignity + of men who stood high in the Connecticut Church + and State. The shops in the town boycotted her, the + <a class="newpage" name="P_168" id="P_168" title="P_168"></a> + churches closed their doors to her and her pupils. + Public conveyances refused to receive them, and physicians + to prescribe for them. It is said that the + heroic soul was cut off from intercourse with her own + family, in the hope doubtless that she would the + sooner capitulate to the negro-hating sentiment of + her neighbors. But firm in her resolve the fair + Castellan never thought of surrendering the citadel + of her conscience at the bidding of iniquitous power. + Then, like savages, her foes defiled with the excrement + of cattle the well whence the school drew its + supply of water, attacked the house with rotten eggs + and stones, and daubed it with filth. This drama of + diabolism was fitly ended by the introduction of the + fire fiend, and the burning of the detestable building + devoted to the higher education of "niggers." + Heathenism was, indeed, outdone by Canterbury + Christianity. + + </p> + <p> + The circumstances of this outrage kindled Garrison's + indignation to the highest pitch. Words were + inadequate to express his emotions and agony of + soul. In the temper of bold and clear-eyed leadership + he wrote George W. Benson, his future brother-in-law, + "we may as well, first as last, meet this proscriptive + spirit, <em>and conquer it</em>. + We—<i>i.e.</i>, + all the friends of the cause—must make this a common concern. + The New Haven excitement has furnished a + bad precedent—a second must not be given or I know + not what we can do to raise up the colored population + in a manner which their intellectual and moral + necessities demand. In Boston we are all excited at + the Canterbury affair. Colonizationists are rejoicing + and Abolitionists looking sternly." Like a true general + <a class="newpage" name="P_169" id="P_169" title="P_169"></a> + Garrison took in from his <i>Liberator</i> outlook the + entire field of the struggle. No friend of the slave, + however distant, escaped his quick sympathy or + ready reinforcements. To him the free people of color + turned for championship, and to the + <i>Liberator</i> as a + mouthpiece. The battle for their rights and for + the freedom of their brethren in the South advanced + apace. Everywhere the army of their friends and the + army of their foes were in motion, and the rising + storm winds of justice and iniquity were beginning + "to bellow through the vast and boundless deep" of + a nation's soul. + <a class="newpage" name="P_170" id="P_170" title="P_170"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap9"></a> + CHAPTER IX. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + AGITATION AND REPRESSION. + + </h2> + <p> + William Lloyd Garrison's return from his English + mission was signalized by two closely related + events, viz., the formation of the New York City + Anti-Slavery Society, and the appearance of the first + of a succession of anti-slavery mobs in the North. + The news of his British successes had preceded him, + and prepared for him a warm reception on the part of + his pro-slavery countrymen. For had he not with + malice prepense put down the "most glorious of + Christian enterprises," and rebuked his own country + in the house of strangers as recreant to freedom? And + when O'Connell in Exeter Hall pointed the finger of + scorn at America and made her a by-word and a hissing + in the ears of Englishmen, was it not at a meeting + got up to further the designs of this "misguided + young gentlemen who has just returned from England + whither he has recently been for the sole purpose + as it would seem [to the <i>Commercial Advertiser</i>] + of traducing the people and institutions of his own + country." Had he not caught up and echoed back + the hissing thunder of the great Irish orator:—"<i>Shame + on the American Slaveholders</i>! Base wretches should + we shout in chorus—base wretches, how dare you + profane the temple of national freedom, the sacred + <a class="newpage" name="P_171" id="P_171" title="P_171"></a> + fane of Republican rites, with the presence and the + sufferings of human beings in chains and slavery!" + + </p> + <p> + The noise of these treasons on a foreign shore, + "deafening the sound of the westerly wave, and riding + against the blast as thunder goes," to borrow + O'Connell's graphic and grandiose phrases, had + reached the country in advance of Mr. Garrison. The + national sensitiveness was naturally enough stung to + the quick. Here is a pestilent fellow who is not + content with disturbing the peace of the Union with + his new fanaticism, but must needs presume to make + the dear Union odious before the world as well. And + his return, what is it to be but the signal for increased + agitation on the slavery question. The conquering + hero comes and his fanatical followers salute him + forthwith with a new anti-slavery society, which + means a fresh instrument in his hands to stir up strife + between the North and the South. "Are we tamely + to look on, and see this most dangerous species of + fanaticism extending itself through society?" shrieked + on the morning of Mr. Garrison's arrival in New York + Harbor, the malignant editor of the <i>Courier and + Enquirer</i>. + + </p> + <p> + The pro-slavery and lawless elements of the city + were not slow to take the cue given by metropolitan + papers, and to do the duty of patriots upon their + country's enemies. Arthur Tappen and his anti-slavery + associates outwitted these patriotic gentlemen, + who attended in a body at Clinton Hall on the evening + of October 2, 1833, to perform the aforesaid duty + of patriots, while the objects of their attention were + convened at Chatham Street Chapel and organizing + their new fanaticism. The mob flew wide of its + <a class="newpage" name="P_172" id="P_172" title="P_172"></a> + mark a second time, for when later in the evening it + began a serenade more expressive than musical before + the entrance to the little chapel on Chatham street + the members of the society "folded their tents like + the Arabs and as silently stole away." The Abolitionists + accomplished their design and eluded their enemies + at the same time. But the significance of the + riotous demonstration went not unobserved by them + and their newly arrived leader. It was plain from + that night that if the spirit of Abolitionism had risen, + the spirit of persecution had risen also. + + </p> + <p> + A somewhat similar reception saluted the reformer + in Boston. An inflammatory handbill announced to + his townsmen his arrival. "The true American has + returned, <i>alias</i> William Lloyd Garrison, the 'Negro + Champion,' from his disgraceful mission to the British + metropolis," etc., etc., and wound up its artful list + of lies with the malignant suggestion that "He is now + in your power—do not let him escape you, but go + this evening, armed with plenty of <em>tar and feathers</em> + and administer to him justice at his abode at No. 9 + Merchant's Hall, Congress street." In obedience to + this summons, a reception committee in the shape of + "a dense mob, breathing threatenings which forboded + a storm," did pay their respects to the "true American" + in front of his abode at the <i>Liberator</i> office. + Fortunately the storm passed over without breaking + that evening on the devoted head of the "Negro + Champion." But the meaning of the riotous demonstration + it was impossible to miss. Like the mob in + New York it clearly indicated that the country was + on the outer edge of an area of violent disturbances + on the subject of slavery. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_173" id="P_173" title="P_173"></a> + The peril which Garrison had twice escaped was + indeed grave, but neither it nor the certainty of + future persecution could flutter or depress his spirits. + "For myself," he wrote subsequently in the + <i>Liberator</i>, + "I am ready to brave any danger even unto death. + I feel no uneasiness either in regard to my fate or to + the success of the cause of Abolition. Slavery must + speedily be abolished; the blow that shall sever the + chains of the slaves may shake the nation to its + center—may momentarily disturb the pillars of the + Union—but it shall redeem the character, extend the + influence, establish the security, and increase the + prosperity of our great republic." It was not the + rage and malice of his enemies which the brave soul + minded, but the ever-present knowledge of human + beings in chains and slavery whom he must help. + Nothing could separate him from his duty to them, + neither dangers present nor persecutions to come. + The uncertainty of life made him only the more + zealous in their behalf. The necessity of doing, doing, + and yet ever doing for the slave was plainly pressing + deep like thorns into his thoughts. "I am more and + more impressed;" he wrote a friend a few weeks later, + "I am more and more impressed with the importance + of 'working whilst the day lasts.' If 'we all do fade + as a leaf,' if we are 'as the sparks that fly upward,' + if the billows of time are swiftly removing the sandy + foundation of our life, what we intend to do for the + captive, and for our country, and for the subjugation + of a hostile world, must be done quickly. Happily + 'our light afflictions are but for a moment.'" + + </p> + <p> + This yearning of the leader for increased activity + in the cause of immediate emancipation was shared + <a class="newpage" name="P_174" id="P_174" title="P_174"></a> + by friends and disciples in different portions of the + country. Few and scattered as were the Abolitionists, + they so much the more needed to band together + for the great conflict with a powerful and organized + evil. This evil was organized on a national scale, + the forces of righteousness which were rising against + it, if they were ever to overcome it and rid the land + of it, had needs to be organized on a national scale + also. Garrison with the instinct of a great reformer + early perceived the immense utility of a national + anti-slavery organization for mobilizing the whole + available Abolition sentiment of the free States in a + moral agitation of national and tremendous proportions. + + </p> + <p> + He had not long to wait after his return from + England before this desire of his soul was satisfied. + It was in fact just a month afterward that a call for + a convention for the formation of the American Anti-Slavery + Society went out from New York to the friends + of immediate emancipation throughout the North. As + an evidence of the dangerously excited state of the + popular mind on the subject of slavery there stands + in the summons the significant request to delegates + to regard the call as confidential. The place fixed + upon for holding the convention was Philadelphia, + and the time December 4, 1833. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison bestirred himself to obtain for the convention + a full representation of the friends of freedom. + He sent the call to George W. Benson, at + Providence, urging him to spread the news among + the Abolitionists of his neighborhood and to secure + the election of a goodly number of delegates by the + society in Rhode Island. He forthwith bethought + <a class="newpage" name="P_175" id="P_175" title="P_175"></a> + him of Whittier on his farm in Haverhill, and + enjoined his old friend to fail not to appear in Philadelphia. + But while the young poet longed to go to + urge upon his Quaker brethren of that city "to make + their solemn testimony against slavery visible over + the whole land—to urge them, by the holy memories + of Woolman and Benezet and Tyson to come up as + of old to the standard of Divine Truth, though even + the fires of another persecution should blaze around + them," he feared that he would not be able to do so. + The spirit was surely willing but the purse was + empty, "as thee know," he quaintly adds, "our farming + business does not put much cash in our pockets." + The cash he needed was generously supplied by + Samuel E. Sewall, and Whittier went as a delegate + to the convention after all. The disposition on the + part of some of the poorer delegates was so strong to + be present at the convention that not even the lack + of money was sufficient to deter them from setting + out on the expedition. Two of them, David T. Kimball + and Daniel E. Jewett, from Andover, Mass., did + actually supplement the deficiencies of their pocket-books + by walking to New Haven, the aforesaid + pocket-books being equal to the rest of the journey + from that point. + + </p> + <p> + About sixty delegates found their way to Philadelphia + and organized on the morning of December 4th, + in Adelphi Hall, the now famous convention. It was + a notable gathering of apostolic spirits—"mainly + composed of comparatively young men, some in + middle age, and a few beyond that period." They + had come together from ten of the twelve free States, + which fact goes to show the rapid, the almost epidemic-like + <a class="newpage" name="P_176" id="P_176" title="P_176"></a> + spread of Garrisonian Abolitionism through + the North. The <i>Liberator</i> was then scarcely three + years old, and its editor had not until the second day + of the convention attained the great age of twenty-eight! + The convention of 1787 did not comprise + more genuine patriotism and wisdom than did this + memorable assembly of American Abolitionists. It + was from beginning to end an example of love to + God and love to men, of fearless scorn of injustice + and fearless devotion to liberty. Not one of those + three score souls who made up the convention, who + did not take his life in his hand by reason of the + act. It was not the love of fame surely which brought + them over so many hundreds of miles, which made so + many of them endure real physical privation, which + drew all by a common, an irresistible impulse to congregate + for an unpopular purpose within reach of + the teeth and the claws of an enraged public + opinion. + + </p> + <p> + The convention, as one man might have said with + the single-minded Lundy, "My heart was deeply + grieved at the gross abomination; I heard the wail + of the captive; I felt his pang of distress; and the + iron entered my soul." The iron of slavery had + indeed entered the soul of every member of the convention. + It was the divine pang and pity of it which + collected from the East and from the West this remarkable + body of reformers. + + </p> + <p> + The story of how they had to find a president illustrates + the contemporary distrust and antagonism, + which the anti-slavery movement aroused among the + men of standing and influence. Knowing in what + bad odor they were held by the community, and anxious + <a class="newpage" name="P_177" id="P_177" title="P_177"></a> + only to serve their cause in the most effective + manner, the members of the convention hit upon the + plan of asking some individual eminent for his respectability + to preside over their deliberations, and + thereby disarm the public suspicions and quiet the + general apprehensions felt in respect of the incendiary + character of their intention. So in pursuance + of this plan six of their number were dispatched on + the evening of December 3d to seek such a man. But + the quest of the committee like that of Diogenes + proved a failure. After two attempts and two + repulses the committee were not disposed to invite + the humiliation of a third refusal and must have listened + with no little relief, to this blunt summary of + the situation by Beriah Green, who was one of the + six. "If there is not timber amongst ourselves," + quoth Green, "big enough to make a president of, + let us get along without one, or go home and stay + there until we have grown up to be men." The next + day Green was chosen, and established in a manner + never to be forgotten by his associates that the convention + did possess "timber big enough to make a + president of." + + </p> + <p> + Narrow as were the circumstances of many of the + members, the convention was by no means destitute + of men of wealth and business prominence. Such were + the Winslows, Isaac and Nathan, of Maine, Arnold + Buffum, of Massachusetts, and John Rankin and + Lewis Tappan, of New York. Scholarship, talents, + and eloquence abounded among the delegates. Here + there was no lack, no poverty, but extraordinary sufficiency, + almost to redundancy. The presence of the + gentler sex was not wanting to lend grace and picturesqueness + <a class="newpage" name="P_178" id="P_178" title="P_178"></a> + to the occasion. The beautiful and benignant + countenance of Lucretia Mott shed over the + proceedings the soft radiance of a pure and regnant + womanhood; while the handful of colored delegates + with the elegant figure of Robert Purvis at their head, + added pathos and picturesqueness to the <i>personnel</i> of + the convention. Neither was the element of danger + wanting to complete the historic scene. Its presence + was grimly manifest in the official intimation that + evening meetings of the convention could not be protected, + by the demonstrations of popular ill-will which + the delegates encountered on the streets, by the + detachment of constabulary guarding the entrance to + Adelphi Hall, and by the thrillingly significant precaution + observed by the delegates of sitting with locked + doors. Over the assembly it impended cruel and + menacing like fate. Once securely locked within the + hall, the Abolitionists discreetly abstained from leaving + it at noon for dinner, well knowing how small a + spark it takes to kindle a great fire. It was foolhardy + to show themselves unnecessarily to the excited + crowds in the streets, and so mindful that true courage + consisteth not in recklessness, they despatched + one of their number for crackers and cheese, which + they washed down with copious draughts of cold + water. But they had that to eat and drink besides, + whereof the spirits of mischief without could not + conceive. + + </p> + <p> + The grand achievement of the convention was, of + course, the formation of the American Anti-Slavery + Society, but the crown of the whole was unquestionably + the Declaration of Sentiments. The composition + of this instrument has an interesting history. It + <a class="newpage" name="P_179" id="P_179" title="P_179"></a> + seems that the delegates considered that the remarkable + character of the movement which they were + launching upon the wide sea of national attention + demanded of them an expression altogether worthy + of so momentous an undertaking. The adoption of + a constitution for this purpose was felt to be inadequate. + A constitution was indispensable, but some + other expression was necessary to give to their work + its proper proportion and importance. Such a manifestation + it was deemed meet to make in the form of + a declaration of sentiments. A committee was accordingly + appointed to draft the declaration. This committee + named three of its number, consisting of Garrison, + Whittier, and Samuel J. May to draw up the + document. The sub-committee in turn deputed Garrison + to do the business. + + </p> + <p> + Mr. May has told in his <i>Recollections of the Anti-Slavery + Conflict</i>, how he and Whittier left their friend + at ten o'clock in the evening, agreeing to call at eight + the following morning and how on their return at + the appointed hour they found Garrison with shutters + closed and lamps burning, penning the last paragraph + of the admirable document. He has told how + they three read it over together two or three times, + making some slight alterations in it, and how at nine + o'clock the draft was laid by them before the whole + committee. The author of the recollections has left + a graphic account of its effect upon the convention. + "Never in my life," he says, "have I seen a deeper + impression made by words than was made by that + admirable document upon all who were present. + After the voice of the reader had ceased there was + silence for several minutes. Our hearts were in perfect + <a class="newpage" name="P_180" id="P_180" title="P_180"></a> + unison. There was but one thought with us all. + Either of the members could have told what the + whole convention felt. We felt that the word had + just been uttered which would be mighty, through + God, to the pulling down of the strongholds of + slavery." Such was the scene at the first reading of + the Declaration of Sentiments, Dr. Atlee, the reader. + The effect at its final reading was, if possible, even + more dramatic and eloquent. Whittier has depicted + this closing and thrilling scene. He has described + how Samuel J. May read the declaration for the last + time. "His sweet, persuasive voice faltered with + the intensity of his emotions as he repeated the + solemn pledges of the concluding paragraphs. After + a season of silence, David Thurston of Maine, rose as + his name was called by one of the secretaries and + affixed his name to the document. One after another + passed up to the platform, signed, and retired in + silence. All felt the deep responsibility of the occasion—the + shadow and forecast of a life-long struggle + rested upon every countenance." + + </p> + <p> + The effects, so electrical and impressive, which followed + the reading of the declaration were not + disproportioned to its merits, for it was an instrument + of singular power, wisdom, and eloquence. + Indeed, to this day, more than half a century after it + was written it still has virtue to quicken the breath + and stir the pulses of a sympathetic reader out of + their normal time. A great passion for freedom and + righteousness irradiates like a central light the whole + memorable document. It begins by a happy reference + to an earlier convention, held some fifty-seven + years before in the same place, and which adopted a + <a class="newpage" name="P_181" id="P_181" title="P_181"></a> + declaration holding "that all men are created equal; + that they are endowed by their Creator with certain + inalienable rights; that among these are life, <b>LIBERTY</b>, + and the pursuit of happiness;" and how at the trumpet-call + of its authors three millions of people rushed + to arms "deeming it more glorious to die instantly + as free men, than desirable to live one hour as slaves"; + and how, though few in number and poor in resources + those same people were rendered invincible + by the conviction that truth, justice, and right were + on their side. But the freedom won by the men of + 1776 was incomplete without the freedom for which + the men of 1833 were striving. The authors of the + new declaration would not be inferior to the authors + of the old "in purity of motive, in earnestness of + zeal, in decision of purpose, intrepidity of action, in + steadfastness of faith, in sincerity of spirit." Unlike + the older actors, the younger had eschewed the + sword, the spilling of human blood in defence of + their principles. Theirs was a moral warfare, the + grappling of truth with error, of the power of love + with the inhumanities of the nation. Then it glances + at the wrongs which the fathers suffered, and at the + enormities which the slaves were enduring. The + "fathers were never slaves, never bought and sold + like cattle, never shut out from the light of knowledge + and religion, never subjected to the lash of brutal + taskmasters," but all these woes and more, an unimaginable + mountain of agony and misery, was the + appalling lot of the slaves in the Southern States. + The guilt of this nation, which partners such a crime + against human nature, "is unequaled by any other + on earth," and therefore it is bound to instant repentance, + <a class="newpage" name="P_182" id="P_182" title="P_182"></a> + and to the immediate restitution of justice to + the oppressed. + + </p> + <p> + The Declaration of Sentiments denies the right of + man to hold property in a brother man, affirms the + identity in principle between the African slave trade + and American slavery, the imprescriptibility of the + rights of the slaves to liberty, the nullity of all laws + which run counter to human rights, and the grand + doctrine of civil and political equality in the Republic, + regardless of race and complexional differences. + It boldly rejects the principle of compensated emancipation, + because it involves a surrender of the position + that man cannot hold property in man; because + slavery is a crime, and the master is not wronged by + emancipation but the slaves righted, restored to + themselves; because immediate and general emancipation + would only destroy nominal, not real, property, + the labor of the slaves would still remain to the + masters and doubled by the new motives which freedom + infuses into the breasts of her children; and, + finally because, if compensation is to be given at all it + ought to be given to those who have been plundered + of their rights. It spurns in one compact paragraph + the pretensions of the colonization humbug as "delusive, + cruel, and dangerous." + + </p> + <p> + But lofty and uncompromising as were the moral + principles and positions of the declaration, it nevertheless + recognized with perspicuity of vision the + Constitutional limitations of the Federal Government + in relation to slavery. It frankly conceded + that Congress had no right to meddle with the evil in + any of the States. But wherever the national jurisdiction + reached the general government was bound + <a class="newpage" name="P_183" id="P_183" title="P_183"></a> + to interfere and suppress the traffic in human flesh. + It was the duty of Congress, inasmuch as it possessed + the power, to abolish slavery in the District of + Columbia, the National Territories, along the coast + and between the States. The free States are the + <i>particeps criminis</i> of the slave States. They are + living under a pledge of their tremendous physical force to + rivet the manacles of chattel slavery upon millions in + the South; they are liable at any instant to be called + on under the Constitution to suppress a general + insurrection of the slaves. This relationship is criminal, + "is full of danger, <b>IT MUST BE BROKEN UP</b>." + + </p> + <p> + So much for the views and principles of the + declaration, now for the designs and measures as + enumerated therein: "We shall organize anti-slavery + societies, if possible, in every city, town and village + in our land. + + </p> + <p> + "We shall send forth agents to lift up the voice of + remonstrance, of warning, of entreaty, and of rebuke. + + </p> + <p> + "We shall circulate, unsparingly and extensively, + anti-slavery tracts and periodicals. + + </p> + <p> + "We shall enlist the pulpit and the press in the + cause of the suffering and the dumb. + + </p> + <p> + "We shall aim at a purification of the churches + from all participation in the guilt of slavery. + + </p> + <p> + "We shall encourage the labor of freemen rather + than that of slaves, by giving a preference to their + productions; and + + </p> + <p> + "We shall spare no exertions nor means to bring + the whole nation to speedy repentance." + + </p> + <p> + The instrument closes by pledging the utmost of + its signers to the overthrow of slavery—"come what + may to our persons, our interests, or our reputations—whether + <a class="newpage" name="P_184" id="P_184" title="P_184"></a> + we live to witness the triumph of Liberty, + Justice, and Humanity, or perish untimely as martyrs + in this great, benevolent, and holy cause." Twin + pledge it was to that ancestral, historic one made in + 1776: "And for the support of this declaration, with + a firm reliance on the protection of <b>DIVINE PROVIDENCE</b>, + we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, + our fortunes, and our sacred honor." + + </p> + <p> + Whittier has predicted for the Declaration of + Sentiments an enduring fame: "It will live," he + declares, "as long as our national history." Samuel + J. May was equally confident that this "Declaration of + the Rights of Man," as he proudly cherished it, would + "live a perpetual, impressive protest against every + form of oppression, until it shall have given place to + that brotherly kindness which all the children of the + common Father owe to one another." As a particular + act and parchment-roll of high thoughts and + resolves, highly expressed, it will not, I think, attain + to the immortality predicted for it. For as such it + has in less than two generations passed almost + entirely out of the knowledge and recollection of + Americans. But in another sense it is destined to + realize all that has been foreshadowed for it by its + friends. Like elemental fire its influence will glow + and flame at the center of our national life long after + as a separate and sovereign entity it shall have been + forgotten by the descendants of its illustrious author + and signers. + + </p> + <p> + The convention was in session three days, and its + proceedings were filled with good resolutions and + effective work. Arthur Tappan was elected President + of the national organization, and William Green, + <a class="newpage" name="P_185" id="P_185" title="P_185"></a> + Jr., Treasurer. Elizur Wright, Jr., was chosen Secretary + of Domestic Correspondence, William Lloyd + Garrison Secretary of Foreign Correspondence, and + Abraham L. Cox Recording Secretary. Besides + these officers there were a Board of Management and + a number of Vice-Presidents selected. For three + days the hearts of the delegates burned within them + toward white-browed Duty and the master, Justice, + who stood in their midst and talked with divine + accents to their spirits of how men were enslaved + and cruelly oppressed by men, their own brothers, + and how the cry of these bondmen came up to + them for help. And with one accord there fell upon + the delegates a pang and pity, an uplifting, impelling + sense of 'woe unto us' if we withhold from our + brethren in bonds the help required of us. This + rising tide of emotion and enthusiasm gathering + mass at each sitting of the convention, culminated + during the several readings of the Declaration of + Sentiments. And when on the third day Beriah + Green brought the congress to a close in a valedictory + address of apostolic power and grandeur, and + with a prayer so sweet, so fervent, and strong as to + melt all hearts, the pent-up waters of the reform was + ready to hurl themselves into an agitation the like + of which had never before, nor has since, been seen + or felt in the Union. Thenceforth freedom's little + ones were not without great allies, who were "exultations, + agonies, and love, and man's unconquerable + mind." + + </p> + <p> + Everywhere the flood of Abolitionism burst upon + the land, everywhere the moral deluge spread through + the free States. Anti-slavery societies rose as it were, + <a class="newpage" name="P_186" id="P_186" title="P_186"></a> + out of the ground, so rapid, so astonishing were their + growth during the year following the formation of + the national society. In nearly every free State they + had appeared doubling and quadrupling in number, + until new societies reached in that first year to upwards + of forty. Anti-slavery agents and lecturers + kept pace with the anti-slavery societies. They began + to preach, to remonstrate, to warn, entreat, and rebuke + until their voices sounded like the roar of many + waters in the ears of the people. Wherever there was + a school-house, a hall, or a church, there they were, + ubiquitous, irrepressible, a cry in the wilderness of a + nation's iniquity. Anti-slavery tracts and periodicals + multiplied and started from New York and Boston + in swarms, and clouds, the thunder of their wings + were as the thunder of falling avalanches to the guilty + conscience of the country. There was no State, + city, town, or village in the Republic where their + voice was not heard. + + </p> + <p> + The Rev. Amos A Phelp's "Lectures on Slavery + and Its Remedy;" "the Rev. J.D. Paxton's 'Letters + on Slavery'; the Rev. S.J. May's letters to Andrew + T. Judson, 'The Rights of Colored People to Education + Vindicated'; Prof. Elizur Wright, Jr.'s, 'Sin of + Slavery and Its Remedy'; Whittier's 'Justice and Expediency'; + and, above all, Mrs. Lydia Maria Child's + startling 'Appeal in favor of that class of Americans + called Africans' were the more potent of the new + crop of writings betokening the vigor of Mr. Garrison's + Propagandism," says that storehouse of anti-slavery + facts the "Life of Garrison" by his children. + Swift poured the flood, widespread the inundation of + anti-slavery publications. Money, although not commensurate + <a class="newpage" name="P_187" id="P_187" title="P_187"></a> + with the vast wants of the crusade, came + in copious and generous streams. A marvelous + munificence characterized the charity of wealthy + Abolitionists. The poor gave freely of their mite, + and the rich as freely of their thousands. Something + of the state of simplicity and community of goods + which marked the early disciples of Christianity + seemed to have revived in the hearts of this band of + American reformers. A spirit of renunciation, of + self-sacrifice, of brotherly kindness, of passionate love + of righteousness, of passionate hatred of wrong, of + self-consecration to truth and of martyrdom lifted + the reform to as high a moral level as had risen + any movement for the betterment of mankind in any + age of the world. + + </p> + <p> + The resolutions of the signers of the Declaration of + Sentiment, to enlist the pulpit in the cause of the + suffering and dumb, and to attempt the purification + of the churches from all participation in the guilt of + slavery, encountered determined opposition from the + pulpits and the churches themselves. The Abolitionists + were grieved and indignant at the pro-slavery + spirit which pulpits and churches displayed. But + what happened was as we now look back at those + proceedings, an inevitable occurrence, a foregone + conclusion. The pulpits were only representative of + the religion of the pews, and the pews were occupied + by the same sort of humanity that toil and spin and + haggle over dollars and cents six out of every seven + days. They have their selfish and invested interests, + fixed social notions, relationships, and prejudices, + which an episode like Sunday, churches, and sermons + do not seriously affect. Indeed, Sunday, churches, + <a class="newpage" name="P_188" id="P_188" title="P_188"></a> + and sermons constitute an institution of modern civilization + highly conservative of invested interests, + fixed social notions, relationships, and prejudices. + Who advances a new idea, a reformatory movement, + disturbs the <i>status quo</i>, stirs up the human bees in + that great hive called society, and that lesser one + called the church, and he must needs expect to have + the swarm about his head. + + </p> + <p> + This was precisely what happened in the case of + the anti-slavery movement. It threatened the then + <i>status quo</i> of property rights, it attacked the + fixed social notions, relationships, and prejudices of the + South and of the North alike. The revolution which + this new idea involved in the slave States, was of the + most radical character, going down to a complete reconstruction + of their entire social system. At once + the human hornets were aroused, and in these circumstances, + the innocent and the guilty were furiously + beset. Because the new idea which disturbed the + South had originated in the North, the wrath of the + South rose hot against not the authors of the new + idea alone but against the people of that section as + well. But this sectional unpleasantness endangered + the stability of the Union, and menaced with obstructions + and diversions the golden stream of Northern + traffic, dollars, and dividends. This was intolerable, + and forthwith the Apiarian brotherhood of the free + States put together their heads with those of the slave + States to attack, sting, and utterly abolish the new + idea, and the new idea's supporters. The Northern + churches were, of course, in the Northern brotherhood. + And when the new fanaticism threatened the + financial stability of the pews, the pulpits instead of + <a class="newpage" name="P_189" id="P_189" title="P_189"></a> + exerting themselves in behalf of the suffering and + dumb slaves, exerted themselves to preserve the prosperity + of the pews by frowning down the friends of + the slaves. They were among the first to stone the + new idea and its fiery prophets. "Away with them!" + shouted in chorus pulpit and pews. Sad? yes, but + alas! natural, too. These men were not better nor + worse than the average man. They were the average + men of their generation, selfish, narrow, material, + encrusted in their prejudices like snails in their shells, + struggling upward at a snail's pace to the larger life, + with its added sweetness and humanities, but experiencing + many a discomfiture by the way from those + foul and triple fiends, the World, the Flesh, and the + Devil. + + </p> + <p> + Nowhere in the churches was their opposition to + the Abolition movement more persistent and illiberal + than in the theological seminaries, whence the pulpits + drew their supplies of preachers. Like master, like + servant, these institutions were indentured to the public, + and reflected as in a mirror the body and pressure + of its life and sentiment. That a stream cannot rise + higher than its source, although a theological stream, + found remarkable demonstration in the case of Lane + Seminary. Here after the publication of the + "Thoughts on Colonization," and the formation of + the National Society, an earnest spirit of inquiry broke + out among the students on the subject of slavery. It + was at first encouraged by the President, Lyman + Beecher, who offered to go in and discuss the question + with his "boys." That eminent man did not long + remain in this mind. The discussions which he so + lightly allowed swept through the institution with the + <a class="newpage" name="P_190" id="P_190" title="P_190"></a> + force of a great moral awakening. They were continued + during nine evenings and turned the seminary + at their close, so far as the students went, into an + anti-slavery society. This is not the place to go at + length into the history of that anti-slavery debate, + which, in its consequences, proved one of the events + of the anti-slavery conflict. Its leader was Theodore + D. Weld, who was until Wendell Phillips appeared + upon the scene, the great orator of the agitation. + + </p> + <p> + Dr. Beecher had no notion of raising such a ghost + when he said, "Go ahead, boys, I'll go in and discuss + with you." It was such an apparition of independence + and righteousness as neither the power of the trustees + nor the authority of the faculty was ever able to dismiss. + The virtue of a gag rule was tried to suppress + Abolition among the students, but instead of suppressing + Abolition, it well-nigh suppressed the seminary; + for, rather than wear a gag on the obnoxious subject, + the students—to between seventy and eighty, comprising + nearly the whole muster-roll of the school—withdrew + from an institution where the exercise of the + right of free inquiry and free speech on a great moral + question was denied and repressed. The same spirit + of repression arose later in the Theological School at + Andover, Mass. There the gag was effectively applied + by the faculty, and all inquiry and discussion relating + to slavery disappeared among the students. But + the attempt to impose silence upon the students of + Phillips's Academy near-by was followed by the secession + of forty or fifty of the students. + + </p> + <p> + Ah! the Abolitionists had undertaken to achieve + the impossible, when they undertook to enlist the + pulpit in the cause of the slaves, and to purify the + <a class="newpage" name="P_191" id="P_191" title="P_191"></a> + churches from all participation in the guilt of slavery. + For the average man, whether within or without the + church, is not controlled in his conduct toward his + brother man by the principles and precepts of Jesus, + but by the laws of social and individual selfishness. + These selfish forces may at epochal moments align + themselves with justice and liberty, and they not + infrequently do, otherwise human progress must be + at an end. In advancing themselves, they perforce + advance justice and liberty. Thus do men love their + neighbors as themselves, and move forward to fraternity + and equality in kingdoms and commonwealths. + The special province of moral reformers, like Garrison + and the Abolitionists, seems to be to set these + egoistic and altruistic elements of human society at + war, the one against the other, thereby compelling its + members and classes, willy nilly, to choose between + the belligerents. Some will enlist on one side, some + on the other, but in the furnace heat of the passions + which ensues, an ancient evil, or a bad custom or + institution, gets the vitality burned out of it, which in + due time falls as slag out of the new order that arises + at the close of the conflict. + <a class="newpage" name="P_192" id="P_192" title="P_192"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap10"></a> + CHAPTER X. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + BETWEEN THE ACTS. + + </h2> + <p> + Mr. Garrison, in a private letter to a friend under + date of September 12, 1834, summarises the doings + of the preceding twelve months of his life, and makes + mention of a fact which lends peculiar interest to + that time: "It has been the most eventful year," he + remarks, "in my history. I have been the occasion + of many uproars, and a continual disturber of the + public peace. As soon as I landed I turned the city + of New York upside down. Five thousand people + turned out to see me tarred and feathered, but were + disappointed. There was also a small hubbub in + Boston on my arrival. The excitement passed away, + but invective and calumny still followed me. By + dint of some industry and much persuasion, I succeeded + in inducing the Abolitionists in New York to + join our little band in Boston, in calling a national + convention at Philadelphia. We met, and such a + body of men, for zeal, firmness, integrity, benevolence, + and moral greatness, the world has rarely seen in + a single assembly. Inscribed upon a declaration which + it was my exalted privilege to write, their names can + perish only with the knowledge of the history of our + times. A National Anti-Slavery Society was formed, + which astonished the country by its novelty, and + <a class="newpage" name="P_193" id="P_193" title="P_193"></a> + awed it by its boldness. In five months its first annual + meeting was held in the identical city in which, only + seven antecedent months, Abolitionists were in peril + of their lives. In ability, interest, and solemnity it + took precedence of all the great religious celebrations + which took place at the same time. During the same + month, a New England anti-slavery convention was + held in Boston, and so judicious were its measures, + so eloquent its appeals, so unequivocal its resolutions, + that it at once gave shape and character to the anti-slavery + cause in this section of the Union. In the + midst of all these mighty movements, I have wooed + "a fair ladye," and won her, have thrown aside + celibacy, and jumped body and soul into matrimony, + have sunk the character of bachelor in that of husband, + have settled down into domestic quietude, and + repudiated all my roving desires, and have found that + which I have long been yearning to find, a home, a + wife, and a beautiful retreat from a turbulent city." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison does not exaggerate the importance of + the initiatives and achievements of the year, or the + part played by him in its history. His activity was + indeed phenomenal, and the service rendered by him + to the reform, was unrivaled. He was in incessant + motion, originating, directing, inspiring the agitation + in all portions of the North. What strikes one + strongly in studying the pioneer is his sleeplessness, + his indefatigableness, his persistency in pursuit of his + object. Others may rest after a labor, may have + done one, two, or three distinct tasks, but between + Garrison's acts there is no hiatus, each follows each, + and is joined to all like links in a chain. He never + closed his eyes, nor folded his arms, but went forward + <a class="newpage" name="P_194" id="P_194" title="P_194"></a> + from work to work with the consecutiveness of + a law of nature. + + </p> + <p> + But amid labors so strenuous and uninterrupted + the leader found opportunity to woo and win "a fair + ladye." She was a daughter of a veteran Abolitionist, + George Benson, of Brooklyn, Conn., who with his + sons George W. and Henry E. Benson, were among + the stanchest of the reformer's followers and supporters. + The young wife, before her marriage, was + not less devoted to the cause than they. She was in + closest sympathy with her husband's anti-slavery + interests and purposes. Never had husband found wife + better fitted to his needs, and the needs of his life + work. So that it might be truly said that Garrison + even when he went a-wooing forgot not his cause and + that when he took a wife, he made at the same time + a grand contribution to its ultimate triumph. + + </p> + <p> + How did Helen Eliza Garrison serve the great + cause? One who knew shall tell. He has told it in + his own unequaled way. "That home," he says, "was + a great help. Her husband's word and pen scattered + his purpose far and wide; but the comrades that his + ideas brought to his side her welcome melted into + friends. No matter how various and discordant they + were in many things—no matter how much there was + to bear and overlook—her patience and her thanks + for their sympathy in the great idea were always sufficient + for the work also.... In that group of remarkable + men and women which the anti-slavery movement + drew together, she had her own niche—which + no one else could have filled so perfectly or unconsciously + as she did.... She forgot, omitted nothing. + How much we all owe her!" These were words + <a class="newpage" name="P_195" id="P_195" title="P_195"></a> + spoken by a friend, whose name will appear later on + in this story; words spoken by him at the close of her + beautiful life, as she lay dead in her coffin. + + </p> + <p> + And here is another account of her written by the + husband on the first anniversary of their marriage: + "I did not marry her," he confides to her brother + George, "expecting that she would assume a prominent + station in the anti-slavery cause, but for domestic + quietude and happiness. So completely absorbed + am I in that cause, that it was undoubtedly wise in + me to select as a partner one who, while her benevolent + feelings were in union with mine, was less immediately + and entirely connected with it. I knew she + was naturally diffident, and distrustful of her own + ability to do all that her heart might prompt. She is + one of those who prefer to toil unseen—to give by + stealth—and to sacrifice in seclusion. By her unwearied + attention to my wants, her sympathetic regards, + her perfect equanimity of mind, and her sweet and + endearing manners; she is no trifling support to + Abolitionism, inasmuch as she lightens my labors, and + enables me to find exquisite delight in the family circle, + as an offset to public adversity." + + </p> + <p> + And here is a lovely bit of self-revelation made to her + betrothed several months before they were wedded. + "I am aware of the responsibility that will devolve + upon me," she writes, "and how much my example + will be copied among that class you have so long + labored to elevate and enlighten. I have been considering + how the colored people think of dress, and + how much of their profits are expended for useless + ornaments that foolishly tend to make a show and + parade. As much stress will, of course, be laid on + <a class="newpage" name="P_196" id="P_196" title="P_196"></a> + Garrison's <em>wife</em> by that class, it behooves me to be + very circumspect in all things, when called upon to + fill so important a station." + + </p> + <p> + The marriage occurred September 4, 1834, and the + next day the pair set up housekeeping in "Freedom's + Cottage," on Bower street, Roxbury. The young + housekeepers were rich in every good thing except + money; and of that commodity there was precious + little that found its way into the family till. And + money was indispensable even to a philanthropist, + who cared as little for it as did Garrison. He had + never in his twenty-eight years experienced the sensation + which a bank account, however small, gives its + possessor. He had been toiling during the last three + years in a state of chronic self-forgetfulness, and of + consequence in a state of chronic inpecuniosity. He + had never been careful of what he got—was careful + only of what he gave. For himself he was ready to + subsist on bread and water and to labor more than + fourteen hours at the case to make the issue of the + <i>Liberator</i> possible. But surely he could not + put "a fair ladye" on such limited commons even for the sake of + his cause. The laborer is worthy of his hire, and an + unworldly minded reformer ought to be supplied with + the wherewithal needful to feed, clothe, and house + himself and those dependent upon him. Some such + thought shaped itself in Garrison's mind as his circumstances + grew more and more straitened, and his + future as the head of a family looked more and more + ominous. Anxiety for the morrow pressed heavily + upon him as his responsibilities as a breadwinner + hugged closer and closer his everyday life. Poverty + ceased to be the ordinary enemy of former years, + <a class="newpage" name="P_197" id="P_197" title="P_197"></a> + whom he from the lookouts of the unconquerable + mind used to laugh to scorn; it had become instead + a cruel foe who worried as by fire the peace of his + soul. + + </p> + <p> + There was the <i>Liberator</i>? The + <i>Liberator</i> as a + moral engine was a marvelous success; but the + <i>Liberator</i> as a money-maker was a most dismal + failure. If its owners had possessed only common aptitude + for business the failure need not have been so + complete, indeed the enterprise might have been + crowned with a moderate degree of success. But + never were two men more entirely lacking in the + methods, which should enter into ventures of that + character, than were Garrison and Knapp. Garrison + was unfortunate in this respect but it seems that + Knapp was more so. Neither took to book-keeping, + and neither overcame his serious deficiency in this + regard. The consequence was that the books kept + themselves, and confusion grew upon confusion until + the partners were quite confounded. Garrison naïvely + confesses this fault of the firm to his brother-in-law + thus: "Brother Knapp, you know, resembles me + very closely in his habits of procrastination. Indeed + I think he is rather worse than I am in this respect!" + + </p> + <p> + The paper was issued originally without a single + subscriber. At the end of the first volume the subscription + list numbered five hundred names. In the + course of the next two volumes this number was + more than doubled, almost tripled, in fact. The subscription + price was two dollars. The property would + have begun from this point to make returns to its + owners had they possessed the business training and + instinct requisite to its successful management. But + <a class="newpage" name="P_198" id="P_198" title="P_198"></a> + they were reformers, not money-getters, and instead + of enjoying the profits they proceeded to use them + up incontinently in their first enlargement of the + paper. But while they had added to the cost of + publication, they took no thought to augment the + cost of subscription. The publishers gave more and + the subscribers received more for the sum of two + dollars. The pecuniary embarrassments of the + <i>Liberator</i> increased, and so the partners' + "bondage to penury" increased also. This growing pressure was + finally relieved by "several generous donations," + made for the support of the paper. At the beginning + of the fourth volume, the publishers wisely or other-wisely, + again enlarged their darling, and again neglected + to raise the subscription rates at the same + time. + + </p> + <p> + Misfortunes never come without company, but alight + in flocks, and a whole flock of misfortunes it was to + the <i>Liberator</i> when Joshua Coffin, + "that huge personification of good humor," was appointed canvassing + agent for the paper. He was as wanting in + business methods as his employers were. Confusion + now gathered upon confusion around the devoted + heads of the partners, was accelerated and became + daily more and more portentous and inextricable. + The delinquencies of subscribers grew more and + more grave. On the three first volumes they were + two thousand dollars in arrears to the paper. This + was a large, a disastrous loss, but traceable, to no + inconsiderable extent, doubtless, to the loose business + methods of the reformer and his partner. The + <i>Liberator</i> at the beginning of its fourth year was + struggling in a deep hole of financial helplessness + <a class="newpage" name="P_199" id="P_199" title="P_199"></a> + and chaos. Would it ever get out alive, or "<b>SHALL + THE <i>LIBERATOR</i> DIE?</b>" burst in a cry of + anguish, almost despair, from its editor, so weak in thought of + self, so supreme in thought of others. + + </p> + <p> + This carelessness of what appertained to the things + which concerned self, and devotion to the things + which concerned his cause, finds apt and pathetic + illustration in this letter to Samuel J. May in the summer + of 1834, when his pecuniary embarrassments and + burdens were never harder to carry: + + </p> + <p> + "In reply to your favor of the 24th [July], my + partner joins with me in consenting to print an edition + of Miss Crandall's [defence] as large as the one + proposed by you, at our own risk. As to the profits + that may arise from the sale of the pamphlet, we do + not expect to make any; on the contrary, we shall + probably suffer some loss, in consequence of the difficulty + of disposing of any publication, however interesting + or valuable in itself. But a trial so important + as Miss C.'s, involving such momentous consequences + to a large portion of our countrymen, implicating so + deeply the character of this great nation, ought not to + go unpublished, and <em>shall</em> not while we have the necessary + materials for printing it." + + </p> + <p> + It is interesting to note that the weekly circulation + of the <i>Liberator</i>, in the spring of 1834, was + twenty-three hundred copies, and that this number + was distributed in Philadelphia, four hundred; + in New York, three hundred: in Boston, + two hundred; in other parts of the free States + eleven hundred; and that of the remaining three hundred, + one-half was sent as exchange with other papers, + and eighty of the other half were divided equally + <a class="newpage" name="P_200" id="P_200" title="P_200"></a> + between England and Hayti, leaving seventy copies + for gratuitous distribution. The colored subscribers + to the paper were to the whites as three to one. + + </p> + <p> + There were several suggestions by sundry friends + looking to the release of the <i>Liberator</i> from its + embarrassments, and, to the relief of its unselfish + publishers, from the grinding poverty which its + issue imposed upon them. The most hopeful + and feasible of them was the scheme of which + Garrison wrote his betrothed April 14, 1834: "I + am happy to say," he pours into her ears, "that it + is probable the managers of the New England Anti-Slavery + Society will determine, to-morrow afternoon, + to take all the pecuniary liabilities of the + <i>Liberator</i> + hereafter, and give me a regular salary for editing it, + and friend Knapp a fair price for printing it. My salary + will not be less than $800 per annum, and perhaps + it will be fixed at a $1,000.... The new arrangement + will go into effect on the 1st of July." But alas; the + managers took no such action on the morrow, nor + went the "new arrangement" into effect at the time + anticipated. The editor was married in September, + and two months later the eagerly expected relief was + still delayed. This hope deferred must have caused + the young husband meanwhile no little anxiety and + heart sickness. + + </p> + <p> + Love in a cottage is very pretty and romantic in + novels, but love in a cottage actually thriving on + "bread and water," was a sweet reality in the home + of the young couple in Roxbury. "All the world loves + a lover," says Emerson, but alas! there are exceptions + to all rules, and all the world loved not Garrison in + his newly found felicity as shall presently appear. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_201" id="P_201" title="P_201"></a> + The pledge made by the reformer in the initial number of the + <i>Liberator</i> to be "as harsh as truth," + had been kept to the letter. To some minds there is + nothing more difficult to understand and tolerate + than is the use of harsh language toward individual + wrongdoers. They appear to be much more solicitous + to turn away the wrath of the wicked than to + do away with their wickedness. Multitudes of such + minds were offended at the tremendous severities of + Garrison's speech. They were for peace at any cost, + while Garrison was for truth at any cost. These pro-slavery + critics were not necessarily wanting in good + feelings to the slaves, or lacking in a sense of the + justice of their cause. But the feelings and the sense + were transitive to an abstract object, intransitive to + that terrible reality, the American slave. The indignation + of such people exceeded all bounds when contemplating + wrongs in the abstract, iniquity in the + abstract, while the genuine article in flesh and blood + and habited in broadcloth and respectability provoked + no indignation, provoked instead unbounded charity + for the willing victims of ancestral transgressions. + Upon the Southern slaveholder, as a creature of circumstances, + these people expended all their sympathy + while upon the Southern slave, who were to their + view <em>the circumstances</em>, they looked with increasing + disapprobation. Garrison's harsh language greatly + shocked this class—excited their unbounded indignation + against the reformer. + + </p> + <p> + Besides this class there was another, composed of + friends, whom Garrison's denunciatory style offended. + To Charles Pollen and Charles Stuart, and Lewis + Tappan, this characteristic of the writings of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_202" id="P_202" title="P_202"></a> + great agitator was a sore trial. To them and to + others, too, his language seemed grossly intemperate + and vituperative, and was deemed productive of + harm to the movement. But Garrison defended his + harsh language by pointing to the state of the country + on the subject of slavery before he began to use + it, and to the state of the country afterward. How + utterly and morally dead the nation was before, how + keenly and marvelously alive it became afterward. + The blast which he had blown had jarred upon the + senses of his slumbering countrymen he admitted, + but he should not be blamed for that. What to his + critics sounded harsh and abusive, was to him the + trump of God. For, at the thunder-peal which the + Almighty blew from the mouth of his servant, how, + as by a miracle, the dead soul of the nation awoke to + righteousness. He does not arrogate to himself infallibility, + indeed he is sure that his language is not + always happily chosen. Such errors, however, appear + to him trivial, in view of indisputable and extraordinary + results produced by the <i>Liberator</i>. He believes + in marrying masculine truths to masculine words. + He protests against his condemnation by comparison. + "Every writer's style is his own—it may be + smooth or rough, plain or obscure, simple or grand, + feeble or strong," he contends, "but <em>principles</em> are immutable." + By his principles, therefore he would, be + judged. "Whittier, for instance," he continues, "is + highly poetical, exuberant, and beautiful. Stuart is + solemn, pungent, and severe. Wright is a thorough + logician, dextrous, transparent, straightforward. + Beriah Green is manly, eloquent, vigorous, devotional. + May is persuasive, zealous, overflowing with the milk + <a class="newpage" name="P_203" id="P_203" title="P_203"></a> + of human kindness. Cox is diffusive, sanguine, magnificent, + grand. Bourne thunders and lightens. + Phelps is one great, clear, infallible argument—demonstration + itself. Jocelyn is full of heavenly-mindedness, + and feels and speaks and acts with a + zeal according to knowledge. Follen is chaste, profound, + and elaborately polished. Goodell is perceptive, + analytical, expert, and solid. Child (David + L.) is generously indignant, courageous, and demonstrative; + his lady combines strength with beauty, + argumentation with persuasiveness, greatness with + humility. Birney is collected, courteous, dispassionate—his + fearlessness excites admiration, his conscientiousness + commands respect." Of these writers, + which is acceptable to slaveholders or their apologists? + Some have been cruelly treated and all been + calumniated as "fanatics, disorganizers, and madmen." + And why? "Certainly not for the <em>phraseology</em> + which they use, but for the <em>principles</em> which they + adopt." + + </p> + <p> + From another quarter came presently notes of discord, + aroused by Garrison's <em>hard language</em>. Sundry + of the Unitarian clergy, under the lead of Rev. Henry + Ware, Jr., took it into their heads that the editor of + the <i>Liberator</i> and some others were outrageously + abusing the Abolition cause, "mismanaging it by + their unreasonable violence" of language. Wherefore + those gentlemen interposed to rescue the great + cause from harm by a brilliant scheme designed to + secure moderation in this regard. This brilliant + scheme was nothing less absurd than the establishment + of a censorship over the <i>Liberator</i>. But as + these solicitous souls had reckoned without their + <a class="newpage" name="P_204" id="P_204" title="P_204"></a> + host, their amiable plan came to naught; but not, + however, before adding a new element to the universal + discord then fast swelling to a roar. To the + storm of censure gathering about his head the reformer + bowed not—neither swerved he to the right + hand nor to the left—all the while deeming it, "with + the apostle, a small thing to be judged by man's + judgment." "I solicit no man's praise," he sternly + replies to his critics, "I fear no men's censure." + + </p> + <p> + There was still another cause of offence given by + Garrison to his countrymen. It was not his <em>hard language</em>, + but a circumstance less tolerable, if that was + possible, than even that rock of offence. It seems + that when the editor of the <i>Liberator</i> was in + England, and dining with Thomas Powell Buxton, he was asked + by the latter in what way the English Abolitionists + could best assist the anti-slavery movement in America, + and he had replied, "<em>By giving us George Thompson</em>." + This unexpected answer of the American + appeared without doubt to the Englishman at the + time somewhat extraordinary. He had his misgivings + as to the wisdom, to say nothing of the propriety, of + an international act of such importance and delicacy + as the sending of George Thompson to America. He + questioned whether the national self-love of the + American people would not resent the arrival of an + Englishman on such a mission among them and + refuse him a fair hearing in consequence. But Garrison + was confident that while Thompson's advent + would stir up the pro-slavery bile of the North and + all that, he would not be put to much if any greater + disadvantage as a foreigner in speaking in New England + on the subject of slavery, than were those Abolitionists + <a class="newpage" name="P_205" id="P_205" title="P_205"></a> + who were to the manner born. As to his + friend's personal safety in the East, Garrison was + extremely optimistic, had not apparently the slightest + apprehensions for him in this regard. + + </p> + <p> + Well, after due deliberation, George Thompson consented + to undertake the mission to America, and the + English reformers to send him, though not all of them. + For some there were like James Cropper, who were + indisposed to promoting such a mission, or "paying + agents to travel in the United States." It was natural + enough for Mr. Garrison to prefer such a request + after hearing George Thompson speak. For he was + one of those electric speakers, who do with popular + audiences what they will. In figure and voice and + action, he was a born orator. His eloquence was + graphic, picturesque, thrilling, and over English + audiences it was irresistible. Garrison fancied that + such eloquence would prove equally attractive to and + irresistible over American audiences as well. But in + this he was somewhat mistaken, for Thompson had + to deal with an element in American audiences of + which he had had no experience in England. What + that element was he had occasion to surmise directly + he arrived upon these shores. He reached New + York just sixteen days after the marriage of his + friend, the editor of the <i>Liberator</i> to be + immediately threatened with mob violence by the metropolitan + press in case he ventured to "lecture in favor of + immediate Abolition," and to be warned that: "If our + people will not suffer our own citizens to tamper with + the question of slavery, it is not to be supposed that + they will tolerate the officious intermeddling of a + foreign fanatic." Then as if by way of giving him + <a class="newpage" name="P_206" id="P_206" title="P_206"></a> + a taste of the beak and talons of the American <i>amour + propre</i>, he and his family were put out of the Atlantic + Hotel in deference to the wish of an irate Southerner. + Thus introduced the English orator advanced speedily + thereafter into closer acquaintance with the American + public. He lectured in many parts of New + England where that new element of rowdyism and + virulence of which his English audiences had given + him no previous experience, manifested its presence + first in one way and then in others, putting him + again and again in jeopardy of life and limb. At + Augusta, Maine, his windows were broken, and he + was warned out of the town. At Concord, New + Hampshire, his speech was punctuated with missiles. + At Lowell, Massachusetts, he narrowly escaped being + struck on the head and killed by a brickbat. Indeed + it was grimly apparent that the master of Freedom's + Cottage would be obliged to revise his views as to the + hazard, which his friend ran in speaking upon the + subject of slavery in New England. To do so was + weekly becoming for that friend an enterprise of + great personal peril. But it added also to the fierce + hatred with which the public now regarded Garrison. + He was the author of all the mischief, the slavery + agitation, the foreign emissary. He had even dared to + inject the poison of Abolitionism into the politics of + Boston and Massachusetts. This attempt on the part + of the <i>Liberator</i> to establish an anti-slavery + test of office was only another proof of the dangerous character + of the new fanaticism and the Jacobinical + designs of the Garrisonian fanatics, ergo, the importance + of suppressing the incendiaries. Down with + Thompson! Garrison must be destroyed! The + <a class="newpage" name="P_207" id="P_207" title="P_207"></a> + Union—it must and shall be preserved! All these + the public excitement, which had risen everywhere + to a tempest, had come more and more to mean. A + tremendous crisis had come in the life of Garrison, + and a great peril, eagle-like, with the stirred-up hate + of a nation, was swooping upon him. + <a class="newpage" name="P_208" id="P_208" title="P_208"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap11"></a> + CHAPTER XI. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + MISCHIEF LET LOOSE. + + </h2> + <p> + A wild-cat-like creature was abroad. To it the + Abolitionists were to be thrown. It was to destroy + Garrison, make an end of Thompson, and suppress + between its enormous jaws the grandest moral movement + of the century. Besides doing up this modest + little programme, the beast, O wonderful to say, was + also to crown its performances by "saving" the + Union. Rejoicing in the possession of such a conservative + institution, the politicians, the press, and + public opinion uncaged the monster, while from + secure seats they watched the frightful scenes of fury + and destruction enacted by it in the national arena. + + </p> + <p> + These scenes began in the summer of 1834, and in + the city of New York. They were ushered in by the + breaking up of an anti-slavery celebration on the + Fourth of July by the clack and roar of several hundred + young rowdies, gathered for the purpose. Their + success but whetted the appetite of the spirit of mischief + for other ventures against the Abolitionists. As + a consequence New York was in a more or less disturbed + state from the fourth to the ninth of the + month. The press of the city, with but a single exception + (<i>The Evening Post</i>) meanwhile goaded the + populace on by false and inflammatory representations + touching the negroes and their friends, to the + <a class="newpage" name="P_209" id="P_209" title="P_209"></a> + rioting which began in earnest on the evening of the + ninth. That night a mob attacked Lewis Tappan's + house on Rose street, breaking in the door, smashing + blinds and windows, and playing havoc generally + with the furniture. On the following evening the + rioters assailed the store of Arthur Tappan, on Pearl + street, demolishing almost every pane of glass in the + front of the building. On the same evening the mob + paid its respects to Rev. Dr. Cox, by breaking windows + both at his house and at his church. The negro + quarters in the neighborhood of Five Points, and + their houses in other parts of the city, were raided on + the night of the 11th, and much damage done by the + lawless hordes which for nearly a week wreaked their + wrath upon the property of the negroes and their + anti-slavery friends. + + </p> + <p> + After this brave beginning, the wild-cat-like spirit + continued, these ferocious demonstrations in New + Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut, + Maine, and New Hampshire. The slavery agitation + had increased apace. It had broken out in Congress + on the presentation of anti-slavery petitions. The + fire thus kindled spread through the country. Southern + excitement became intense, amounted almost to + panic. The activity of the anti-slavery press, the + stream of anti-slavery publications, which had, indeed, + increased with singular rapidity, was exaggerated + by the Southern imagination, struck it with a + sort of terror. There were meetings held in many + parts of the South, tremendous scenes enacted there. + In Charleston, South Carolina, the post-office was + broken open by an aristocratic mob, under the lead + of the famous Robert Y. Hayne, and a bonfire made + <a class="newpage" name="P_210" id="P_210" title="P_210"></a> + of the Abolition mail-matter which it contained. As + this Southern excitement advanced, a passionate fear + for the stability of the Union arose in the heart of + the North. Abolition and the Abolitionists had produced + these sectional disturbances. Abolition and + the Abolitionists were, therefore, enemies of the + "glorious Union." Northern excitement kept pace + with Southern excitement until, in the summer of + 1835, a reign of terror was widely established over + both sections. To Garrison, from his <i>Liberator</i> + outlook, all seemed "Consternation and perplexity, for + perilous times have come." They had, indeed, come + in New York, as witness this from the pen of Lydia + Maria Child, who was at the time (August 15) in + Brooklyn. Says she: + + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "I have not ventured into the city, nor does one of + us dare to go to church to-day, so great is the excitement + here. You can form no conception of it. 'Tis + like the time of the French Revolution, when no man + dared trust his neighbor. Private assassins from + New Orleans are lurking at the corners of the streets + to stab Arthur Tappan, and very large sums are + offered for any one who will convey Mr. Thompson + into the slave States.... There are several + thousand Southerners now in the city, and I am + afraid there are not seven hundred among them who + have the slightest fear of God before their eyes. Mr. + Wright [Elizur] was yesterday barricading his doors + and windows with strong bars and planks an inch + thick. Violence in some form seems to be generally + expected." + + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Great meetings to put the Abolitionists down afforded + vents during this memorable year to the pent-up + <a class="newpage" name="P_211" id="P_211" title="P_211"></a> + excitement of the free States. New York had had + its great meeting, and had put the Abolitionists down + with pro-slavery resolutions and torrents of pro-slavery + eloquence. Boston, too, had to have her + great meeting and her cataracts of pro-slavery oratory + to reassure the South of the sympathy and support + of "the great body of the people of the Northern + States." The toils seemed everywhere closing around + the Abolitionists. The huge head of the asp of public + opinion, the press of the land was everywhere busy, + day and night, smearing with a thick and virulent + saliva of lies the brave little band and its leader. + Anti-slavery publications, calculated to inflame the + minds of the slaves against their masters, and intended + to instigate the slaves to servile insurrections, + had been distributed broadcast through the South by + the emissaries of anti-slavery societies. The Abolitionists + advocated the emancipation of the slaves in the + South by Congress, intermarriages between the two + races, the dissolution of the Union, etc. All of which + outrageous misrepresentations were designed to render + the movement utterly odious to the public, and + the public so much the more furious for its suppression. + + </p> + <p> + It was in the midst of such intense and widespread + excitement that Boston called its meeting to abolish + the Abolitionists. It was the month of August, and + the heat of men's passions was as great as the heat + of the August sun. The moral atmosphere of the + city was so charged with inflammable gases that the + slightest spark would have sufficed to produce an explosion. + The Abolitionists felt this and carried themselves + the while with unusual circumspection. They + <a class="newpage" name="P_212" id="P_212" title="P_212"></a> + deemed it prudent to publish an address to neutralize + the falsehoods with which they were assailed by their + enemies. The address drawn up by Garrison for the + purpose was thought "too fiery for the present time," + by his more cautious followers and was rejected. The + <i>Liberator</i> office had already been threatened in + consequence of a fiery article by the editor, denouncing the + use of Faneuil Hall for the approaching pro-slavery + meeting. It seemed to the unawed and indignant + champion of liberty that it were "better that the + winds should scatter it in fragments over the whole + earth—better that an earthquake should engulf it—than + that it should be used for so unhallowed and + detestable a purpose!" The anti-abolition feeling of + the town had become so bitter and intense that Henry + E. Benson, then clerk in the anti-slavery office, writing + on the 19th of the month, believed that there were + persons in Boston, who would assassinate George + Thompson in broad daylight, and doubted whether + Garrison or Samuel J. May would be safe in Faneuil + Hall on the day of the meeting, and what seemed + still more significant of the inflamed state of the public + mind, was the confidence with which he predicted + that a mob would follow the meeting. The wild-cat-like + spirit was in the air—in the seething heart of the + populace. + + </p> + <p> + The meeting was held August 21st, in the old cradle + of liberty. To its call alone fifteen hundred names + were appended. It was a Boston audience both as to + character and numbers, an altogether imposing affair, + over whom the mayor of the city presided and before + whom two of the most consummate orators of the + commonwealth fulmined against the Abolitionists. + <a class="newpage" name="P_213" id="P_213" title="P_213"></a> + One of their hearers, a young attorney of twenty-four, + who listened to Peleg Sprague and Harrison Gray Otis + that day, described sixteen years afterward the latter + and the effects produced by him on that audience. + Our young attorney vividly recalled how "'Abolitionist' + was linked with contempt, in the silver tones of + Otis, and all the charms that a divine eloquence and + most felicitous diction could throw around a bad + cause were given it; the excited multitude seemed + actually ready to leap up beneath the magic of his + speech. It would be something, if one must die, to + die by such a hand—a hand somewhat worthy and + able to stifle anti-slavery, if it could be stifled. The + orator was worthy of the gigantic task attempted; + and thousands crowded before him, every one of their + hearts melted by that eloquence, beneath which Massachusetts + had bowed, not unworthily, for more than + thirty years." + + </p> + <p> + Here is a specimen of the sort of goading which + the wild-cat-like spirit of the city got from the orators. + It is taken from the speech of Peleg Sprague. + The orator is paying his respects to George Thompson, + "an avowed <em>emissary</em>" "<em>a professed agitator</em>," + who "comes here from the dark and corrupt institutions + of Europe to enlighten <em>us</em> upon the rights of + man and the moral duties of our own condition. + Received by our hospitality, he stands here upon our + soil, protected by our laws, and hurls firebrands, arrows, + and death into the habitations of our neighbors + and friends, and brothers; and when he shall have + kindled a conflagration which is sweeping in desolation + over our land, he has only to embark for his own + country, and there look serenely back with indifference + <a class="newpage" name="P_214" id="P_214" title="P_214"></a> + or exultation upon the widespread ruin by which + <em>our</em> cities are wrapt in flames, and <em>our</em> garments + rolled in blood." + + </p> + <p> + The great meeting was soon a thing of the past but + not so its effects. The echoes of Otis and Sprague did + not cease at its close. They thrilled in the air, + they thrilled long afterward in the blood of the people. + When the multitude dispersed Mischief went out into + the streets of the city with them. Wherever afterward + they gathered Mischief made one in their midst. + Mischief was let loose, Mischief was afoot in the town. + The old town was no place for the foreign emissary, + neither was it a safe place for the arch-agitator. On + the day after the meeting, Garrison and his young + wife accordingly retreated to her father's home at + Brooklyn, Conn., where the husband needed not to be + jostling elbows with Mistress Mischief, and her <em>pals</em>. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison's answer to the speeches of Otis and + Sprague was in his sternest vein. He is sure after + reading them that, "there is more guilt attaching to + the people of the free States from the continuance of + slavery, than those in the slave States." At least he + is ready to affirm upon the authority of Orator + Sprague, "that New England is as really a slave-holding + section of the republic as Georgia or South + Carolina." Sprague, he finds, "in amicable companionship + and popular repute with thieves and adulterers; + with slaveholders, slavedealers, and slave-destroyers; ... with + the disturbers of the public + peace; with the robbers of the public mail; with + ruffians who insult, pollute, and lacerate helpless + women; and with conspirators against the lives and + liberties of New England citizens." + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_215" id="P_215" title="P_215"></a> + To Otis who was then nearly seventy years of age + Garrison addressed his rebuke in tones of singular + solemnity. It seemed to him that the aged statesman + had transgressed against liberty "under circumstances + of peculiar criminality." "Yet at this solemn + period," the reprobation of the prophet ran, "you + have not scrupled, nay, you have been ambitious, to + lead and address an excited multitude, in vindication + of all imaginable wickedness, embodied in one great + system of crime and blood—to pander to the lusts and + desires of the robbers of God and his poor—to consign + over to the tender mercies of cruel taskmasters, + multitudes of guiltless men, women, and children—and + to denounce as an 'unlawful and dangerous association' + a society whose only object is to bring this + nation to repentance, through the truth as it is in + Jesus." + + </p> + <p> + These audacious and iconoclastic performances of + the reformer were not exactly adapted to turn from + him the wrath of the idol worshipers. They more + likely added fuel to the hot anger burning in Boston + against him. Three weeks passed after his departure + from the city, and his friends did not deem it safe + for him to return. Toward the end of the fourth + week of his enforced absence, against which he was + chafing not a little, an incident happened in Boston + which warned him to let patience have its perfect + work. It was on the night of September 17th that the + dispositions of the city toward him found grim expression + in a gallows erected in front of his house at + 23 Brighton street. This ghastly reminder that the fellow-citizens of the + editor of the <i>Liberator</i> continued + to take a lively interest in him, "was made in real + <a class="newpage" name="P_216" id="P_216" title="P_216"></a> + workmanship style, of <i>maple joist</i> five inches through, + eight or nine feet high, for the accommodation of + two persons." Garrison and Thompson were the two + persons for whom these brave accommodations were + prepared. But as neither they nor their friends were + in a mood to have trial made of them, the intended + occupants consented to give Boston a wide berth, and + to be somewhat particular that they did not turn in + with her while the homicidal fit lasted. + + </p> + <p> + This editing his paper at long range, and this + thought of life and safety Garrison did not at all relish. + They grew more and more irksome to his fearless + and earnest spirit. For his was a "pine-and-fagot" + Abolitionism that knew not the fear of men or their + wrath. But now he must needs have a care for the + peace of mind of his young wife, who was, within a + few months, to give birth to a child. And her anxiety + for him was very great. Neither was the anxiety of + devoted friends and followers to be lightly disregarded. + All of which detained the leader in Brooklyn + until the 25th of the month, when the danger + signals seemed to have disappeared. Whereupon he + set out immediately for his post in Boston to be at the + head of his forces. He found the city in one of those + strange pauses of popular excitement, which might + signify the ebb of the tide or only the retreat of the + billows. He was not inclined to let the anti-Abolition + agitation subside so soon, before it had carried on its + flood Abolition principles to wider fields and more + abundant harvests in the republic. Anxious lest the + cat-like temper of the populace was falling into + indifference and apathy, he and his disciples took + occasion to prod it into renewed wakefulness and + <a class="newpage" name="P_217" id="P_217" title="P_217"></a> + activity. The instruments used for this purpose were anti-slavery meetings and + the sharp goad of his <i>Liberator</i> + editorials. The city was possessed with the + demon of slavery, and its foaming at the mouth was + the best of all signs that the Abolition exorcism was + working effectively. So, in between the glittering + teeth and the terrible paws was thrust the maddening + goad, and up sprang the mighty beast horrible to + behold. + + </p> + <p> + One of these meetings was the anniversary of the + formation of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society + which fell on October 14th. The ladies issued their + notice, engaged a hall, and invited George Thompson + to address them. Now the foreign emissary was + particularly exasperating to Boston sensibility on + the subject of slavery. He was the veritable red + rag to the pro-slavery bull. The public announcement, + therefore, that he was to speak in the city + threw the public mind into violent agitation. The + <i>Gazette</i> and the + <i>Courier</i> augmented the excitement + by the recklessness with which they denounced the + proposed meeting, the former promising to Thompson + a lynching, while the latter endeavored to + involve his associates who were to the "manner + born" in the popular outbreak, which was confidently + predicted in case the "foreign vagrant" + wagged his tongue at the time appointed. + + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding the rage of press and people + the meeting was postponed through no willingness + on the part of the ladies, but because of the panic + of the owners of the hall lest their property should + be damaged or destroyed in case of a riot. The + ladies, thereupon, appointed three o'clock in the + <a class="newpage" name="P_218" id="P_218" title="P_218"></a> + afternoon of October 21st as the time, and the hall + adjoining the Anti-Slavery Office, at 46 Washington + street, as the place where they would hold their + adjourned meeting. This time they made no mention + of Mr. Thompson's addressing them, merely + announcing several addresses. In fact, an address + from Mr. Thompson, in view of the squally outlook, + was not deemed expedient. To provide against + accidents and disasters, he left the city on the day + before the meeting. But this his enemies did not + know. They confidently expected that he was to + be one of the speakers. An inflammatory handbill + distributed on the streets at noon of the 21st seemed + to leave no doubt of this circumstance in the pro-slavery + portion of the city. + + </p> + <p> + The handbill referred to ran as follows: + + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + THOMPSON, + + </p> + <p> + THE ABOLITIONIST! + + </p> + <p> + That infamous foreign scoundrel, <b>THOMPSON</b>, will hold + forth <em>this afternoon</em> at the + <i>Liberator</i> office. No. 48 Washington + street. The present is a fair opportunity for the friends of + the Union to <em>snake Thompson out</em>! It will be a contest between + the Abolitionists and the friends of the Union. A + purse of $100 has been raised by a number of patriotic citizens + to reward the individual who shall first lay violent hands on + Thompson, so that he may be brought to the tar-kettle before + dark. Friends of the Union, be vigilant! + + </p> + <p><i>Boston, Wednesday, 12 o'clock.</i></p> + </blockquote> + <p> + That Wednesday forenoon Garrison spent at the + anti-slavery office, little dreaming of the peril which + was to overtake him in that very spot in the afternoon. + He went home to an early dinner, since his + wife was a member of the society, and he himself was + <a class="newpage" name="P_219" id="P_219" title="P_219"></a> + set down for an address. As he wended his way + homeward, Mischief and her gang were afoot distributing + the aforesaid handbills "in the insurance + offices, the reading-rooms, all along State street, in + the hotels, bar-rooms, etc.," and scattering it + "among mechanics at the North End, who were + mightily taken with it." Garrison returned about a + half hour before the time appointed for the meeting. + He found a small crowd of about a hundred individuals + collected in front of the building where the + hall was situated, and on ascending to the hall more + of the same sort, mostly young men, choking the + access to it. They were noisy, and Garrison pushed + his way through them with difficulty. As he entered + the place of meeting and took his seat among the + ladies, twenty had already arrived, the gang of young + rowdies recognized him and evinced this by the + exclamation: "That's Garrison!" The full significance + of the crowd just without the hall did not seem + to have occurred to the man whom they had identified. + He did not know that they were the foam + blown from the mouth of a great mob at the moment + filling the streets in the neighborhood of the building + where he sat with such serenity of spirit. His + wife who had followed him from their home saw + what Garrison did not see. The crowd of a hundred + had swelled to thousands. It lay in a huge irregular + cross, jammed in between the buildings on Washington + street, the head lowering in front of the anti-slavery + office, the foot reaching to the site where + stood Joy building, now occupied by the Rogers, + the right arm stretching along Court street to the + Court House, and the left encircling the old State + <a class="newpage" name="P_220" id="P_220" title="P_220"></a> + House, City Hall and Post-office then, in a gigantic + embrace. All hope of urging her way through that + dense mass was abandoned by Mrs. Garrison, and a + friend, Mr. John E. Fuller, escorted her to his home, + where she passed the night. + + </p> + <p> + Meantime the atmosphere upstairs at the hall began + to betoken a fast approaching storm. The + noises ominously increased on the landing just outside. + The door of the hall was swung wide open and + the entrance filled with rioters. Garrison, all unconscious + of danger, walked over to these persons and + remonstrated in his grave way with them in regard + to the disturbance which they were producing, winding + up with a characteristic bit of pleasantry: "Gentlemen," + said he, "perhaps you are not aware that this + is a meeting of the Boston <em>Female</em> Anti-Slavery + Society, called and intended exclusively for <em>ladies</em>, + and those only who have been invited to address + them. Understanding this fact you will not be so + rude and indecorous as to thrust your presence upon + this meeting." But he added, "If, <em>gentlemen</em>, any of + you are <em>ladies</em> in disguise—why only apprise me of the + fact, give me your names, and I will introduce you + to the rest of your sex, and you can take seats among + them accordingly." The power of benignity over + malignity lasted a few moments after this little + speech, when the situation changed rapidly from bad + to worse. "The tumult continually increased," says + an eye-witness, "with horrible execrations, howling, + stamping, and finally shrieking with rage. They + seemed not to dare to enter, notwithstanding their + fury, but mounted on each other's shoulders, so that + a row of hostile heads appeared over the slight partition, + <a class="newpage" name="P_221" id="P_221" title="P_221"></a> + of half the height of the wall which divides + the society's rooms from the landing place. We + requested them to allow the door to be shut; but + they could not decide as to whether the request + should be granted, and the door was opened and + shut with violence, till it hung useless from its + hinges." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison thinking that his absence might quiet + these perturbed spirits and so enable the ladies to + hold their meeting without further molestation volunteered + at this juncture to the president of the society + to retire from the hall unless she desired him to + remain. She did not wish him to stay but urged him + to go at once not only for the peace of the meeting + but for his own safety. Garrison thereupon left the + hall meaning at the time to leave the building as well, + but egress by the way of the landing and the stairs, + he directly perceived was impossible, and did what + seemed the next best thing, entered the anti-slavery + office, separated from the hall by a board partition. + Charles C. Burleigh accompanied him within this + retreat. The door between the hall and the office was + securely locked, and Garrison with that marvelous + serenity of mind, which was a part of him, busied + himself immediately with writing to a friend an + account of the scenes which were enacting in the next + room. + + </p> + <p> + The tempest had begun in the streets also. The + mob from its five thousand throats were howling + "Thompson! Thompson!" The mayor of the city, + Theodore Lyman, appeared upon the scene, and + announced to the gentlemen of property and standing, + who were thus exercising their vocal organs, that + <a class="newpage" name="P_222" id="P_222" title="P_222"></a> + Mr. Thompson was not at the meeting, was not in the + city. But the mayor was a modern Canute before the + sea of human passion, which was rushing in over law + and authority. He besought the rioters to disperse, + but he might as well have besought the waves breaking + on Nastasket Beach to disperse. Higher, higher + rose the voices; fiercer, fiercer waxed the multitude; + more and more frightful became the uproar. The + long-pent-up excitement of the city and its hatred of + Abolitionists had broken loose at last and the deluge + had come. The mayor tossed upon the human inundation + as a twig on a mountain stream, and with him + for the nonce struggled helplessly the police power of + the town also. + + </p> + <p> + Upstairs in the hall the society and its president + are quite as powerless as the mayor and the police + below. Miss Mary S. Parker, the president, is struggling + with the customary opening exercises. She has + called the meeting to order, read to the ladies some + passages from the Bible, and has lifted up her voice + in prayer to the All Wise and Merciful One "for direction + and succor, and the forgiveness of enemies and + revilers." It is a wonderful scene, a marvelous + example of Christian heroism, for in the midst of the + hisses and threats and curses of the rioters, the prayer + of the brave woman rose clear and untremulous. But + now the rioters have thrown themselves against the + partition between the landing-place and the hall. + They are trying to break it down; now, they have + partially succeeded. In another moment they have + thrown themselves against the door of the office + where Garrison is locked. The lower panel is dashed + in. Through the opening they have caught sight of + <a class="newpage" name="P_223" id="P_223" title="P_223"></a> + their object, Garrison, serenely writing at his desk. + "There he is! That's Garrison! Out with the + scoundrel!" and other such words of recognition and + execration, burst from one and another of the mob. + The shattering of the partition, the noise of splitting + and ripping boards, the sharp crash caused by the + shivering of the office door, the loud and angry outcries + of the rioters warn the serene occupant of the + office that his position has become one of extreme + peril. But he does not become excited. His composure + does not forsake him. Instead of attempting to + escape, he simply turns to his friend, Burleigh, with + the words, "You may as well open the door, and let + them come in and do their worst." But fortunately, + Burleigh was in no such extremely non-resistant + mood. + + </p> + <p> + The advent of the mayor and the constables upon + the scene at this point rescued Garrison from immediately + falling into the hands of the mob, who were + cleared out of the hall and from the stairway. Now the + voice of the mayor was heard urging the ladies to go + home as it was dangerous to remain; and now the voice + of Maria Weston Chapman, replying: "If this is + the last bulwark of freedom, we may as well die here + as anywhere." The ladies finally decided to retire, + and their exit diverted, while the operation lasted, the + attention of the huge, cat-like creature from their + object in the anti-slavery office. When the passing + of the ladies had ceased, the old fury of the mob + against Garrison returned. "Out with him!" "Lynch + him!" rose in wild uproar from thousands in the + streets. But again the attention of the huge, cat-like + creature was diverted from its object in the second + <a class="newpage" name="P_224" id="P_224" title="P_224"></a> + story of the building before which it was lashing + itself into frenzy. This time it was the anti-slavery + sign which hung from the rooms of the society over + the sidewalk. The mob had caught sight of it, and + directly set up a yell for it. The sensation of utter + helplessness in the presence of the multitude seemed + at this juncture to return to the chief magistrate of + the city. It was impossible to control the cataract-like + passions of the rioters. He heard their awful + roar for the sign. The din had risen to terrific proportions. + The thought of what might happen next + appalled him. The mob might begin to bombard the + sign with brickbats, and from the sign pass to the + building, and from the building to the constables, + and then—but the mayor glanced not beyond, for he + had determined to appease the fury of the mob by + throwing down to it the hateful sign. A constable + detached it, and hurled it down to the rioters in the + street. But by the act the mayor had signified that + the rule of law had collapsed, and the rule of the + mob had really begun. When the rioters had wreaked + their wrath upon the emblem of freedom, they were + in the mood for more violence. The appetite for destruction, + it was seen, had not been glutted; only + whetted. Garrison's situation was now extremely + critical. He could no longer remain where he was, + for the mob would invade the building and hunt him + like hounds from cellar to garret. He must leave the + building without delay. To escape from the front + was out of the question. A way of escape must, + therefore, be found in the rear. All of these considerations + the mayor and Garrison's friends urged + upon him. The good man fell in with this counsel, + <a class="newpage" name="P_225" id="P_225" title="P_225"></a> + and, with a faithful friend, proceeded to the rear of + the building, where from a window he dropped to a + shed, but in doing so was very nearly precipitated to + the ground. After picking himself up he passed into a + carpenter's shop, meaning to let himself down into + Wilson's Lane, now Devonshire street, but the + myriad-eyed mob, which was searching every portion + of the building for their game, espied him at this + point, and with that set up a great shout. The workmen + came to the aid of the fugitive by closing the + door of the carpenter's shop in the face of his pursuers. + The situation seemed desperate. Retreat + from the front was cut off; escape from the rear anticipated + and foiled. Garrison perceived the futility + of any further attempts to elude the mob, and proposed + in his calm way to deliver himself up to them. + But his faithful Achates, John Reid Campbell, advised + him that it was his duty to avoid the mob as long as + it was possible to do so. Garrison thereupon made + a final effort to get away. He retreated up stairs, + where his friend and a lad got him into a corner of + the room and tried to conceal his whereabouts by + piling some boards in front of him. But, by that + time, the rioters had entered the building, and within + a few moments had broken into the room where Garrison + was in hiding. They found Mr. Reid, and demanded + of him where Garrison was. But Reid + firmly refused to tell. They then led him to a window, + and exhibited him to the mob in the Lane, + advising them that it was not Garrison, but Garrison's + and Thompson's friend, who knows where Garrison + is, but refuses to tell. A shout of fierce exultation + from below greeted this announcement. Almost + <a class="newpage" name="P_226" id="P_226" title="P_226"></a> + immediately afterward, Garrison was discovered and + dragged furiously to the window, with the intention + of hurling him thence to the pavement. Some of the + rioters were for doing this, while others were for + milder measures. "Don't let us kill him outright!" + they begged. So his persecutors relented, coiled a + rope around his body instead, and bade him descend + to the street. The great man was never greater + than at that moment. With extraordinary meekness + and benignity he saluted his enemies in the street. + From the window he bowed to the multitude who + were thirsting for his destruction, requesting them + to wait patiently, for he was coming to them. Then + he stepped intrepidly down the ladder raised for + the purpose, and into the seething sea of human + passion. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison must now have been speedily torn to + pieces had he not been quickly seized by two or three + powerful men, who were determined to save him + from falling into the hands of the mob. They + were men of great muscular strength, but the muscular + strength of two or three giants would have proven + utterly unequal to the rescue, and this Mr. Garrison's + deliverers evidently appreciated. For while they employed + their powerful arms, they also employed stratagem + as well to effect their purpose. They shouted + anon as they fought their way through the excited + throng, "He is an American! He shan't be hurt!" and + other such words which divided the mind of the mob, + arousing among some sympathy for the good man. + By this means he was with difficulty got out of Wilson's + lane into State street, in the rear of the old State + House. The champion was now on historic ground, + <a class="newpage" name="P_227" id="P_227" title="P_227"></a> + ground consecrated by the blood of Crispus Attucks + and his fellow-martyrs sixty-five years before. His + hat was lost, much of his clothing was stripped from + his body, he was without his customary glasses, and + was therefore practically blind. He could hear the + awful clamor, the mighty uproar of the mob, but he + could not distinguish them one from another, friend + from foe. Nevertheless he "walked with head erect, + calm countenance flashing eyes like a martyr going + to the stake, full of faith and manly hope" according + to the testimony of an eye-witness. Garrison + himself has thrown light on the state of his mind + during the ordeal. "The promises of God," he afterward + remembered, sustained his soul, "so that it was + not only divested of fear, but ready to sing aloud for + joy." + + </p> + <p> + The news now reached the ears of the mayor that + Garrison was in the hands of the mob. Thereupon + the feeble but kindly magistrate began to act afresh + the role of the twig in the mountain stream. He and + his constables struggled helplessly in the human current + rushing and raging around City Hall, the head + and seat of municipal law and authority. Without + the aid of private citizens Garrison must inevitably + have perished in the commotions which presently + reached their climax in violence and terror. He was + in the rear of City Hall when the mayor caught up + to him and his would-be rescuers. The mayor perceived + the extremity of the situation, and said to the + Faneuil Hall giants who had hold of Garrison, "Take + him into my office," which was altogether more easily + said than done. For the rioters have raised the cry + "to the Frog Pond with him!" Which order will be + <a class="newpage" name="P_228" id="P_228" title="P_228"></a> + carried out, that of the magistrate or that of the mob? + + </p> + <p> + These were horrible moments while the two hung + trembling in the balance. But other private citizens + coming to the assistance of the mayor struck the + scales for the moment in his favor, and Garrison was + finally hustled, and thrust by main force into the + south door of the City Hall and carried up to the + mayor's room. But the mob had immediately effected + an entrance into the building through the north + door and filled the lower hall. The mayor now + addressed the pack, strove manfully in his feeble way + to prevail upon the human wolves to observe order, + to sustain the law and the honor of the city, he even + intimated to them that he was ready to lay down his + life on the spot to maintain the law and preserve + order. Then he got out on the ledge over the south + door and spoke in a similar strain to the mob on the + street. But alas! he knew not the secret for reversing + the Circean spell by which gentlemen of property + and standing in the community had been suddenly + transformed into a wolfish rabble. + + </p> + <p> + The increasing tumult without soon warned the + authorities that what advantage the mayor may have + obtained in the contest with the mob was only temporary + and that their position was momentarily becoming + more perilous and less tenable. It was impossible + to say to what extreme of violence a multitude + so infuriated would not go to get their prey. It + seemed to the now thoroughly alarmed mayor that + the mob might in their frenzy attack the City Hall + to effect their purpose. There was one building in + the city, which the guardians of the law evidently + agreed could resist the rage of the populace, and + <a class="newpage" name="P_229" id="P_229" title="P_229"></a> + that building was the jail. To this last stronghold + of Puritan civilization the authorities and the powers + that were, fell back as a dernier resort to save Garrison's + life. But even in this utmost pitch and extremity, + when law was trampled in the streets, when + authority was a reed shaken in a storm, when + anarchy had drowned order in the bosom of the + town, the Anglo-Saxon passion for legal forms asserted + itself. The good man, hunted for his life, + must forsooth be got into the only refuge which + promised him security from his pursuers by a regular + judicial commitment as a disturber of the peace. Is + there anything at once so pathetic and farcical in the + Universal history of mobs? + + </p> + <p> + Pathetic and farcical to be sure, but it was also + well meant, and therefore we will not stop to quarrel + with men who were equal to the perpetration of a legal + fiction so full of the comedy and tragedy of civilized + society. But enough—the municipal wiseacres + having put their heads together and evolved the brilliant + plan of committing the prophet as a disturber of + the peace, immediately set about its execution, which + developed in the sequence into a bird of altogether + another color. For a more perilous and desperate + device to preserve Garrison's life could not well + have been hit upon. How was he ever to be got + out of the building and through that sea of ferocious + faces surging and foaming around it. First then by + disguising his identity by sundry changes in his + apparel. He obtained a pair of trousers from one + kindly soul, another gave him a coat, a third lent him + a stock, a fourth furnished him a cap. A hack was + summoned and stationed at the south door, a posse + <a class="newpage" name="P_230" id="P_230" title="P_230"></a> + of constables drew up and made an open way from + the door to it. Another hack was placed in readiness + at the north door. The hack at the south door was + only a ruse to throw the mob off the scent of their + prey, while he was got out of the north door and + smuggled into the other hack. Up to this point, the + plan worked well, but the instant after Garrison had + been smuggled into the hack he was identified by the + mob, and then ensued a scene which defies description; + no writer however skillful, may hope to reproduce + it. The rioters rushed madly upon the vehicle + with the cry: "Cut the traces! Cut the reins!" They + flung themselves upon the horses, hung upon the + wheels, dashed open the doors, the driver the while + belaboring their heads right and left with a powerful + whip, which he also laid vigorously on the backs of + his horses. For a moment it looked as if a catastrophe + was unavoidable, but the next saw the startled horses + plunging at break-neck speed with the hack up Court + street and the mob pursuing it with yells of baffled + rage. Then began a thrilling, a tremendous race for + life and Leverett street jail. The vehicle flew along + Court street to Bodoin square, but the rioters, with + fell purpose flew hardly less swiftly in its track. + Indeed the pursuit of the pack was so close that the + hackman did not dare to drive directly to the jail but + reached it by a detour through Cambridge and Blossom + streets. Even then the mob pressed upon the + heels of the horses as they drew up before the portals + of the old prison, which shut not an instant too soon upon the editor of the + <i>Liberator</i>, who was saved from + a frightful fate to use a Biblical phrase but by the + skin of his teeth. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_231" id="P_231" title="P_231"></a> + Here the reformer safe from the wrath of his foes, + was locked in a cell; and here, during the evening, + with no abatement of his customary cheerfulness and + serenity of spirit, he received several of his anxious + friends, Whittier among them, whom through the + grated bars he playfully accosted thus: "You see my + accommodations are so limited, that I cannot ask you + to spend the night with me." That night in his + prison cell, and on his rude prison bed, he slept the + sleep of the just man, sweet and long: + + </p> + <div class="lg">"When peace within the bosom reigns,<br>And conscience gives th' approving voice;<br>Though bound the human form in chains.<br>Yet can the soul aloud rejoice.<br><br></div> + <div class="lg">"'Tis true, my footsteps are confined—<br>I cannot range beyond this cell—<br>But what can circumscribe my mind,<br>To chain the winds attempt as well!"<br><br></div> + <p> + The above stanzas he wrote the next morning on + the walls of his cell. Besides this one he made two + other inscriptions there, to stand as memorabilia of + the black drama enacted in Boston on the afternoon + of October 21, 1835. + + </p> + <p> + After being put through the solemn farce of an + examination in a court, extemporized in the jail, Garrison + was discharged from arrest as a disturber of the + peace! But the authorities, dreading a repetition of + the scenes of the day before, prayed him to leave the + city for a few days, which he did, a deputy sheriff + driving him to Canton, where he boarded the train + from Boston to Providence, containing his wife, and + together they went thence to her father's at Brooklyn, + <a class="newpage" name="P_232" id="P_232" title="P_232"></a> + Conn. The apprehensions of the authorities in + respect of the danger of a fresh attack upon him were + unquestionably well founded, inasmuch as diligent + search was made for him in all of the outgoing stages + and cars from the city that morning. + + </p> + <p> + In this wise did pro-slavery, patriotic Boston translate + into <em>works</em> her sympathy for the South. + <a class="newpage" name="P_233" id="P_233" title="P_233"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap12"></a> + CHAPTER XII. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + FLOTSAM AND JETSAM. + + </h2> + <p> + The results of the storm became immediately manifest + in several ways. Such a commotion did not + leave things in precisely the state in which they were + on the morning of the memorable day on which it + struck the city. The moral landscape and geography + of the community had sensibly changed at its close. + The full extent of the alteration wrought could not + at once be seen, nor was it at once felt. But that + there were deep and abiding changes made by it in + the court of public opinion in Boston and Massachusetts + on the subject of slavery there is little doubt. + It disgusted and alarmed many individuals who had + hitherto acted in unison with the social, business, and + political elements, which were at the bottom of the + riot. Francis Jackson, for instance, had been one of + the fifteen hundred signers of the call for the great + Faneuil Hall meeting of the 21st of August. But on + the afternoon of the 21st of October he threw his + house open to the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, + after its meeting had been broken up by the mob. + It seemed to him then that it was no longer a mere + struggle for the freedom of the slave, but for the right + of free speech and free discussion as well. Dr. Henry + I. Bowditch, a young man, in 1835, eminent professor + and physician subsequently, dates from that afternoon + of mob violence his conversion to Abolitionism. + <a class="newpage" name="P_234" id="P_234" title="P_234"></a> + In that selfsame hour seeds of resistance to slavery + were sown in two minds of the first order in the city + and State. Wendell Phillips was a spectator in + the streets that day, and the father of Charles Sumner, + the sheriff at the time, fought bravely to save + Garrison from falling into the hands of the mob. + The great riot gave those young men their first + summons to enter the service of freedom. It was + not long afterward probably that they both began + to read the <i>Liberator</i>. From that event many + intelligent and conservative people associated slavery with + lynch law and outrage upon the rights of free speech + and popular assembly. + + </p> + <p> + This anti-slavery reaction of the community received + practical demonstration in the immediate + increase of subscribers to the <i>Liberator</i>. Twelve + new names were added to the subscription list in one day. + It received significant illustration also in Garrison's + nomination to the legislature. In this way did between + seventy and eighty citizens testify their sympathy + for him and their reprobation of mob rule. In + yet another way was its influence felt, and this was + in the renewed zeal and activity which it instantly + produced on the part of the Abolitionists themselves. + It operated upon the movement as a powerful stimulus + to fresh sacrifices and unwearied exertions. + George W. Benson, Garrison's brother-in-law, led off + bravely in this respect, as the following extract from + a letter written by him in Boston, two days after the + riot, to Garrison, at Brooklyn, well illustrates. He + had come up to the city from Providence the night + before, in quest of his sister and her husband. Not + finding them, he turned to the cause which had been + <a class="newpage" name="P_235" id="P_235" title="P_235"></a> + so ruthlessly attacked, and this is the sort of care + which he bestowed upon it. He got Burleigh to + write a general relation of the mob for publication in + the <i>Liberator</i>, and Whittier to indite another, + with an appeal to the public, the same to be published immediately, + and of which he ordered three thousand + copies for himself. + + </p> + <p> + "I further ordered," he writes, "one thousand + copies of A. Grimké's letter, with your introductory + remarks, and your address published in the + <i>Liberator</i> + several weeks since, with your name appended, and + Whittier's poetry on the times, in a pamphlet form. + I urged all our friends to redouble their exertions. + They seemed well disposed to accept the advice, as + nothing will now avail but thorough measures. <em>Liberty + or Death</em>!" + + </p> + <p> + This is a fair specimen of the indomitable, indefatigable + spirit which was born of the attempt to put + Abolitionism down by lawlessness and violence. Indeed, + the "Broad-Cloth Mob," viewed in the light of + the important consequences which followed it, was + equal to a hundred anti-slavery meetings, or a dozen + issues of the <i>Liberator</i>. + + </p> + <p> + It is a curious and remarkable circumstance that, + on the very day of the Boston mob, there occurred + one in Utica, N.Y., which was followed by + somewhat similar results. An anti-slavery convention + was attacked and broken up by a mob of "gentlemen + of property and standing in the community," + under the active leadership of a member of Congress. + Here there was an apparent defeat for the Abolitionists, + but the consequences which followed the outrage + proved it a blessing in disguise. For the cause made + <a class="newpage" name="P_236" id="P_236" title="P_236"></a> + many gains thereby, and conspicuously among them + was Gerritt Smith, ever afterward one of its most eloquent + and munificent supporters. If anti-slavery meetings + made converts by tens, anti-slavery mobs made + them by hundreds. The enemies of freedom builded + better than they knew or intended, and Garrison had + the weightiest of reasons for feeling thankful to them + for the involuntary, yet vast aid and comfort which + their pro-slavery virulence and violence were bringing + him and the anti-slavery movement throughout the + free States. Example: in 1835-36, the great mob year, + as many as three hundred and twenty-eight societies + were organized in the North for the immediate abolition + of slavery. + + </p> + <p> + The mob did likewise help towards a satisfactory + solution of the riddle propounded by Garrison: "Shall the + <i>Liberator</i> die?" The fresh access of anti-slavery + strength, both in respect of zeal and numbers, + begotten by it, exerted no slight influence on + the longevity of the <i>Liberator</i>. Poor the paper + continued, and embarrassed the editor for many a month + thereafter, but as an anti-slavery instrument its survival + may be said from that proceeding to have become + a necessity. To allow the <i>Liberator</i> to die at + this juncture would have been such a confession of + having been put down, such an ignominious surrender + to the mobocrats as the Abolitionists of Boston + would have scorned to make. "I trust," wrote + Samuel E. Sewall, "there will not be even one week's + interruption in the publication of the + <i>Liberator.</i>" <i>Ex + uno disce omnes</i>. He but voiced the sentiment of the + editor's disciples and associates in the city, in the + State, and in New England as well. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_237" id="P_237" title="P_237"></a> + Besides these larger consequences there were others + of a more personal and less welcome character. + The individual suffers but the cause goes forward. + Property-holders in Boston after the riot + were not at all disposed to incur the risk of renting + property to such disturbers of the peace + as Garrison and the <i>Liberator</i>. The owner of + his home on Brighton street was thrown into such + alarm for the safety of his property, if Garrison continued + to occupy it, that he requested the cancellation + of the lease and the vacation of the premises. + Garrison and his friends, all things considered, + decided that it was the part of wisdom to accede to + the request—although this breaking up of his home + was a sore trial to the young husband in more ways + than one. + + </p> + <p> + The landlord of the building where was located the + <i>Liberator</i> office promptly notified the publishers + to remove the paper not many mornings after the + mob. This was particularly hard luck, inasmuch + as the most dilligent quest for another local habitation + for the paper, failed of success. No one was + willing to imperil his property by letting a part of + it to such a popularly odious enterprise. So that + not only had the household furniture of the editor to + be stored, but the office effects of the paper as well. + The inextinguishable pluck and zeal of Garrison and + his Boston coadjutors never showed to better advantage + than when without a place to print the + <i>Liberator</i>, + the paper was "set up in driblets" in other offices at + extraordinary expense, and sent out week after week + to tell the tale of the mob, and to preach with undiminished + power the gospel of universal emancipation. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_238" id="P_238" title="P_238"></a> + But more afflictive to the feelings of the reformer + than the loss of his home, or that of the office of the + <i>Liberator</i>, was the loss of his friend, George + Thompson. It seemed to him when the English orator + departed that "the paragon of modern eloquence," + and "the benefactor of two nations," had left these + shores. Garrison's grief was as poignant as his + humiliation was painful. George Thompson had + come hither only as a friend of America, and + America had pursued him with the most relentless + malice. The greatest precautions were taken after + the "Broadcloth Mob" to ensure his safety. The + place of his concealment was kept a secret and committed + only to a few tried friends. There is no + doubt that had these precautions not been observed + and his hiding place been discovered by the ruffians + of the city, his life would have been attempted. Indeed + it is almost as certain that had he ventured to + show himself in public he would have been murdered + in broad daylight in any of the large towns and cities + of Massachusetts. His mission was clearly at an + end unless he was determined to invite martyrdom. + In these circumstances there was nothing to do but + to smuggle him out of the country at the first opportunity. + On Sunday, November 8, the anxiously + looked-for moment came when George Thompson + was put upon a packet, in which he sailed for St. + Johns, New Brunswick, whence he subsequently took + passage for England. Garrison was inconsolable. + "Who now shall go forth to argue our cause in public," + he sadly asked, "with subtle sophists and insolent + scoffers?" little dreaming that there was then + approaching him out of the all-hail hereafter a + <a class="newpage" name="P_239" id="P_239" title="P_239"></a> + greater in these identical respects than George + Thompson, indisputably great as he was. + + </p> + <p> + It was a blessed refuge to Garrison, the Benson + homestead of Brooklyn, termed Friendship's Valley. + Hunted as a partridge by his enemies here he found the + quiet, and sympathy, and the right royal welcome and + affection for which his heart panted amidst the dust, + and din, and dangers of the crusade against slavery. + But grateful as were the domestic sweets of Friendship's + Valley, his was altogether too militant and + masterful a spirit to yield himself without a struggle + to the repose which it offered. He did not at all + relish the idea of being a forced exile from Boston, + of being obliged to edit the <i>Liberator</i> at such + long range. But his friends urged him to submit to the + one, and do the other, both on grounds of economy + and common prudence. He was almost super-anxious + lest it be said that the fear of the mob drove + him out of Boston, and that the fear of it kept him + out. This super-anxiety in that regard his friends to a + certain degree shared with him. It was a phase of + Abolition grit. Danger attracted this new species of + reformers as a magnet draws iron. Instead of running + away from it, they were, with one accord, forever + rushing into it. And the leader in Brooklyn + was for rushing back to Boston, where, if one chanced + to sow the wind in the morning, he might be morally + certain of reaping the whirlwind in the afternoon. + + </p> + <p> + Two weeks after he had been secretly conveyed to + Canton by Deputy Sheriff Parkman, being the day of + his discharge from Leverett street jail, he was back + again in Boston. The popular excitement had subsided. + <a class="newpage" name="P_240" id="P_240" title="P_240"></a> + He showed himself freely in the streets and + was nowhere molested. One day, however, while at + the anti-slavery office on Washington street, he witnessed + what was perhaps a final manifestation of the + cat-like spirit of the great mob. A procession passed + by with band and music, bearing aloft a large board + on which were represented George Thompson and a + black woman with this significant allusion to the riot, + made as if addressed to himself by his dusky companion + in disgrace: "When are we going to have + another meeting, Brother Thompson?" The cat-like + creature had lapsed into a playful mood, but its playfulness + would have quickly given place to an altogether + different fit did it but know that Garrison was + watching it from the window of the very room where + a few weeks before he had nearly fallen into its + clutches. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison remained in Boston two weeks, going + about the city, wherever and whenever business or + duty called him in a perfectly fearless way. He left + on the afternoon of November 18th. On that same + afternoon the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society + held a memorable meeting at the house of Francis + Jackson. It was then that Harriet Martineau, another + foreign emissary, avowed her entire agreement with + the principles of the Abolitionists, which subjected + her to social ostracism, and to unlimited abuse from + the pro-slavery press of the city. + + </p> + <p> + The new hatred of slavery which the mob had + aroused in Boston found heroic expression in a letter + of Francis Jackson's replying to a vote of thanks of + the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society to him for + his hospitality to the ladies after their meeting was + <a class="newpage" name="P_241" id="P_241" title="P_241"></a> + broken up by the mob. Mr. Jackson in his answer + points with emphasis to the fact that his hospitality + had a double aim, one was the accommodation of the + ladies, the other the preservation of the right of free + discussion. In his regard a foundation principle of + free institutions had been assailed. "Happily," he + shrewdly observed, "one point seems already to be + gaining universal assent, that slavery cannot long + survive free discussion. Hence the efforts of the friends, + and apologists of slavery to break down this right. + And hence the immense stake which the enemies of + slavery hold, in behalf of freedom and mankind, in + its preservation. The contest is, therefore, substantially + between liberty and slavery. + + </p> + <p> + "As slavery cannot exist with free discussion, so + neither can liberty breathe without it. Losing this, + we, too, shall be no longer free men indeed, but little, + if at all, superior to the millions we now seek to + emancipate." This apprehension and spirit of resistance, + voiced by Francis Jackson, was Garrison's new + ally, which, phoenix-like, was born out of the ashes + of that terrific attempt of his enemies to effect his + destruction, known as the "Broad-Cloth Mob." + <a class="newpage" name="P_242" id="P_242" title="P_242"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap13"></a> + CHAPTER XIII. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE BAROMETER CONTINUES TO FALL. + + </h2> + <p> + Having made trial of the strong arm of the mob as + an instrument for putting down the Abolitionists, and + been quite confounded by its unexpected energy and + unmanageableness, Boston was well disposed to lay + the weapon aside as much too dangerous for use. For + the wild-cat-like creature might take it into its head, + when once it had got a taste of blood, to suppress + some other isms in the community besides Abolitionism. + No, no, the gentlemen of property and + standing in the community had too much at stake to + expose their property and their persons to the perils + of any further experiments in that direction, even for + the sake of expressing their sympathy for their dear + brethren in the South, or of saving the dear Union + into the bargain. Another method more in accord + with the genius of their high state of civilization, they + opined, might be invented to put the agitation and the + agitators of the slavery question down. The politicians + thereupon proceeded to make this perfectly + wonderful invention. Not the strong arm of the mob, + quoth these wiseacres, but the strong arm of the law + it shall be. And the strong arm of the law they + forthwith determined to make it. + + </p> + <p> + Massachusetts was hearkening with a sort of fascination + to the song of the slave syren. And no wonder. + <a class="newpage" name="P_243" id="P_243" title="P_243"></a> + For the song of the slave syren was swelling and + clashing the while with passionate and imperious + energy. South Carolina had led off in this kind of + music. In December following the Boston mob Governor + McDuffie, pitched the key of the Southern concert + in his message to the legislature descriptive of + anti-slavery publications, and denunciatory of the + anti-slavery agitation. The Abolitionists were, to his + mind, "enemies of the human race," and the movement + for immediate emancipation ought to be made + a felony punishable "by death without benefit of + clergy." He boldly denied that slavery was a political + evil, and vaunted it instead as "<em>the corner stone of + our republican edifice</em>." The legislature upon the + receipt of this extraordinary message proceeded to + demand of the free States the suppression, by effective + legislation, of anti-slavery societies and their incendiary + publications. The burden of this demand was + directly caught up by North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, + and Georgia. But there were some things + which even a pro-slavery North could not do to oblige + the South. Neither party, much as both desired it, + dared to undertake the violation by law of the great + right of free speech and of the freedom of the press. + Not so, however, was it with sundry party leaders, + notably the governors of New York and Massachusetts, + who were for trying the strong arm of the law + as an instrument for suppressing Abolitionism. + Edward Everett was so affected by the increasing + Southern excitement and his fears for the safety of + the dear Union that he must needs deliver himself in + his annual message upon the Abolition agitation. He + was of the opinion that the Abolitionists were guilty + <a class="newpage" name="P_244" id="P_244" title="P_244"></a> + of an offence against Massachusetts which might be + "prosecuted as a misdemeanor at common law." He + evidently did not consider that in the then present + state of political parties and of public opinion any + repressive legislation upon the subject could be got + through the legislature, and hence the immense utility + of the old machinery of the common law, as an + instrument for putting down the agitation. But in + order to get this machinery into operation, careful + preparation was necessary. Proof must not be wanting + as to the dangerous and unpatriotic character and + tendency of the movement to be repressed. There + should be the most authoritative utterance upon this + point to warrant the effective intervention of the + Courts and Grand Juries of the commonwealth in the + prosecution of the Abolitionists, as disturbers of the + peace. Ergo the Governor's deliverance in his annual + message against them. Now, if the legislature could + be brought to deliver itself in tones not less certain, + the third coördinate branch of the State government + might catch its cue and act with energy in suppressing + the disturbers of the peace of the commonwealth + and of the dear Union as well. This was the scheme, + the conspiracy which was in a state of incubation in + Massachusetts in the year 1836. The pro-slavery portion + of Governor Everett's message, together with the + Southern demands for repressive legislation against + the Abolitionists were referred to a joint legislative + committee for consideration and report. The chairman + of the committee was George Lunt, of Newburyport, + a bitter pro-slavery politician, who saw no sign, + received no light which did not come out of the + South. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_245" id="P_245" title="P_245"></a> + The Abolitionists perceived the gravity of the new + danger which threatened them, and rallied promptly + to avert it. They shrewdly guessed that the object + of the committee would not be the enactment of any + new law against themselves but the adoption of condemnatory + resolutions instead. This course they + rightly dreaded more than the other, and to defeat it + the managers of the Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society + requested a public hearing of the committee, + which was granted. On March 4th Garrison and + many of the anti-slavery leaders appeared before the + committee, with a carefully planned programme of + procedure. To each of the selected speakers was + assigned a distinct phase of the great subject of discussion + before the committee. Samuel J. May was + appointed to open with an exposition of the anti-slavery + movement and of the object and motives of + its founders; Garrison to follow with an exhibition + of the pacific character of the agitation as contained + in official publications whereby forgiveness, submission, + and non-resistance were steadily inculcated; + Ellis Gray Loring was next to demonstrate the perfectly + constitutional character of the agitation. The + Abolitionists had in no wise contravened the National + or the State Constitution, either in letter or spirit, and + so on through the programme. It was thus that the + Abolitionists dexterously killed two birds with one + stone; for at the same time that they made their + defence before the committee, they managed to present + their cause to the attention of the public as well. + Appearing before the committee to prevent hostile + action on the part of the legislature against their + movement, they skillfully turned the occasion into + <a class="newpage" name="P_246" id="P_246" title="P_246"></a> + the most notable meeting for agitating the subject of + slavery in the State during the year. + + </p> + <p> + The pro-slavery malignity of the chairman helped + not a little to bring this result to pass. He again + and again interrupted the speakers with the + greatest insolence of behavior. Garrison, for a wonder, + was allowed to finish his remarks without interruption. + Here is a specimen of the way in which + Paul addressed himself to King Agrippa's master—public + opinion: + + </p> + <p> + "Sir," spoke he to the committee, "we loudly boast + of our free country, and of the union of these States, + yet I have no country! As a New Englander and as + an Abolitionist I am excluded by a bloody proscription + from one-half of the national territory, and so is + every man who is known to regard slavery with abhorrence. + Where is our Union? ... The right + of free and safe locomotion from one part of the land + to the other is denied to us, except on peril of our + lives.... Therefore it is, I assert, that the Union + is now virtually dissolved.... Look at McDuffie's + sanguinary message! Read Calhoun's Report + to the U.S. Senate, authorizing every postmaster in + the South to plunder the mail of such Northern letters + or newspapers as he may choose to think incendiary! + Sir, the alternative presented to the people of + New England is this: they must either submit to be + gagged and fettered by Southern taskmasters, or + labor unceasingly for the removal of slavery from + our country." + + </p> + <p> + This was a capital stroke, a bold and brilliant + adaptation of the history of the times to the advancement + of the anti-slavery movement in New England. + <a class="newpage" name="P_247" id="P_247" title="P_247"></a> + Missing Garrison, the anger of the chairman fell upon + Goodell and Prof. Follen, like a tiger's whelp. Follen + was remarking upon the Faneuil Hall meeting, + how it had rendered the Abolitionists odious in Boston, + and how, in consequence, the mob had followed + the meeting. + + </p> + <p> + "Now, gentlemen," the great scholar continued, + "may we most reasonably anticipate that similar + consequences would follow the expression by the + legislature of a similar condemnation? Would not + the mob again undertake to execute the informal + sentence of the General Court? Would it not let + loose again its bloodhounds upon us?" + + </p> + <p> + At this point Mr. Lunt peremptorily stopped the + speaker, exclaiming: + + </p> + <p> + "Stop, sir! You may not pursue this course of + remark. It is insulting to this committee and the + legislature which they represent." + + </p> + <p> + The Abolitionists, after this insult, determined to + withdraw from the hearing, and appeal to the legislature + to be heard, not as a favor but of right. A + new hearing was, therefore, ordered, and the reformers + appeared a second time before the committee. + But the scenes of the first were repeated at the second + hearing. The chairman was intolerably insolent to + the speakers. His violent behavior to William Goodell, + who was paying his respects to the Southern + documents lying on the table of the committee, terminated + the second hearing. These documents Mr. + Goodell described as fetters for Northern freemen, + and boldly interrogated the chairman in respect of + them thus: + + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Chairman, are you prepared to attempt putting + <a class="newpage" name="P_248" id="P_248" title="P_248"></a> + them on?" But the chairman was in no mood to + listen to the question. His insolence reached a climax + as he exclaimed passionately to Mr. Goodell, + "Stop, sir! Sit down, sir! The committee will hear + no more of this." But the temper of the Abolitionists + had risen also, as had also risen the temper of the great + audience of citizens who were present at the hearing + which was had in the hall of the House of Representatives. + "Freemen we came," retorted Goodell, "and + as freemen we shall go away." Scarcely had these + words died upon the ears when there rose sharply + from the auditory, the stern protest "Let us go + quickly, lest we be made slaves." + + </p> + <p> + The attempt to suppress the Abolitionists was a + failure. It but stimulated the agitation and deepened + the popular interest in the subject. Strong allies + within and without the legislature were enlisted on + the side of freedom. The turning of the tide of public + sentiment in the grand old State had come. Slowly + did it rise for awhile, but from that event it never + ceased to flow in and with increasing volume. The + condemnatory report of the insolent chairman proved + as innocuous as the baying of dogs at the moon. The + legislature refused to indorse it and the pro-slavery + resolutions attached to it. They were both ignominiously + laid upon the table, and what is more to the + purpose as a straw to show the drift of popular + opinion on the slavery question in Massachusetts, + their author failed of a renomination as Senator at the + hands of his dissatisfied constituents. + + </p> + <p> + The conflict was raging not alone in Massachusetts + but all through the free States. In Congress + the battle was assuming an intensely bitter character. + <a class="newpage" name="P_249" id="P_249" title="P_249"></a> + Here the South was the agitator. Here she kept the + political waters in a state of violent ebullition. As + the discord grew, sectionalism threw darkening and + portentous shadows over the face of the Union. + The South was insisting in all stages of passion that + the tide of Abolition be checked in the North, that + the flood of incendiary publications be suppressed at + their sources in the free States. The Southern slave-holding + President had suggested the suppression of + these by Congress. He would "prohibit, under + severe penalties, the circulation in the Southern + States, through the mail, of incendiary publications + intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection." But + when Webster and a few Northern leaders objected + to such a proceeding as unconstitutional and in + derogation of the freedom of the press, the South + treated the objection as inimical to Southern interest + and security. Thereupon the Southern excitement + increased all the faster. The slave-power was not + disposed to accept anything short of complete submission + on the part of the North. And this the + North could not well yield. While the slave-holding + States were clamoring for the suppression of Abolitionism + in the free States, Abolitionism was giving + evidences of extraordinary expansion, and activity. + It had risen well above the zero point in politics. It + was gaining numbers and it was gaining votes. A + new element had appeared at the polls and both of + the old parties began to exhibit a certain degree of + impressibility to the latest attraction. The slave-power + with quick instinct recognized in the new + comer a dangerous rival, and schemed for its destruction. + Southern jealousy took on the character of + <a class="newpage" name="P_250" id="P_250" title="P_250"></a> + insanity. Neither Northern Whigs nor Northern + Democrats were permitted to show any regard for + the rival. They were to snub and utterly abolish + her, otherwise they should be snubbed and utterly + abolished by the slave-power. They could not with + impunity give to Abolitionism the scantiest attention + or courtesy. Not even a gallant like John Quincy + Adams, who was able to see nothing attractive in the + little band of reformers. They seemed to him, in + fact, "a small, shallow, and enthusiastic party preaching + the abolition of slavery upon the principles of + extreme democracy." If Mr. Adams had little love + for the South, he had none whatever for the Abolitionists. + By no stretch of the imagination could he + have been suspected of any sentimental attachment + to the Abolition movement. For his unvarying attitude + towards it was one of grim contempt. But if + the old Roman had no love for the Abolitionists, he + did have a deep-seated attachment and reverence for + certain ancient rights appertaining to free institutions, + which nothing was able to shake. Among + these was the great right of petition, viewed by the + ex-President as a right of human nature. For a + dozen years he stood in Congress its sleepless sentinel. + And herein did he perform for freedom most + valiant service. It made no difference to the dauntless + old man whether he approved of the prayer of a + petition or not, if it was sent to him he presented it + to the House all the same. He presented petitions + for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, + and one, at least, against it, petitions from black + and white, bond and free, with superb fidelity to the + precious right which he championed. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_251" id="P_251" title="P_251"></a> + This characteristic of the aged statesman kept the + Southern members in a state of chronic apprehension + and excitement. They bullied him, they raged like + so many wild animals against him, they attempted to + crush him with votes of censure and expulsion all to + no purpose. Then they applied the gag: "That all + petitions, memorials, and papers touching the abolition + of slavery, or the buying, selling, or transferring + slaves, in any State, or district, or territory of the + United States, be laid on the table without being + debated, printed, read, or referred, and that no action + be taken thereon." Mr. Adam's denunciation of this + action as a violation of the Constitution, of the right + of the people to petition, and of the right to freedom + of speech in Congress, found wide echo through the + North. The violence, intolerence, and tyranny of the + South were disgusting many of the most intelligent + and influential minds in the non-slave-holding States, + and driving them into more or less close affiliation + with the anti-slavery movement. + + </p> + <p> + And so it was wherever one turned there were conflict + and uproar. Everywhere contrary ideas, interests, + institutions, tendencies, were colliding with + inextinguishable rage. All the opposites and irreconcilables + in a people's life had risen and clashed + together in a death struggle for mastery. Freedom + and slavery, civilization and barbarism had found an + Armageddon in the moral consciousness of the + Republic. Now the combatants rallied and the battle + thickened at one point, now around another. At + Washington the tide rolls in with resounding fury + about the right of petition and the freedom of debate, + then through the free States it surges and beats + <a class="newpage" name="P_252" id="P_252" title="P_252"></a> + around the right of free speech and the freedom of + the press. Storm clouds are flying from the East and + from the West, flying out of the North and out of the + South. Everywhere the chaos of the winds has + burst, and the anarchy of the "live thunder." + + </p> + <p> + Benton with his customary optimism from a Southern + standpoint, rejoiced in the year 1836 that the + people of the Northern States had "chased off the + foreign emissaries, silenced the gabbling tongues of + female dupes, and dispersed the assemblies, whether + fanatical, visionary, or incendiary, of all that congregated + to preach against evils that afflicted others, not + them, and to propose remedies to aggravate the disease + which they pretended to cure." Calhoun's pessimism + was clearer eyed. The great nullifier perceived + at once the insuppressible nature of the Abolition + movement and early predicted that the spirit + then abroad in the North would not "die away of + itself without a shock or convulsion." Yes, it was as + he had prophesied, the anti-slavery reform was, at + the very moment of Benton's groundless jubilation, + rising and spreading with astonishing progress + through the free States. It was gaining footholds in + the pulpit, the school, and the press. It was a stalwart + sower, scattering broadcast as he walked over + the fields of the then coming generation truths and + antipathies of social principles, which were to make + peace impossible between the slave-holding and the + non-slave-holding halves of the Union. + + </p> + <p> + In the year 1836 the anti-slavery leaven or residuum + for instance, was sufficiently potent to preserve the + statutes of the free States, free from repressive laws + directed against the Abolitionists. This was much + <a class="newpage" name="P_253" id="P_253" title="P_253"></a> + but there was undoubtedly another phase of the agitation, + a phase which struck the shallow eye of Benton, + and led him into false conclusions. It was not + clear sailing for the reform. It was truly a period of + stress and storm. Sometimes the reform was in a + trough of the sea of public opinion, sometimes on the + crest of a billow, and then again on the bosom of a + giant ground swell. In Boston in this selfsame year + which witnessed Benton's exultation over the fall of + Abolitionism, the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society + was not able to obtain the use of hall or church for + its annual meeting, and was in consequence forced + into insufficient accommodations at its rooms on + Washington street. The succeeding year the society + was obliged, from inability to obtain the use of either + hall or church in the city, to occupy for its annual + meeting the loft over the stable connected with the + Marlborough Hotel. It is a long way from this rude + meeting-house to the hall of the House of Representatives, + but in this storm and stress period the distance + was traversed in a few brief hours. The society + applied in its exigency for the use of the hall for an + evening meeting, and the application was granted by + the members. It was a <i>jeu d'esprit</i> of Henry B. + Stanton, "That when Boston votes we go into a stable, + but when the State votes we go into the State House." + It was even so, for the incident served to reveal what + was true everywhere through the free States that the + anti-slavery reform was making fastest progress + among people away from the great centres of population. + It found ready access to the simple American + folk in villages, in the smaller towns, and in the + rural districts of New England and the North. And + <a class="newpage" name="P_254" id="P_254" title="P_254"></a> + already from these independent and uncorrupted + sons and daughters of freedom had started the deep + ground swell which was to lift the level of Northern + public opinion on the question of slavery. + + </p> + <p> + This Walpurgis period of the movement culminated + on November 7, 1837, in a terrible tragedy. The + place was a little Illinois town, Alton, just over the + Mississippi River from St. Louis, and the victim was + Elijah P. Lovejoy. He was a minister of the Presbyterian + Church, and the editor of a weekly religious + newspaper, first published in St. Louis and removed + by him later to Alton. His sin was that he did not + hold his peace on the subject of slavery in the columns + of his paper. He was warned "to pass over in + silence everything connected" with that question. + But he had no choice, he had to cry aloud against + iniquities, which, as a Christian minister and a Christian + editor, he dared not ignore. His troubles with + the people of St. Louis took in the spring of 1836 + a sanguinary turn, when he denounced the lynching + of a negro by a St. Louis mob, perpetrated under circumstances + of peculiar atrocity. In consequence + of his outspoken condemnation of the horror, his + office was broken into and destroyed by a mob. + Lovejoy thereupon removed his paper to Alton, but + the wild-cat-like spirit pursued him across the river + and destroyed his press. He replaced his broken + press with a new one, only to have his property a + second time destroyed. He replaced the second with + a third press, but a third time the mob destroyed his + property. Then he bought a fourth press, and + resolved to defend it with his life. Pierced by bullets + he fell, resisting the attack of a mob bent on the destruction + <a class="newpage" name="P_255" id="P_255" title="P_255"></a> + of his rights. Lovejoy died a martyr to free + speech and the freedom of the press. + + </p> + <p> + The tidings of this tragedy stirred the free States + to unwonted depths. The murder of an able and singularly + noble man by a mob was indeed horrible + enough, but the blow which took his life was aimed + at the right of free speech and the freedom of the + press. He was struck down in the exercise of his liberties + as a citizen of the town where he met death, + and of the State and country to which he belonged. + What brave man and good in the North who might + not meet a similar fate for daring to denounce evils + approved by the community in which his lot was + cast? Who was safe? Whose turn would it be next + to pay with his life for attempts to vindicate the + birthright of his citizenship? What had Lovejoy + done, what had he written, that thousands of people + who did not agree with Garrison would not have + done and have written under like circumstances? He + was not a disciple of Garrison, he did not accept the + doctrine of immediate emancipation, and yet a pro-slavery + mob had murdered him. Yes, who was + safe? Who was to be the next? A great horror + transfixed the North, and bitter uncertainty, and + tremendous dread of approaching perils to its + liberties. + + </p> + <p> + Ah! had not Garrison spoken much plain truth at + the public hearing of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery + Society before the insolent chairman and his committee + when he said: "The liberties of the people of the + free States are identified with those of the slave population. + If it were not so, there would be no hope, in + my breast, of peaceful deliverance of the latter class + <a class="newpage" name="P_256" id="P_256" title="P_256"></a> + from their bondage. Our liberties are bound together + by a ligament as vital as that which unites the Siamese + twins. The blow which cuts them asunder, will + inevitably destroy them both. Let the freedom of + speech and of the press be abridged or destroyed, and + the nation itself will be in bondage; let it remain + untrammeled, and Southern slavery must speedily + come to an end." The tragedy at Alton afforded + startling illustration of the soundness of this remark. + Classes like individuals gain wisdom only by experience; + and the murder of Lovejoy was one of those + terrific experiences which furrow themselves in the + soul of a people in frightful memories and apprehensions + which do not disappear but remain after long + lapse of years. + + </p> + <p> + Twelve days after the murder—it was before the + development of the telegraph and rapid postal facilities—the + news reached Boston. It produced the most + profound sensation. Many of the leading citizens + felt straightway that if the rights assailed in the person + of Lovejoy were to be preserved to themselves + and their section, immediate action was required. A + great meeting was proposed, and Faneuil Hall + applied for. The application was denied by the + municipal authorities on the plea that its use for such + a purpose might provoke a mob. The city was, however, + dealing now not with the despised Abolitionists, + but with men of property and standing in the community + and was soon brought to its senses by the + indignant eloquence of Dr. Channing, appealing to + the better self of Boston in this strain: "Has it come + to this? Has Boston fallen so low? May not its citizens + be trusted to come together to express the great + <a class="newpage" name="P_257" id="P_257" title="P_257"></a> + principles of liberty for which their forefathers died? + Are our fellow-citizens to be murdered in the act of + defending their property and of assuming the right + of free discussion? And is it unsafe in this metropolis + to express abhorrence of the deed?" + + </p> + <p> + A second application for the hall was granted, and + a meeting, which is an historical event in the annals + of the old town, was held December 8, 1837—a meeting + memorable as an uprising, not of the Abolitionists, + but of the conservatism and respectability of the + city in behalf of the outraged liberties of white men. + Ever memorable, too, for that marvelous speech of Wendell + Phillips, which placed him instantly in the front + rank of minds with a genius for eloquence, lifted him + at once as an anti-slavery instrument and leader close + beside William Lloyd Garrison. The wild-cat-like + spirit which had hunted Thompson out of the country + and Lovejoy to death, had more than made + good the immense deficit of services thus created + through the introduction upon the national stage of + the reform of this consummate and incomparable + orator. + + </p> + <p> + The assassination of Lovejoy was an imposing + object lesson to the North, but it was not the last. + Other and terrible illustrations of the triumph of + mobs followed it, notably the burning of Pennsylvania + Hall in Philadelphia on the evening of May 17, + 1838. As the murder of Lovejoy formed the culmination + of outrages directed against the rights of person, + the burning of Pennsylvania Hall furnished the + climax of outrages committed against the rights of + property. The friends of the slave and of free discussion + in Philadelphia feeling the need of a place + <a class="newpage" name="P_258" id="P_258" title="P_258"></a> + where they might assemble for the exercise of the + right of free speech in a city which denied to them + the use of its halls and meeting-houses, determined + to erect for themselves such a place. At a cost of + forty thousand dollars they built Pennsylvania Hall + and devoted it to "Free Discussion, Virtue, Liberty, + and Independence." + + </p> + <p> + Two days after the dedicatory exercises were had + the hall was occupied by the annual convention of + American Anti-Slavery Women. On the evening of + May 16th, Garrison, Maria Weston Chapman, Angelina + Grimké Weld and others addressed the convention + in the new temple of freedom. The scenes of + that evening have been graphically described by the + first speaker as follows: "The floor of the hall was + densely crowded with women, some of the noblest + specimens of our race, a large proportion of whom + were Quakers. The side aisles and spacious galleries + were as thickly filled with men. Nearly three thousand + people were in the hall. There seemed to be + no visible symptoms of a riot. When I rose to speak + I was greeted with applause by the immense assembly, + and also several times in the course of my + remarks. As soon, however, as I had concluded my + address, a furious mob broke into the hall, yelling + and shouting as if the very fiends of the pit had suddenly + broken loose. The audience rose in some confusion, + and would undoubtedly have been broken up, + had it not been for the admirable self-possession of + some individuals, particularly the women. The + mobocrats finding that they could not succeed in + their purpose, retreated into the streets, and, surrounding + the building, began to dash in the windows + <a class="newpage" name="P_259" id="P_259" title="P_259"></a> + with stones and brick-bats. It was under these + appalling circumstances that Mrs. Chapman rose for + the first time in her life, to address a promiscuous + assembly of men and women—and she acquitted herself + nobly. She spoke about ten minutes, and was + succeeded by A.E.G. Weld, who occupied nearly + an hour. As the tumult from without increased, and + the brick-bats fell thick and fast (no one, however, + being injured) her eloquence kindled, her eye flashed, + and her cheeks glowed, as she devoutly thanked the + Lord that the stupid repose of that city had at length + been disturbed by the force of truth. When she sat + down, Esther Moore (a Friend) made a few remarks, + then Lucretia Mott, and finally Abby Kelley, a noble + young woman from Lynn. + + </p> + <p> + "The meeting broke up about 10 o'clock, and we + all got safely home. The next day the street was + thronged with profane ruffians and curious spectators—the + women, however, holding their meetings in + the hall all day, till towards evening. It was given + out by the mob that the hall would be burnt to the + ground that night. We were to have a meeting in + the evening, but it was impossible to execute our + purpose. The mayor induced the manager to give + the keys of the building into his hands. He then + locked the doors, and made a brief speech to the mob, + assuring them that he had the keys, and that there + would be no meeting, and requesting them to retire. + He then went home, but the mob were bent on the + destruction of the hall. They had now increased to + several thousands, and soon got into the hall by + dashing open the doors with their axes. They then + set fire to this huge building, and in the course of an + <a class="newpage" name="P_260" id="P_260" title="P_260"></a> + hour it was a solid mass of flame. The bells of the + city were rung, and several engines rallied; but no + water was permitted to be thrown upon the building. + The light of the fire must have been seen a great + distance." + + </p> + <p> + At midnight Garrison was spirited out of the city, + and conveyed in a covered carriage by a friend to + Bristol, about twenty miles, where in the morning he + took the steamboat for Boston. The light of that + fire was visible a great distance in more senses than + one. The burning of Pennsylvania Hall proved a + public enlightener. After that occurrence the gentlemen + of property scattered through the free States + devoted themselves less to the violent suppression of + Abolitionism and more to the forcible suppression, + upon occasion, of the alarming manifestations + of popular lawlessness, which found significant + demonstration just a week later in the city of + Boston. + + </p> + <p> + Mr. Garrison has preserved for us an instructive + account of this affair, too, and here is the story as told + by him to his brother-in-law, George W. Benson, in a + letter dated May 25th: "The spirit of mobocracy, + like the pestilence, is contagious; and Boston is once + more ready to reënact the riotous scenes of 1835. + The Marlboro' Chapel, having just been completed, + and standing in relation to our cause just as did + Pennsylvania Hall, is an object of pro-slavery malevolence. + Ever since my return, threats have been given + out that the chapel should share the fate of the hall. + Last evening was the time for its dedication; and, + so threatening was the aspect of things, four companies + of light infantry were ordered to be in readiness, + <a class="newpage" name="P_261" id="P_261" title="P_261"></a> + each being provided with 100 <i>ball</i> cartridges, to + rush to the scene of riot on the tolling of the bells. + The Lancers, a powerful body of horsemen, were + also in readiness. During the day placards were + posted at the corners of the streets, denouncing the + Abolitionists, and calling upon the citizens to rally at + the chapel in the evening, in order to put them down. + An immense concourse of people assembled, a large + proportion doubtless from motives of curiosity, and + not a few of them with evil designs; but owing to + the strong military preparations, the multitude + refrained entirely from any overt acts of violence. + They did not disperse till after 10 o'clock, and during + the evening shouted and yelled like a troop of + wild savages. Some ten or twelve were seized and + carried to the watch-house, and this morning fined + for their disorderly conduct." + + </p> + <p> + The frightful excesses of the Walpurgis period of + the agitation reacted through the free States to an + extraordinary extent in favor of Abolition. The + greater the horror committed by the wild-cat-like + spirit, the greater the help which the reform derived + therefrom. The destruction of property, and the + destruction of life instead of putting down the hated + Abolitionists aroused in the public mind apprehensions + and antagonisms in respect of mobs, which + proved, immediately and ultimately, of immense advantage + to freedom. This revulsion on the part of + the North from lawless attempts to abolish Abolitionism, + affected almost unavoidably, and in the beginning + of it almost unconsciously, the friendly dispositions + of that section toward slavery, the root + and mainspring of these attempts. Blows aimed at + <a class="newpage" name="P_262" id="P_262" title="P_262"></a> + the agent were sure, regardless of the actor's intention, + to glance and strike the principal. In spite of + mobs then, and to a remarkable degree because of + mobs, Abolitionism had become a powerful motor + in revolutionizing public opinion in the free States + on the subject of slavery. + <a class="newpage" name="P_263" id="P_263" title="P_263"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap14"></a> + CHAPTER XIV. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + BROTHERLY LOVE FAILS, AND IDEAS ABOUND. + + </h2> + <p> + During those strenuous, unresting years, included + between 1829 and 1836, Garrison had leaned on his + health as upon a strong staff. It sustained him without + a break through that period, great as was the + strain to which it was subjected. But early in the + latter year the prop gave way, and the pioneer was + prostrated by a severe fit of sickness. It lasted off + and on for quite two years. His activity the first + year was seriously crippled, though at no time, owing + to his indomitable will, could he be said to have + been rendered completely <i>hors de combat</i>. Almost the + whole of 1836 he spent with his wife's family in + Brooklyn, where his first child was born. This new + mouth brought with it fresh cares of a domestic character. + He experienced losses also. Death removed + his aged father-in-law in the last month of 1836, and + four weeks later Henry E. Benson, his brother-in-law. + Their taking off was a sad blow to the reformer and + to the reform. That of the younger man cast a + gloom over anti-slavery circles in New England; for + at the time of his death he was the secretary and + general agent of the Massachusetts Society, and although + not twenty-three, had displayed uncommon + capacity for affairs. The business ability which he + brought into his office was of the greatest value + <a class="newpage" name="P_264" id="P_264" title="P_264"></a> + where there was such a distinct deficiency in that respect + among his coadjutors, and the loss of it seemed + irreparable. + + </p> + <p> + Afflicted as he was, the leader was nevertheless + cheered by the extraordinary progress of the movement + started by him. The growth and activity of + Abolitionism were indeed altogether phenomenal. In + February, 1837, Ellis Gray Loring estimated that + there were then eight hundred anti-slavery societies + in the United States, that an anti-slavery society had + been formed in the North every day for the last two + years, and that in the single State of Ohio there were + three hundred societies, one of which had a membership + of four thousand names. The moral agitation + was at its height. The National Society had hit upon + a capital device for increasing the effectiveness of + its agents and lecturers. This was to bring them + together in New York for a few weeks' study of the + slavery question under the direction of such masters + as Theodore D. Weld, Beriah Green, Charles Stuart, + and others. All possible phases of the great subject, + such as, What is slavery? What is immediate emancipation? + The consequences of emancipation to the + South, etc., etc., pro-slavery objections and arguments + were stated and answered. The agents and + lecturers went forth from the convention bristling + with facts, and glowing with enthusiasm to renew the + crusade against slavery. Garrison, broken in health + as he was, went on from Boston to attend this school + of his disciples. He spoke briefly but repeatedly to + them upon the all-absorbing topic which had brought + them together. "It was a happy circumstance, too," + he wrote, "that I was present with them, and that + <a class="newpage" name="P_265" id="P_265" title="P_265"></a> + they had an opportunity to become <em>personally</em> + acquainted with me; for, as I am a great stumbling-block + in the way of the people, or, rather, of some + people, it would be somewhat disastrous to our cause + if any of our agents, through the influence of popular + sentiment, should be led to cherish prejudices + against me." + + </p> + <p> + In February, 1837, the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society came to the + rescue of the <i>Liberator</i> from its + financial embarrassments and hand-to-mouth existence + by assuming the responsibility of its publication. + The arrangement did not in any respect + compromise Mr. Garrison's editorial independence, + but lifted from him and his friend Knapp in his own + language, "a heavy burden, which has long crushed + us to the earth." The arrangement, nevertheless, + continued but a year when it was voluntarily set + aside by Mr. Garrison for causes of which we must + now give an account. + + </p> + <p> + In the letter from which we have quoted above, + touching his visit to the Convention of Anti-Slavery + Agents, Garrison alludes to one of these causes. He + says: "I was most kindly received by all, and treated + as a brother, notwithstanding the wide difference of + opinion between us on some religious points, <em>especially + the Sabbath question</em>." The italics are our own. + Until within a few years he had been one of the + strictest of Sabbath observers. Although never formally + connected with any church, he had been a + narrow and even an intolerant believer in the creed + and observances of New England orthodoxy. Words + failed him in 1828 to express his abhorrence of a + meeting of professed infidels: "It is impossible," he + <a class="newpage" name="P_266" id="P_266" title="P_266"></a> + exclaimed with the ardor of a bigot, "to estimate the + depravity and wickedness of those who, at the + present day, reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ," etc. A year and a half later + while editing the <i>Genius</i> in + Baltimore, he held uncompromisingly to the stern + Sabbatical notions of the Puritans. A fête given to + Lafayette in France on Sunday seemed to him an + act of sheer religious desecration. The carrying of + passengers and the mails on the Sabbath provoked + his energetic reprobation. He was in all points of + New England Puritanism, orthodox of the orthodox. + + </p> + <p> + Subsequently he began to see things in a different + light. As the area of his experience extended it + came to him that living was more than believing, + that it was not every one who professed faith in + Jesus had love for him in the heart; and that there + were many whom his own illiberalism had rated as + depraved and wicked on mere points of doctrine, + who, nevertheless, shamed by the blamelessness and + nobility of their conduct multitudes of ardent Christians + of the lip-service sort. Indeed this contradiction + between creed and conduct struck him with considerable + force in the midst of his harsh judgments + against unbelief and unbelievers. "There are, in + fact," he had remarked a year or two after he had + attained his majority, "few <em>reasoning</em> Christians; the + majority of them are swayed more by the usages of + the world than by any definite perception of what + constitutes duty—so far, we mean, as relates to the + subjugation of vices which are incorporated, as it + were, into the existence of society; else why is it + that intemperance, and slavery, and war, have not + ere this in a measure been driven from our land?" + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_267" id="P_267" title="P_267"></a> + As the months of his earnest young life passed + him by, they showed him as they went how horrible + a thing was faith without works. "By their fruits + ye shall know them," the Master had said, and more + and more as he saw how many and great were the + social evils to be reformed, and in what dire need + stood his country of righteous action, did he come + to put increasing emphasis on conduct, as the one + thing needful to rid the land of the triple curse of + slavery, intemperance, and war. As he mused upon + these giant evils, and the desolation which they were + singly and together causing in the world, and upon + the universal apathy of the churches in respect of + them, it seemed to him that the current religion was + an offence and an abomination. And in his prophetic + rage he denounced it as "a religion which quadrates + with the natural depravity of the heart, giving + license to sin, restraining no lust, mortifying not the + body, engendering selfishness, and cruelty!—a religion + which walks in silver slippers, on a carpeted + floor, having thrown off the burden of the cross and + changed the garments of humiliation for the splendid + vestments of pride! a religion which has no courage, + no faithfulness, no self-denial, deeming it better to + give heed unto men than unto God!" This was in + the autumn of 1829, but though he was thus violently + denunciatory of contemporary religion, the severity + of his judgment against the skepticism of the times + had not been materially modified. He still regarded + the unbeliever with narrow distrust and dislike. + When, after his discharge from Baltimore jail, he was + engaged in delivering his message on the subject of + slavery, and was seeking an opportunity to make + <a class="newpage" name="P_268" id="P_268" title="P_268"></a> + what he knew known to the people of Boston, he was + forced, after vainly advertising for a hall or meeting-house + in which to give his three lectures, to accept + the offer of Abner Kneeland's Society of Infidels of + the use of their hall for that purpose. The spirit of + these people, branded by the community as blasphemers, + and by himself, too, in all probability, + Garrison saw to be as admirable as the spirit displayed + by the churches of the city toward him and + his cause was unworthy and sinful. But, grateful as + he was for the hospitality of the infidels, he, nevertheless, + rather bluntly informed them that he had no + sympathy with their religious notions, and that he + looked for the abolition of slavery to evangelicism, + and to it alone. + + </p> + <p> + A few years in the university of experience, where + he learned that conduct is better than creeds, and + living more than believing, served to emancipate him + from illiberal prejudices and narrow sectarianism. + He came to see, "that in Christ Jesus all stated + observances are so many self-imposed and unnecessary + yokes; and that prayer and worship are all + embodied in that pure, meek, child-like state of heart + which affectionately and reverently breathes but one + petition—'Thy will be done on earth as it is in + heaven.' Religion ... is nothing but love—perfect + love toward God and toward man—without formality, + without hypocrisy, without partiality—depending + upon no outward form to preserve its vitality or + prove its existence." + + </p> + <p> + This important change in Mr. Garrison's religious + convictions became widely known in the summer of + 1836 through certain editorial strictures of his upon + <a class="newpage" name="P_269" id="P_269" title="P_269"></a> + a speech of Dr. Lyman Beecher, at Pittsburgh, on the + subject of the Sabbath. The good doctor was cold + enough on the question of slavery, which involved + not only the desecration of the Sabbath, but of the + souls and bodies of millions of human beings. If + Christianity was truly of divine origin, and Garrison + devoutly believed that it was, it would approve its + divinity by its manner of dealing with the vices and + evils which were dragging and chaining the feet of + men to the gates of hell. If it parleyed with iniquity, + if it passed its victims by on the other side, if it did + not war incessantly and energetically to put down + sin, to destroy wickedness, it was of the earth, earthy, + and its expounders were dumb dogs where they + should bark the loudest and bite the hardest; and + Dr. Beecher appeared to him one of these dumb dogs, + who, when he opened his mouth at all, was almost + sure to open it at the men who were trying through + evil report and good to express in their lives the + spirit of Him who so loved the world that He gave + His Son to die to redeem it. He bayed loud enough + at the Abolitionists but not at the abomination which + they were attacking. He was content to leave it to + the tender mercies of two hundred years. No such + liberal disposition of the question of the Sabbath was + he willing to allow. He waxed eloquent in its behalf. + His enthusiasm took to itself wings and made a great + display of ecclesiastical zeal beautiful to behold. + "The Sabbath," quoth the teacher who endeavored + to muzzle the students of Lane Seminary on the + subject of slavery, whose ultimate extinction his + prophetic soul quiescently committed to the operation + of two centuries; "the Sabbath," quoth he, "is + <a class="newpage" name="P_270" id="P_270" title="P_270"></a> + the <em>great sun of the moral world</em>." Out upon you, + said Garrison, the <b>LORD GOD</b> is the + <em>great sun of the moral world</em>, not the Sabbath. + It is not one, but + every day of the week which is His, and which men + should be taught to observe as holy days. It is not + regard for the forms of religion but for the spirit, + which is essential to righteousness. What is the + command, 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it + holy,' but one of ten commandments? Is the violation + of the fourth any worse than the violation of the + third or fifth, or sixth? Nowhere is it so taught in + the Bible. Yet, what is slavery but a breaking and + treading down of the whole ten, what but a vast + system of adultery, robbery, and murder, the daily + and yearly infraction on an appalling scale not alone + of the spirit but of the letter of the decalogue? + + </p> + <p> + Mr. Garrison then passed to criticisms of a more + special character touching the observance of the day + thus: "These remarks are made not to encourage + men to do wrong at any time, but to controvert a + pernicious and superstitious notion, and one that is + very prevalent, that extraordinary and supernatural + visitations of divine indignation upon certain transgressors + (of the Sabbath particularly and almost + exclusively) are poured out now as in the days of + Moses and the prophets. Whatever claim the Sabbath + may have to a strict religious observance, we + are confident it cannot be strengthened, but must + necessarily be weakened, by all such attempts to + enforce or prove its sanctity." This pious but + rational handling of the Sabbath question gave + instant offence to the orthodox readers of the + <i>Liberator</i>. For it was enough in those days to + convict + <a class="newpage" name="P_271" id="P_271" title="P_271"></a> + the editor of rank heresy. From one and another + of his subscribers remonstrances came pouring in + upon him. A young theological student at Yale + ordered his paper stopped in consequence of the + anti-Sabbatarian views of the editor. A Unitarian + minister at Harvard, Mass., was greatly cut up by + reason thereof, and suddenly saw what before he did + not suspect. "I had supposed you," he wrote in his + new estate, "a very pious person, and that a large + proportion of the Abolitionists were religious persons.... I have + thought of you as another Wilberforce—but + would Wilberforce have spoken thus of + the day on which the Son of God rose from the + dead?" Garrison's query in reply—"Would Wilberforce + have denied the identity of Christ with the + Father?"—was a palpable hit. But as he himself + justly remarked, "Such questions are not arguments, + but fallacies unworthy of a liberal mind." Nevertheless, + so long as men are attached to the leading + strings of sentiment rather than to those of reason, + such questions will possess tremendous destructive + force, as Mr. Garrison, in his own case, presently perceived. + He understood the importance of not arousing + against him "denominational feelings or peculiarities," + and so had steered the <i>Liberator</i> clear of the + rocks of sectarianism. But when he took up in its + columns the Sabbath question he ran his paper + directly among the breakers of a religious controversy. + He saw how it was with him at once, saw + that he had stirred up against him all that religious + feeling which was crystallized around the first day of + the week, and that he could not hope to escape without + serious losses in one way or another. "It is + <a class="newpage" name="P_272" id="P_272" title="P_272"></a> + pretty certain," he writes Samuel J. May in September, + 1836, "that the <i>Liberator</i> will sustain a serious + loss in its subscriptions at the close of the present + volume; and all appeals for aid in its behalf will be + less likely to prevail than formerly. I am conscious + that a mighty sectarian conspiracy is forming to + crush me, and it will probably succeed to some + extent." + + </p> + <p> + This controversy over the Sabbath proved the thin + edge of differences and dissensions, which, as they + went deeper and deeper, were finally to rend asunder + the erstwhile united Abolition movement. The period + was remarkable for the variety and force of new + ideas, which were coming into being, or passing into + general circulation. And to all of them it seems that + Garrison was peculiarly receptive. He took them all + in and planted them in soil of extraordinary fertility. + It was immediately observed that it was not only one + unpopular notion which he had adopted, but a whole + headful of them. And every one of these new ideas + was a sort of rebel-reformer, a genuine man of war. + They had come as a protest against the then existing + beliefs and order of things, come as their enemies and + destroyers. Each one of them was in a sense a + stirrer-up of sedition against old and regnant relations + and facts, political, moral, and religious. Whoever + espoused them as his own, espoused as his own + also the antagonisms, political, moral, and religious + which they would excite in the public mind. All of + which was directly illustrated in the experience of the editor of the + <i>Liberator</i>. Each of these new notions + presently appeared in the paper along with Abolitionism. + What was his intention timid people began to + <a class="newpage" name="P_273" id="P_273" title="P_273"></a> + inquire? Did he design to carry them along with the + Abolition movement? Suspicious minds fancied they + saw "in Mr. Garrison, a decided wish, nay, a firm + resolve, in laboring to overthrow slavery, to overthrow + the Christian Sabbath and the Christian ministry. + His doctrine is that every day is a Sabbath, + and every man his own minister. There are no + Christian ordinances, there is no visible church." His + no-government and non-resistant ideas excited yet + further the apprehensions of some of his associates + for the safety of that portion of the present order to + which they clung. As developed by Garrison they + seemed to deny the right of the people "to frame a + government of laws to protect themselves against + those who would injure them, and that man can + apply physical force to man rightfully under no circumstances, + and not even the parent can apply the + rod to the child, and not be, in the sight of God, a + trespasser and a tyrant." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison embraced besides Perfectionism, a sort of + political, moral, and religious Come-outerism, and + faith in "universal emancipation from sin." His + description of himself about this time as "an Ishmaelitish + editor" is not bad, nor his quotation of "Woe is + me my mother! for I was born a man of strife" as + applicable to the growing belligerency of his relations + with the anti-slavery brethren in consequence + of the new ideas and isms, which were taking possession + of his mind and occupying the columns of the + <i>Liberator</i>. + + </p> + <p> + Among the strife-producers during this period of + the anti-slavery agitation, the woman's question played + a principal part. Upon this as upon the Sabbath + <a class="newpage" name="P_274" id="P_274" title="P_274"></a> + question, Garrison's early position was one of extreme + conservatism. As late as 1830, he shared the common + opinions in regard to woman's sphere, and was + strongly opposed to her stepping outside of it into + that occupied by man. A petition of seven hundred + women of Pittsburgh, Pa., to Congress in behalf of + the Indians gave his masculine prejudices a great + shock. "This is, in our opinion," he declared, "an + uncalled for interference, though made with holiest + intentions. We should be sorry to have this practice + become general. There would then be no question + agitated in Congress without eliciting the informal + and contrariant opinions of the softer sex." This top-lofty + sentiment accorded well with the customary + assumption and swagger of one of the lords of creation. + For the young reformer was evidently a firm + believer in the divine right of his sex to rule in the + world of politics. But as he grew taller and broader + the horizon of woman widened, and her sphere + embraced every duty, responsibility, and right for + which her gifts and education fitted her. The hard + and fast lines of sex disappeared from his geography + of the soul. He perceived for a truth that in humanity + there was neither male nor female, but that man + and woman were one in work and destiny—equals in + bearing the world's burden, equals in building the + world's glory. He heard in his heart the injunction of + the eternal wisdom saying: "Whom God hath joined + together let no man put asunder;" and straightway + disposed his opinions and prejudices, his thoughts + and purposes in cordial obedience therewith. He saw + at once the immense value of woman's influence in + the temperance movement, he saw no less quickly her + <a class="newpage" name="P_275" id="P_275" title="P_275"></a> + importance in the anti-slavery reform, and he had + appealed to her for help in the work of both, and she + had justified his appeal and proven herself the most + devoted of coadjutors. + + </p> + <p> + In the beginning of the movement against slavery + the line of demarcation between the sexes was strictly + observed in the formation of societies. The men had + theirs, the women theirs. Each, sexually considered, + were very exclusive affairs. It did not seem to have + occurred to the founders of the New England Anti-Slavery + Society, or of the national organization to + admit women to membership in them, nor did it seem + to enter the mind of any woman to prefer a request + to be admitted into them. Anti-slavery women organized + themselves into female anti-slavery societies, did + their work apart from the men, who plainly regarded + themselves as the principals in the contest, and + women as their moral seconds. The first shock, + which this arrangement, so accordant with the oak-and-ivy + notion of the masculine half of mankind, + received, came when representatives of the gentler + sex dropped the secondary role assigned women in + the conflict, and began to enact that of a star. The + advent of the sisters Grimké upon the anti-slavery + stage as public speakers, marked the advent of the + idea of women's rights, of their equality with men in + the struggle with slavery. + + </p> + <p> + At the start these ladies delivered their message to + women only, but by-and-bye as the fame of their eloquence + spread men began to appear among their + auditories. Soon they were thrilling packed halls + and meeting-houses in different parts of the country, + comprised of men and women. The lesson which + <a class="newpage" name="P_276" id="P_276" title="P_276"></a> + their triumph enforced of women's fitness to enact + the rôle of principals in the conflict with slavery was + not lost upon the sex. Women went, saw, and conquered + their prejudices against the idea of equality; + likewise, many men. The good seed of universal liberty + and equality fell into fruitful soil and germinated + in due time within the heart of the moral movement + against slavery. + + </p> + <p> + The more that Sarah and Angelina Grimké reflected + upon the sorry position to which men had assigned + women in Church and State the more keenly did they + feel its injustice and degradation. They beat with + their revolutionary idea of equality against the iron + bars of the cage-like sphere in which they were born, + and within which they were doomed to live and die + by the law of masculine might. At heart they were + rebels against the foundation principle of masculine + supremacy on which society and government rested. + While pleading for the freedom of the slaves, the + sense of their own bondage and that of their sisters + rose up before them and revealed itself in bitter questionings. + "Are we aliens," asked Angelina, "because + we are women? Are we bereft of citizenship because + we are the <em>mothers, wives, and daughters</em> of a mighty people? + Have <em>women</em> no country—no interests staked on + the public weal—no partnership in a nation's guilt or + shame?" This discontent with the existing social + establishment in its relation to women received sympathetic + responses from many friends to whom the + sisters communicated the contagion of their unrest + and dissatisfaction. Angelina records that, "At + friend Chapman's, where we spent a social evening, I + had a long talk with the brethren on the rights of + <a class="newpage" name="P_277" id="P_277" title="P_277"></a> + women, and found a very general sentiment prevailing + that it is time our fetters were broken. L.M. + Child and Maria Chapman strongly supported this + view; indeed very many seem to think a new order + of things is very desirable in this respect." + + </p> + <p> + This prevalence of a sentiment favorable to women's + rights, which Angelina observed in Mrs. Chapman's + parlors possessed no general significence. For true + to the character of new ideas, this particular new + idea did not bring peace but a sword. It set Abolition + brethren against Abolition brethren, and blew + into a flame the differences of leaders among themselves. + But the first irruption of strife which it + caused proceeded from without, came from the + church or rather from the clergy of the Orthodox + Congregational churches of Massachusetts. This clerical + opposition to the idea of women's rights found + expression in the celebrated "Pastoral Letter," issued + by the General Association of Ministers of that + denomination to the churches of the same in the summer + of 1837. This ecclesiastical bull had two distinct + purposes to accomplish; first, to discourage the + agitation of the slavery question by excluding anti-slavery + agents from lecturing upon that subject in + the churches; and, second, to suppress the agitation + of the woman's question by setting the seal of the disapproval + of the clergy to the appearance of women in + their new and revolutionary rôle of public speakers + and teachers on the burning subjects of the times. + The reverend authors threw up their hands and + eyes in holy horror at the "widespread and permanent + injury" which seemed to them to threaten "the + female character." They scorned the new-fangled + <a class="newpage" name="P_278" id="P_278" title="P_278"></a> + notion of woman's independence, and asked for nothing + better than the Pauline definition of her "appropriate + duties and influence." "The power of women," + quoth they, "is in her dependence.... When she + assumes the place and tone of man as a public + reformer, our care and protection of her seem unnecessary; + we put ourselves in self-defence against her, + she yields the power which God has given her for + protection, and her character becomes unnatural!" + + </p> + <p> + These Congregational ministers were not the only + representatives of the lordly sex to whom the idea of + women's equality was repellent. Anti-slavery brethren, + too, were flinging themselves into all postures of + self-defence against the dangerous innovation, which + the sisters Grimké were letting into the social establishment, + by itinerating "in the character of public + lecturers and teachers." Amos A. Phelps was quite + as strongly opposed to women preachers, to women + assuming the "place and tone of man as a public + reformer," as Nehemiah Adams himself. He remonstrated, + with them against their continued assumption + of the character of public lecturers and teachers, + but to no purpose. Sarah and Angelina were uncompromising, + refused to yield one iota of their rights as + "moral and responsible beings." They firmly declined + to make their Quakerism and not their womenhood + their warrant for "exercising the rights and performing + the duties" of rational and responsible beings, for + the sake of quieting tender consciences, like that of + Phelps, among the anti-slavery brethren. They were in + earnest and demanded to know "whether there is such + a thing as male and female virtues, male and female + duties." Angelina writes: "My opinion is that there + <a class="newpage" name="P_279" id="P_279" title="P_279"></a> + is no difference, and that this false idea has run the + ploughshare of ruin over the whole field of morality. + My idea is that whatever is morally right for a man + to do is morally right for a woman to do. I recognize + no rights but human rights.... I am persuaded + that woman is not to be, as she has been, a mere second-hand + agent in the regeneration of a fallen world, + but the acknowledged equal and co-worker with + man in this glorious work." + + </p> + <p> + The debate on the subject threatened for a short + season to push the woman's question to the level of + the slavery question. The contention became acrimonious, + and the alienation of friendships was widespread. + John G. Whittier and Theodore D. Weld, + who were both avowed believers in the idea of + women's rights, nevertheless, felt that the agitation + of the subject, under the circumstances, was a grave + blunder. "No moral enterprise, when prosecuted + with ability and any sort of energy, <em>ever</em> failed under + heaven," wrote Weld to Sarah and Angelina, "so + long as its conductors pushed the <em>main</em> principle, and + did not strike off until they reached the summit level. + On the other hand, every reform that ever foundered + in mid-sea, was capsized by one of these gusty + side-winds." Both Weld and Whittier endeavored + to dissuade the sisters from mooting the question of + women's rights at all, and to urge them to devote + their voice and pen to the "<em>main</em> principle" exclusively. + But Angelina confesses that "our judgment + is not convinced, and we hardly know what to do + about it, for we have just as high an opinion of + Brother Garrison's views, and <em>he</em> says '<em>go on</em>.'" The + influence of Weld and Whittier finally prevailed with + <a class="newpage" name="P_280" id="P_280" title="P_280"></a> + "Carolina's high-souled daughters," and they refrained + from further agitation of the subject of + Women's rights lest they should thereby injure the + cause of the slave. + + </p> + <p> + But the leaven of equality was not so effectually + disposed of. It had secured permanent lodgment in + the anti-slavery body, and the fermentation started + by it, went briskly on. Such progress did the principle + of women's rights make among the Eastern Abolitionists, + especially among those of Massachusetts, + that in the spring of 1838 the New England Anti-Slavery + Society voted to admit women to equal + membership with men. This radical action was followed + by a clerical secession from the society, which + made a stir at the time. For among the seceding + members was no less a personage than Amos A. + Phelps, who was the general agent of the Massachusetts + Society, and therefore one of Garrison's + stanchest supporters. The reform instituted by the + New England Society, in respect of the character of + its membership, was quickly adopted by the Massachusetts + Society and by several local organizations, + all of which set the ball of discord spinning among + the brethren at a great rate. But by this time all the + new ideas, Sabbatical, no-government, perfectionist, + non-resistance, as well as women's rights, were within + the anti-slavery arena, and fencing and fighting for a + chance to live, with the old ideas and the old order. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison championed all of the new ideas, and in + doing so arrayed against himself all of the special + champions of the existing establishments. In his reduced + physical state, the reformer was not equal to + the tremendous concussions of this "era of activity," + <a class="newpage" name="P_281" id="P_281" title="P_281"></a> + as Emerson named it. At moments he appeared bewildered + amid the loud, fierce clamor of contending + ideas, each asserting in turn its moral primacy. + For an instant the vision of the great soul grew dim, + the great heart seemed to have lost its bearings. All + of the new ideas thawed and melted into each other, + dissolved into one vague and grand solidarity of + reforms. The voice of the whole was urging him + amid the gathering moral confusion to declare himself + for all truth, and he hearkened irresolute, with + divided mind. "I feel somewhat at a loss to know + what to do"—he confesses at this juncture to George + W. Benson, "whether to go into all the principles of + holy reform and make the Abolition cause subordinate, + or whether still to persevere in the <em>one</em> beaten + track as hitherto. Circumstances hereafter must + determine this matter." That was written in August, + 1837; a couple of months later circumstances had + not determined the matter, it would seem, from the + following extract from a letter to his brother-in-law: + "It is not my intention at present to alter either the + general character or course of the <i>Liberator</i>. My + work in the anti-slavery cause is not wholly done; + as soon as it is, I shall know it, and shall be prepared, + I trust, to enter upon a mightier work of + reform." + + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the relations between the editor of the + <i>Liberator</i> and the managers of the national + organization were becoming decidedly strained. For it seemed + to them that Garrison had changed the anti-slavery + character of his paper by the course which he had + taken in regard to the new ideas which were finding + their way into its columns to the manifest harm of + <a class="newpage" name="P_282" id="P_282" title="P_282"></a> + the main principle of immediate emancipation. This + incipient estrangement between the pioneer and the + executive committee of the national society was + greatly aggravated by an occurrence, which, at the + time, was elevated to an importance that it did not + deserve. This occurrence was what is known in anti-slavery + annals as the "Clerical Appeal." Five clergymen, + who were obviously unfriendly to Garrison, and + distrustful of the religious and social heresies which + they either saw or fancied that they saw in the + <i>Liberator</i>, + and withal jealous lest the severities of the paper + against particular pro-slavery ministers should diminish + the influence and sacred character of their order, + published, in August of 1837, in the + <i>New England Spectator</i> + an acrid arraignment of editor and paper, upon + five several charges, designed to bring Garrisonism to + the block and speedy death. This document was followed + by two other appeals by way of supplement + and rejoinder from the same source, an "Andover + Appeal" from kindred spirits and a bitter, personal + letter from one of the "seventy agents," all of + them having a common motive and purpose, viz., + sectarian distrust and dislike of Garrison, and desire + to reduce his anti-slavery influence to a nullity. + + </p> + <p> + In his diseased and suffering bodily condition, Garrison + naturally enough fell into the error of exaggerating + the gravity of these attacks upon himself. Insignificant + in an historical sense, they really were an episode, + an unpleasant one to be sure for the time being, + but no more. To Garrison, however, they appeared + in a wholly different light. It seemed a rebellion on + a pretty grand scale, which called for all his strength, + all the batteries of the friends of freedom, all his terrible + <a class="newpage" name="P_283" id="P_283" title="P_283"></a> + and unsparing severities of speech to quell it. + All his artillery he posted promptly in positions commanding + the camp of the mutineers, and began to + pour, as only he could, broadside after broadside + into the works of the wretched little camp of + rebels. He could hardly have expended more energy + and ammunition in attacking a strategical point of + Southern slavery, than was expended in punishing a + handful of deserters and insurgents. But, alas! he + was not satisfied to draw upon his own resources for + crushing the clerical sedition, he demanded reinforcements + from the central authorities in New York as + well. And then began a contention between him and + the Executive Committee of the National Society, + which issued only in ill. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison considered it the duty of the Executive + Committee to disapprove officially of the action of the + Massachusetts recalcitrants, and also the duty of its + organ, the <i>Emancipator</i>, to rebuke the authors of + the "appeals." Not so, replied Lewis Tappan and Elizur + Wright, your request is unreasonable. If you choose + to make a mountain out of a molehill, you choose to + make a mistake which the Executive Committee will + not repeat. Your troubles are wholly local, of no + general importance whatever. "What! Shall a whole + army stop its aggressive movements into the territories + of its enemies to charge bayonets on five soldiers, + subalterns, company, or even staff officers, because + they stray into a field to pick berries, throw stones or + write an 'appeal?' To be frank with you we shall + make bold to say that we do not approve of the + appeal, it is very censurable, its spirit is bad, but + neither do we approve of your action in the premises, + <a class="newpage" name="P_284" id="P_284" title="P_284"></a> + it is also very censurable and its spirit is bad. What + then? shall the Executive Committee condemn the + authors of the appeal and not condemn the editor of + the <i>Liberator</i> also? If strict military justice + were done should not both parties be cashiered? Let the + Sabbath and the theoretic theology of the priesthood + alone for the present." "I could have wished, yes, I + have wished from the bottom of my soul," it is + Wright who now holds the pen, "that you could conduct + that dear paper, the <i>Liberator</i>, in the singleness + of purpose of its first years, without traveling off + from the ground of our true, noble, heart-stirring + Declaration of Sentiments—without breathing sentiments + which are novel and shocking to the community, + and which seem to me to have no logical sequence + from the principles on which we are associated as + Abolitionists. I cannot but regard the taking hold of + one great moral enterprise while another is in hand + and but half achieved, as an outrage upon commonsense, + somewhat like that of the dog crossing the + river with his meat. But you have seen fit to introduce + to the public some novel views—I refer especially + to your sentiments on government and religious + perfection—and they have produced the effect which + was to have been expected. And now considering + what stuff human nature is made of, is it to be wondered + at that some honest-hearted, thorough-going + Abolitionists should have lost their equanimity? As + you well know I am comparatively no bigot to any + creed, political or theological, yet to tell the plain + truth, I look upon your notions of government and + religious perfection as downright fanaticism—as + harmless as they are absurd. I would not care a pin's + <a class="newpage" name="P_285" id="P_285" title="P_285"></a> + head if they were preached to all Christendom; for + it is not in the human mind (except in a peculiar + and, as I think, diseased state) to believe them." + + </p> + <p> + Barring the extreme plainness of speech with which + Wright and Tappan gave their advice to Mr. Garrison, + it was in the main singularly sound and wise. + But the pioneer did not so regard it. He was possessed + with his idea of the importance of chastising + the clerical critics, and of the duty of the Executive + Committee and of the <i>Emancipator</i> to back him + in the undertaking. His temper was, under all circumstances, + masterful and peremptory. It was never + more masterful and peremptory than in its management + of this business. The very reasonable course of + the Board at New York suggested to his mind a predominance + of "sectarianism at headquarters," seemed + to him "criminal and extraordinary." As the Executive + Committee and its organ would not rebuke the + schismatics, he was moved to rebuke the Executive + Committee and its organ for their "blind and + temporizing policy." And so matters within the + movement against slavery went, with increasing + momentum, from bad to worse. + + </p> + <p> + The break in the anti-slavery ranks widened as new + causes of controversy arose between the management + in Boston and the management at New York. The + Massachusetts Abolitionists had stood stanchly by + Garrison against the clerical schismatics. They also + inclined to his side in his trouble with the national + board. Instead of one common center of activity and + leadership the anti-slavery reform began now to + develop two centers of activity and leadership. Garrison + and the <i>Liberator</i> formed the moral nucleus at + <a class="newpage" name="P_286" id="P_286" title="P_286"></a> + one end, the Executive Committee and the + <i>Emancipator</i> + the moral nucleus at the other. Much of the energies + of the two sides were in those circumstances, + absorbed in stimulating and completing the processes + which were to ultimate in the organic division + of the body of the movement against slavery. When + men once begin to quarrel they will not stop for lack + of subjects to dispute over. There will be no lack, + for before one disputed point is settled another has + arisen. It is the old story of the box of evils. Beginnings + must be avoided, else if one evil escapes, others + will follow. The anti-slavery Pandora had let out one + little imp of discord and many big and little imps + were incontinently following. + + </p> + <p> + Against all of the new ideas except one, viz., the + idea of anti-slavery political action, the New York + leadership, speaking broadly, had opposed itself. But + as if by some strange perversity of fate, this particular + new idea was the only one of the new ideas to + which the Boston leadership did not take kindly. It + became in time as the very apple of the eye to the + management of the National Society. And the more + ardently it was cherished by them, the more hateful + did it become with the Boston Board. It was the + only one of the new ideas which had any logical + sequence from the Abolition cause. In a country + where the principle of popular suffrage obtains, all + successful moral movements must sometime ultimate + in political action. There is no other way of fixing in + laws the changes in public sentiment wrought during + this period of agitation. The idea of political action + was therefore a perfectly natural growth from the + moral movement against slavery. The only reasonable + <a class="newpage" name="P_287" id="P_287" title="P_287"></a> + objection to it would be one which went to show + that it had arrived out of due course, that its appearance + at any given time was marked by prematurity in + respect of the reasons, so to speak, of the reform. + For every movement against a great social wrong + as was the anti-slavery movement must have its + John-the-Baptist stage, its period of popular awakening + to the nature and enormity of sin and the duty + of immediate repentance. + + </p> + <p> + The anti-slavery enterprise was at the time of the + controversy between the New York and the Boston + Boards in this first stage of its growth. It had not + yet progressed naturally out of it into its next phase + of political agitation. True there were tendencies + more or less strong to enter the second stage of its + development, but they seem irregular, personal, and + forced. The time had not come for the adoption of + the principle of associated political action against + slavery. But the deep underlying motive of the advocates + of the third-party idea was none the less a grand + one, viz., "to have a free Northern nucleus," as Elizur + Wright put it, "a standard flung to the breeze—something + around which to rally." Garrison probed to + the quick the question in a passage of an address to + the Abolitionists, which is here given: "Abolitionists! + you are now feared and respected by all political + parties, not because of the number of votes you + can throw, so much as in view of the moral integrity + and sacred regard to principle which you have + exhibited to the country. It is the religious aspect of + your enterprise which impresses and overawes men + of every sect and party. Hitherto you have seemed + to be actuated by no hope of preferment or love of + <a class="newpage" name="P_288" id="P_288" title="P_288"></a> + power, and therefore have established, even in the + minds of your enemies, confidence in your disinterestedness. + If you shall now array yourselves as a + political party, and hold out mercenary rewards to + induce men to rally under your standard, there is + reason to fear that you will be regarded as those who + have made the anti-slavery cause a hobby to ride into + office, however plausible or sound may be your pretexts + for such a course. You cannot, you ought not, + to expect that the political action of the State will + move faster than the religious action of the Church, + in favor of the abolition of slavery; and it is a fact + not less encouraging than undeniable, that both the + Whig and Democratic parties have consulted the + wishes of Abolitionists even beyond the measure of + their real political strength. More you cannot expect + under any circumstances." + + </p> + <p> + Hotly around this point raged the strife among + brethren. Actuated by the noblest motives were + both sides in the main, yet, both sides displayed in + the maintenance of their respective positions an + amount of weak human nature, which proves that + perfection is not attainable even by the most disinterested + of men. Harsh and abusive language + good men uttered against good men. Distrust, + suspicion, anger, and alienation took possession of + the thoughts of the grandest souls. Saints and + heroes beseemed themselves like very ordinary folk, + who, when they come to differences, come directly + afterward to high words and thumping blows. The + love of David and Jonathan which once united Garrison + and Phelps, has died. Garrison and Stanton + meet and only exchange civilities. They, too, have + <a class="newpage" name="P_289" id="P_289" title="P_289"></a> + become completely alienated, and so on down the + long list of the "goodliest fellowship ... whereof + this land holds record." To a sweet and gentle + spirit like Samuel J. May, the acrimony and scenes + of strife among his old associates was unspeakably + painful. Writing to Garrison from South Scituate, + May 1, 1839, he touches thus upon this head: "I + now think I shall not go to New York next week. In + the first place, I cannot afford the expense.... But + I confess, I do not lament my inability to go so much + as I should do if the prospect of an agreeable meeting + was fairer. I am apprehensive that it will be not + so much an anti-slavery as anti-Garrison and anti-Phelps + meeting, or anti-board-of-managers and anti-executive + committee meeting. Division has done its + work, I fear, effectually. The two parties seem to + me to misunderstand, and therefore sadly misrepresent + one another. I am not satisfied with the course + you and your partisans have pursued. It appears to + me not consistent with the non-resistant, patient, + long-suffering spirit of the Gospel. And I do not + believe that either the cause of the slave, or the cause + of peace and righteousness has been advanced." + + </p> + <p> + The situation was further complicated by the discovery + of a fresh bone of contention. As if to give + just a shade of sordidness to the strife there must + needs arise a money difficulty between the two rival + boards of leaders. This is how our recent band of + brothers happened to stumble upon their new apple + of discord. Soon after the formation of the National + Society an arrangement was made with each of the + State societies whereby they agreed to operate financially + their respective territories and to turn into the + <a class="newpage" name="P_290" id="P_290" title="P_290"></a> + national treasury the several sums which at the + annual meeting they obligated themselves to contribute + to the general work. This arrangement was + intended to avoid the expense, conflict, and confusion + consequent upon the employment of two sets of + agents to work the same territory. Matters went on + quite smoothly under this plan between the Massachusetts + Board and the National Board until the beginning + of the year 1839, when the former fell into + arrears in the payment of its instalments to the latter. + Money from one cause or another, was hard to get + at by the Massachusetts Board, and the treasury in + New York was in an extremely low state. The relations + between the two boards were, as we have seen, + much strained and neither side was in the mood to + cover with charity the shortcomings of the other. + Perhaps the board at New York was too exacting, + perhaps the board at Boston was not sufficiently + zealous, under the circumstances. But what were the + real irritating causes which kept the two boards + at loggerheads over the matter need not here be + determined. This fact is clear that the arrangement + was rescinded by the New York management, and + their agents thrown into Massachusetts. This action + only added fuel to a fire which was fast assuming + the proportions of a conflagration. All the anti-Garrisonians + formed themselves into a new anti-slavery + society, and the National Board, as if to burn + its bridges, and to make reconciliation impossible, + established a new paper in Boston in opposition to + the <i>Liberator</i>. The work of division was ended. + There was no longer any vital connection between + the two warring members of the anti-slavery reform. + <a class="newpage" name="P_291" id="P_291" title="P_291"></a> + To tear the dead tissues asunder which still joined + them, all that was wanted was another sharp shock, + and this came at the annual meeting of the National + Society in 1840 over the woman's question. The + issue, "Shall a woman serve with men on a committee?" + was precipitated upon the convention by + the appointment of that brilliant young Quakeress, + Abby Kelley, on the business committee with ten + men. The convention confirmed her appointment by + about a hundred majority in a total vote of 1,008. + Whereupon those opposed to this determination of + the question, withdrew from the convention and + organized the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery + Society. Garrison had triumphed and he was + immensely elated with his victory. His moral leadership + was definitely established, never again to be + disputed by his disciples and followers. + <a class="newpage" name="P_292" id="P_292" title="P_292"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap15"></a> + CHAPTER XV. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + RANDOM SHOTS. + + </h2> + <p> + The division of the anti-slavery organization into + two distinct societies did not immediately terminate + the war between them. From New York and the + American society the contest over the woman's + question was almost directly shifted after the triumph + of the Garrisonians in the convention, to London + and the World's Convention, which was held in + the month of June of the year 1840. To this anti-slavery + congress both of the rival anti-slavery organizations + in America elected delegates. These delegates, + chosen by the older society and by its auxiliaries + of the States of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, + were composed of women and men. Lucretia + Mott was not only chosen by the National Society, + but by the Pennsylvania Society as well. The Massachusetts + Society selected Lydia Maria Child, Maria + Weston Chapman, and Ann Green Phillips together + with their husbands among its list of delegates. England + at this time was much more conservative on the + woman's question than America. The managers of + the World's Convention did not take kindly to the + notion of women members, and signified to the American + societies who had placed women among their + delegates that the company of the women was not expected. + Those societies, however, made no alteration + <a class="newpage" name="P_293" id="P_293" title="P_293"></a> + in deference to this notice, in the character of their + delegations, but stood stoutly by their principle of + "the <b>EQUAL BROTHERHOOD</b> of the entire + <b>HUMAN FAMILY</b> + without distinction of color, sex, or clime." + + </p> + <p> + A contest over the admission of women to membership + in the World's Convention was therefore a foregone + conclusion. The convention, notwithstanding a + brilliant fight under the lead of Wendell Phillips in + behalf of their admission, refused to admit the women + delegates. The women delegates instead of having + seats on the floor were forced in consequence of this + decision to look on from the galleries. Garrison, + who with Charles Lenox Remond, Nathaniel P. Rogers, + and William Adams, was late in arriving in England, + finding, on reaching London the women excluded + from the convention and sitting as spectators in + the galleries, determined to take his place among + them, deeming that the act of the convention which + discredited the credentials of Lucretia Mott and her + sister delegates, had discredited his own also. Remond, + Rogers, and Adams followed his example and + took their places with the rejected women delegates + likewise. The convention was scandalized at such + proceedings, and did its best to draw Garrison and + his associates from the ladies in the galleries to the + men on the floor, but without avail. There they remained + an eloquent protest against the masculine + narrowness of the convention. Defeated in New York, + the delegates of the new American and Foreign Anti-Slavery + Society triumphed over their victors in London. + But their achievements in the World's Convention, + in this regard, was not of a sort to entitle them + to point with any special pride in after years; and, as + <a class="newpage" name="P_294" id="P_294" title="P_294"></a> + a matter of fact, not one of them would have probably + cared to have their success alluded to in any sketch + of their lives for the perusal of posterity. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison and his associates were the recipients of + the most cordial and flattering attention from the + English Abolitionists. He was quite lionized, in fact, + at breakfasts, fêtes, and soirées. The Duchess of + Sunderland paid him marked attention and desired + his portrait, which was done for Her Grace by the celebrated + artist, Benjamin Robert Haydon, who executed + besides a large painting of the convention, in which + he grouped the most distinguished members with reference + to the seats actually occupied by them during + its sessions. Of course to leave Garrison out of such + a picture would almost seem like the play of "Hamlet" + with <i>Hamlet</i> omitted, a blunder which the artist + was by no means disposed to make. Garrison was + accordingly invited to sit to him for his portrait. + Haydon, who it seems was a student of human nature + as well as of the human form, made the discovery of + a fact which at first surprised and angered him. In + making his groupings of heads he decided to place + together the Rev. John Scoble, George Thompson + and Charles Lenox Remond. When Scoble sat to + him, Haydon told him of his design in this regard. + But, remarked Haydon, Scoble "sophisticated immediately + on the propriety of placing the negro in the + distance, as it would have much greater effect." The + painter now applied his test to Thompson who "saw + no objection." Thompson did not bear the test to + Haydon's satisfaction, who observed that "A man + who wishes to place the negro on a level must no + longer regard him as having been a slave, and feel + <a class="newpage" name="P_295" id="P_295" title="P_295"></a> + annoyed at sitting by his side." But when the artist + approached Garrison on the subject it was wholly + different. "I asked him," Haydon records with obvious + pleasure, "and he met me at once directly." + + </p> + <p> + Thompson was not altogether satisfactory to Garrison + either during this visit as the following extract + from one of his letters to his wife evinces: "Dear + Thompson has not been strengthened to do battle for + us, as I had confidently hoped he would be. He is + placed in a difficult position, and seems disposed to + take the ground of non-committal, publicly, respecting + the controversy which is going on in the United + States." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison, Rogers, and Remond in the company of + Thompson made a delightful trip into Scotland at + this time. Everywhere the American Abolitionists + were met with distinguished attentions. "Though I + like England much, on many accounts," Garrison + writes home in high spirits, "I can truly say that I + like Scotland better." An instance, which may be + coupled with that one furnished by Haydon, occurred + during this Scottish tour, and illustrates strongly the + kind of stuff of which he was made. On his way to + the great public reception tendered the American + delegates by the Glasgow Emancipation Society, a + placard with the caption, <em>"Have we no white slaves?"</em> + was put into his hands. Upon acquainting himself + with its contents he determined to read it to the meeting, + and to make it the text of remarks when he was + called upon to address the meeting. He was presently + announced and the immense audience greeted him + with every manifestation of pleasure and enthusiasm, + with loud cheering and waving of handkerchiefs. + <a class="newpage" name="P_296" id="P_296" title="P_296"></a> + Nevertheless he held to his purpose to speak upon + the subject of the placard, unwelcome though it + should prove to his hearers. "After reading the interrogation, + I said in reply: 'No—broad as is the + empire, and extensive as are the possessions of Great + Britain, not a single <em>white</em><b> SLAVE</b> can be + found in them all;' and I then went on to show the wide difference + that exists between the condition of human + beings who are held and treated as chattels personal, + and that of those who are only suffering from certain + forms of political injustice or governmental oppression.... + 'But,' I said, 'although it is not true that + England has any <em>white</em> slaves, either at home or + abroad, is it not true that there are thousands of her + population, both at home and abroad, who are deprived + of their just rights, who are grievously oppressed, + who are dying even in the midst of abundance, + of actual starvation? <b>YES</b>!' and I expressly + called upon British Abolitionists to prove themselves + the true friends of suffering humanity abroad, by + showing that they were the best friend of suffering + humanity at home." Truth, justice, duty, always + overrode with him the proprieties, however sacredly + esteemed by others. Of a piece with this fact of the + placard of the <em>white slave</em> was his custom in refusing + the wine proffered by some of his British friends to + their guests. He was not content with a simple refusal + and the implied rebuke which it involved, he + must needs couple his declaration with an express rebuke + to host and hostess for tempting men into the + downward way to drunkenness. + + </p> + <p> + While in attendance upon the sessions of the + World's Convention Garrison received tidings, of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_297" id="P_297" title="P_297"></a> + birth of his third child. The second, whom he named + for himself, was born in 1838. The third, who was + also a son, the fond father named after Wendell Phillips. + Three children and a wife did not tend to a solution + of the always difficult problem of family maintenance. + The pressure of their needs upon the husband + sometimes, simple as indeed they were owing to + the good sense and prudence of Mrs. Garrison, + seemed to exceed the weight of the atmospheric column + to the square inch. The fight for bread was one + of the bitterest battles of the reformer's life. The arrangement + made in 1837, whereby the Massachusetts + Anti-Slavery Society assumed the responsibility of the + publication of the <i>Liberator</i>, Garrison rescinded + at the beginning of 1838, for the sake of giving himself + greater freedom in the advocacy in its columns of the + several other reforms in which he had enlisted, besides + Abolitionism. But Garrison and the paper were + now widely recognized as anti-slavery essentials and + indispensables. Many of the leaders of the movement + perceived, as Gerritt Smith expressed it in a letter enclosing + fifty dollars for the editor, that "Among the + many things in which the Abolitionists of our country + should be agreed, are the two following: (1) The + <i>Liberator</i> must be sustained; (2) its editor must + be kept above want; not only, nor mainly, for his own + or his family's happiness; but that, having his own + mind unembarrassed by the cares of griping poverty, + he may be a more effective advocate of the cause of + the Saviour's enslaved poor." A new arrangement, in + accordance with this suggestion for the support of + the paper and the preservation of the editor from + want, was made in 1839, and its performance taken + <a class="newpage" name="P_298" id="P_298" title="P_298"></a> + in charge by a committee of gentlemen, who undertook + to raise the necessary funds for those objects. + Thus it was that Garrison, through the wise and generous + provision of friends, was enabled to augment + the happiness of an increasing family, and at the same + time add to his own effectiveness as an anti-slavery + instrument. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison found occasion soon after his return from + the World's Convention for the employment of all + his added effectiveness for continuing the moral + movement against slavery. For what with the strife + and schism in the anti-slavery ranks, followed by the + excitements of the long Presidential canvass of 1840, + wherein the great body of the Abolitionists developed + an uncontrollable impulse to political action, some + through the medium of the new Liberty party which + had nominated James G. Birney for the Presidency, + while others reverted to the two old parties with + which they had formerly acted—what with all these + causes the pure moral movement started by Garrison + was in grave danger of getting abolished or at least + of being reduced to a nullity in its influence upon + public opinion. John A. Collins, the able and resourceful + general agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery + Society, wrote in the deepest anxiety to Garrison + from New Bedford, September 1, 1840, on this + head. Says he: "I really wish you understood perfectly + the exact position the friends of the old organization + hold to the two great political parties, and + how generally they have been caught up in the whirlwind + of political enthusiasm. Could you but go + where I have been, and have seen and heard what I + have seen and heard; could you see men—aye, and + <a class="newpage" name="P_299" id="P_299" title="P_299"></a> + women, too—who have been and still are your warmest + advocates, who have eschewed sectarianism, and + lost their caste in the circle in which they moved, for + their strong adherence to your views and measures, + declare that they would sooner forego their Abolitionism + than their party.... Now, these are not the + views of here and there a straggling Abolitionist, but + of seven-tenths of all the voting Abolitionists of the + State.... They are entirely unconscious of the + demoralizing influence of their course. They need + light, warning, entreaty, and rebuke." Besides this demoralization + of the Abolitionists, as described by Collins, + the parent society at New York fell into bad + financial straits. It was absolutely without funds, + and without any means of supplying the lack. What + should it do in its extremity but appeal to the Massachusetts + Society which was already heavily burdened + by its own load, the <i>Liberator</i>. The new organ of + the national organization, + <i>The Anti-Slavery Standard</i>, + surely must not be allowed to fail for want of funds + in this emergency. The Boston management rose to + the occasion. Collins was sent to England in quest + of contributions from the Abolitionists of Great + Britain. But, great as was the need of money, the + relief which it might afford would only prove temporary + unless there could be effected a thorough anti-slavery + revival. This was vital. And therefore + to this end Garrison now bent his remarkable + energies. + + </p> + <p> + Agents, during this period when money was scarce, + were necessarily few. But the pioneer proved a host + in himself. Resigning the editorial charge of the + <i>Liberator</i> into the capable hands of Edmund + Quincy, + <a class="newpage" name="P_300" id="P_300" title="P_300"></a> + Garrison itinerated in the rôle of an anti-slavery lecturer + in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, + reviving everywhere the languishing interest of + his disciples. On the return of Collins in the summer + of 1841, revival meetings and conventions started + up with increased activity, the fruits of which were of + a most cheering character. At Nantucket, Garrison + made a big catch in his anti-slavery net. It was + Frederick Douglass, young, callow, and awkward, but + with his splendid and inimitable gifts flashing + through all as he, for the first time in his life, addressed + an audience of white people. Garrison, with + the instinct of leadership, saw at once the value of the + runaway slave's oratorical possibilities in their relations + to the anti-slavery movement. It was at his + instance that Collins added Douglass to the band of + anti-slavery agents. The new agent has preserved + his recollections of the pioneer's speech on that + eventful evening in Nantucket. Says he: "Mr. + Garrison followed me, taking me as his text; and + now, whether I had made an eloquent plea in + behalf of freedom or not, his was one never to be + forgotten. Those who had heard him oftenest, and + had known him longest, were astonished at his masterly + effort. For the time he possessed that almost + fabulous inspiration, often referred to but seldom + attained, in which a public meeting is transformed, + as it were, into a single individuality, the orator + swaying a thousand heads and hearts at once, and by + the simple majesty of his all-controlling thought, + converting his hearers into the express image of his + own soul. That night there were, at least, a thousand + Garrisonians in Nantucket!" + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_301" id="P_301" title="P_301"></a> + Here is another picture of Garrison in the lecture-field. + It is from the pen of N.P. Rogers, with whom + he was making a week's tour among the White Mountains, + interspersing the same with anti-slavery meetings. + At Plymouth, failing to procure the use of a + church for their purpose, they fell back upon the + temple not made with hands. + + </p> + <p> + "Semi-circular seats, backed against a line of magnificent + trees to accommodate, we should judge, from + two to three hundred," Rogers narrates, "were filled, + principally with women, and the men who could not + find seats stood on the green sward on either hand; + and, at length, when wearied with standing, seated + themselves on the ground. Garrison, mounted on a + rude platform in front, lifted up his voice and spoke + to them in prophet tones and surpassing eloquence, + from half-past three till I saw the rays of the setting + sun playing through the trees on his head.... + They (the auditory) heeded it not any more than he, + but remained till he ended, apparently indisposed to + move, though some came from six, eight, and even + twelve miles distance." So bravely prospered the + revival agitation, under the vigorous preaching of + the indomitable pioneer. + + </p> + <p> + In the midst of the growing activities of the revival + season of the anti-slavery movement, Garrison had + some personal experiences of a distressing nature. + One of these was the case of his quondam friend and + partner in the publication of the <i>Liberator</i>, + Isaac Knapp. He, poor fellow, was no longer the publisher + of the paper. His wretched business management of + his department tended to keep the <i>Liberator</i> in a + state of chronic financial embarrassment. When the committee, + <a class="newpage" name="P_302" id="P_302" title="P_302"></a> + who assumed charge of the finances of the + paper, took hold of the problem, they determined to + let Knapp go. He was paid $150 or $175 as a <i>quid + pro quo</i> for his interest in the <i>Liberator</i>. + Unfortunate in the business of a publisher, he was yet more unfortunate + in another respect. He had become a victim + of intemperance. His inebriety increased upon him, + accelerated, no doubt, by his business failure. Notwithstanding + Garrison's strong and tender friendship + for Knapp, the broken man came to regard him as an + enemy, and showed in many ways his jealousy and + hatred of his old friend and partner. Very painful + was this experience to the pioneer. + + </p> + <p> + An experience which touched Garrison more + nearly arose out of the sad case of his brother James, + who, the reader will recall, ran away from his mother + in Baltimore and went to sea. He ultimately enlisted + in the United States Navy, and what with the brutalities + which he suffered at the hands of his superiors, + by way of discipline, and with those of his own uncontrolled + passions and appetites, he was, when recovered + by his brother William, a total moral and physical + wreck. But the prodigal was gathered to the + reformer's heart, and taken to his home where in + memory of a mother long dead, whose darling was + James, he was nursed and watched over with deep + and pious love. There were sad lapses of the profligate + man even in the sanctuary of his brother's home. + The craving for liquor was omnipotent in the wretched + creature, and he was attacked by uncontrollable + desire for drink. But William's patience was infinite, + and his yearning and pity at such times were as sweet + and strong as a mother's. Death rung the curtain down + <a class="newpage" name="P_303" id="P_303" title="P_303"></a> + in the fall of 1842, on this miserable life with its sorry + and pathetic scenes. + + </p> + <p> + About this time a trial of a different sort fell to the + lot of Garrison to endure. The tongue of detraction + was never more busy with his alleged infidel doctrines + or to more damaging effect. Collins, in England, + seeking to obtain contributions for the support + of the agitation in America found Garrison's infidelity + the <i>great lion</i> in the way of success. Even the + good dispositions of the venerable Clarkson were + affected by the injurious reports in this regard, circulated + in England mainly by Nathaniel Colver, a narrow + and violent sectary of the Baptist denomination + of the United States. It was, of course, painful to + Garrison to feel that he had become a rock of offence + in the path of the great movement, which he had + started and to which he was devoting himself so + energetically. To Elizabeth Pease, one of the noblest + of the English Abolitionists, and one of his stanchest + transatlantic friends, he defended himself against the + false and cruel statements touching his religious + beliefs. "I esteem the Holy Scriptures," he wrote her, + "above all other books in the universe, and always + appeal to 'the law and the testimony' to prove all my + peculiar doctrines." His religious sentiments and + Sabbatical views are almost if not quite identical with + those held by the Quakers. "I believe in an indwelling + Christ," he goes on to furnish a summary of his + confession of faith, "and in His righteousness alone; + I glory in nothing here below, save in Christ and in + Him crucified; I believe all the works of the devil are to + be destroyed, and Our Lord is to reign from sea to + sea, even to the ends of the earth; and I profess to + <a class="newpage" name="P_304" id="P_304" title="P_304"></a> + have passed from death unto life, and know by happy + experience, that there is no condemnation to them + who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, + but after the spirit." These were the pioneer's articles + of faith. Their extreme simplicity and theological + conservatism it would seem ought to have satisfied + the evangelicals of all denominations. They were in + essentials thoroughly orthodox. But in the composition + of the shibboleths of beliefs non-essentials as + well as essentials enter, the former to the latter in the + proportion of two to one. It is not surprising, therefore, + that Garrison's essentials proved unequal to the + test set up by sectarianism, inasmuch as his spiritual + life dropped the aspirate of the non-essentials of religious + forms and observances. + + </p> + <p> + But the good man had his compensation as well as + his trials. Such of a very noble kind was the great + Irish address brought over from Ireland by Remond + in December 1841. It was signed by Daniel O'Connell, + Father Mathew, and sixty thousand Roman + Catholics of Ireland, who called upon the Irish + Roman Catholics of America to make the cause of the + slaves of the United States their cause. Large expectations + of Irish assistance in the anti-slavery agitation + were excited in the bosoms of Abolitionists by + this imposing appeal. Garrison shared the high hopes + of its beneficent influence upon the Ireland of America, + with many others. Alas! for the "best laid schemes + of mice and men," for the new Ireland was not populated + with saints, but a fiercely human race who had + come to their new home to better their own condition, + not that of the negro. Hardly had they + touched these shores before they were Americanized + <a class="newpage" name="P_305" id="P_305" title="P_305"></a> + in the colorphobia sense, out-Heroded Herod in + hatred of the colored people and their anti-slavery + friends. Indeed, it was quite one thing to preach Abolitionism + with three thousand miles of sea-wall between + one and his audience, and quite another to rise and do + the preaching with no sea-wall to guard the preacher + from the popular consequences of his preaching, as + Father Mathew quickly perceived and reduced to + practice eight years later, when he made his memorable + visit to this country. In vain was the monster document + unrolled in Faneuil Hall, and many Abolitionists + with Irish blood were put forward to sweep the + chords of Erin's heart, and to conjure by their eloquence + the disciples of St. Patrick to rally under the + banner of freedom. There was no response, except + the response of bitter foes. Erin's harp vibrated to + no breeze which did not come out of the South. The + slave-power had been erected into patron saint by + the new Ireland in America, and the new Ireland in + America was very well content with his saintship's patronage + and service. Thus it happened that the great + expectations, which were excited by the Irish address, + were never realized. But the pioneer had other fish + in his net, had, in fact, meanwhile, got himself in + readiness for a launch into a new and startling agitation. + As to just what this new and startling agitation + was we must refer the reader to the next + chapter. + <a class="newpage" name="P_306" id="P_306" title="P_306"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap16"></a> + CHAPTER XVI. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE PIONEER MAKES A NEW AND STARTLING DEPARTURE. + + </h2> + <p> + When Garrison hoisted the banner of immediate + emancipation he was over-confident of success + through the instrumentality of the church. It did + not enter his heart to conceive that after he had delivered + his message touching the barbarism of slavery + that a church calling itself Christian, or that a ministry + arrogating to itself the character of the Christ, + could possibly say him nay. But he learned sadly + enough the utter folly of such expectations. For + from pew and pulpit the first stones were hurled + against him, and the most cruel and persistent opposition + and persecution issued. Then as the movement + which he had started advanced, he saw how it + was, why the church had played him false and the + cause of freedom. It was because the poison of slavery + which the evil one had injected into the nation's + arteries had corrupted the springs of justice and + mercy in that body. The Church was not free, it, too, + was in bonds to slavery, how then could it help to + free the slaves? That was the reason that pulpit and + pew cried out against him and persecuted him. It + was not they but the slave despotism, which ruled + them, which wrought its fell purpose within them. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_307" id="P_307" title="P_307"></a> + If the reformer cast his eyes about him for other + help it was the same; the slime of the serpent was + upon State as well as Church. Both of the two great + political parties were bound hands and feet, and given + over to the will of the slave tyranny. In all departments + of Government, State and National, the positive, + all-powerful principle was slavery. Its dread + <i>nolo me tangere</i> had forced Congress into the + denial of the right of petition, and into the imposition of a gag + upon its own freedom of debate. It was the grand + President-maker, and the judiciary bent without a + blush to do its service. What, then, in these circumstances + could the friends of freedom hope to achieve? + The nation had been caught in the snare of slavery, + and was in Church and State helpless in the vast + spider-like web of wrong. The more the reformer + pondered the problem, the more hopeless did success + look under a Constitution which united right and + wrong, freedom and slavery. As his reflections deepened, + the conviction forced its way into his mind that + the Union was the strong tower of the slave-power, + which could never be destroyed until the fortress + which protected it was first utterly demolished. In + the spring of 1842 the pioneer was prepared to strike + into this new path to effect his purpose. + + </p> + <p> + "We must dissolve all connection with those murderers + of fathers," he wrote his brother-in-law, "and + murderers of mothers, and murderers of liberty, and + traffickers of human flesh, and blasphemers against + the Almighty at the South. What have we in common + with them? What have we gained? What have we + not lost by our alliance with them? Are not their principles, + their pursuits, their policies, their interests, + <a class="newpage" name="P_308" id="P_308" title="P_308"></a> + their designs, their feelings, utterly diverse from ours? + Why, then, be subject to their dominion? Why not + have the Union dissolved in form as it is in fact, especially + if the form gives ample protection to the + slave system, by securing for it all the physical force + of the North? It is not treason against the cause of + liberty to cry, "Down with every slave-holding + Union!" Therefore, I raise that cry. And O that I + had a voice louder than a thousand thunders, that it + might shake the land and electrify the dead—the + dead in sin, I mean—those slain by the hand of + slavery." + + </p> + <p> + A few weeks later the first peal of this thunder + broke upon the startled ears of the country through + the columns of the <i>Liberator</i>. The May meeting of + the American Anti-Slavery Society was drawing near, + and the reformer, now entirely ready to enter upon + an agitation looking to the dissolution of the Union, + suggested "the duty of making the <b>REPEAL OF + THE UNION</b> between the North and the South the + grand rallying point until it be accomplished, or + slavery cease to pollute our soil. We are for throwing + all the means, energies, actions, purposes, and appliances + of the genuine friends of liberty and republicanism + into this one channel," he goes on to announce, + "and for measuring the humanity, patriotism, and + piety of every man by this one standard. This question + can no longer be avoided, and a right decision + of it will settle the controversy between freedom and + slavery." The stern message of Isaiah to the Jews, + beginning, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful + men that rule this people. Because ye have said, We + have made a covenant with <b>DEATH</b> + and with <b>HELL</b> are + <a class="newpage" name="P_309" id="P_309" title="P_309"></a> + we at agreement," seemed to the American Isaiah to + describe exactly the character of the National Constitution. + "Slavery is a combination of <b>DEATH</b> and + <b>HELL</b>," he declares, with righteous wrath, + "and with it the North have made a covenant, and are at agreement. + As an element of the Government it is omnipotent, + omniscient, omnipresent. As a component + part of the Union, it is necessarily a national interest. + Divorced from Northern protection, it dies; with + that protection it enlarges its boundaries, multiplies + its victims, and extends its ravages." + + </p> + <p> + The announcement of this new radicalism caused a + sensation. Many genuine Garrisonian Abolitionists + recoiled from a policy of disunion. Lydia Maria + Child and James S. Gibbon of the Executive Committee + of the National Society hastened to disavow for + the society all responsibility for the disunion sentiment + of the editor of the <i>Liberator</i>. His new + departure seemed to them "foreign to the purpose for which + it was organized." Like all new ideas, it was a sword-bearer, + and proved a decided disturber of the peace. + The Union-loving portion of the free States had never + taken to the Abolition movement, for the reason that + it tended to disturb the stability of their idol. But + now the popular hatred of Abolitionism was intensified + by the avowal of a distinct purpose on the part + of its leader to labor for the separation of the sections. + The press of the North made the most of this + design to render altogether odious the small band of + moral reformers, to reduce to a nullity their influence + upon public opinion. + + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding its rejection by James Gibbons + and Lydia Maria Child the new idea of the dissolution + <a class="newpage" name="P_310" id="P_310" title="P_310"></a> + of the Union, as an anti-slavery object, found instant + favor with many of the leading Abolitionists, + like Wendell Phillips, Edmund Quincy, Parker Pillsbury, + Stephen S. Foster and Abby Kelley. At the + anniversary meeting of the American Society in 1842, + the subject was mooted, and, although there was no + official action taken, yet it was apparent that a majority + of the delegates were favorable to its adoption + as the sentiment of the society. + + </p> + <p> + The ultimate object of Garrison was the abolition + of slavery. Disunion led directly to this goal, therefore + he planted his feet in that way. But while he + shot the agitation at a distant mark, he did not mean + to miss less remote results. There was remarkable + method in his madness. He agitated the question + of the dissolution of the Union "in order that the + people of the North might be induced to reflect upon + their debasement, guilt, and danger in continuing in + partnership with heaven-daring oppressors, and thus + be led to repentance." + + </p> + <p> + The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society at its + annual meeting in January, 1843 "dissolved the + Union," wrote Quincy to R.D. Webb, "by a handsome + vote, after a warm debate. The question was + afterward reconsidered and passed in another shape, + being wrapped up by Garrison in some of his favorite + Old Testament Hebraisms by way of vehicle, as the + apothecaries say." This is the final shape which + Garrison's "favorite Old Testament Hebraisms" + gave to the action of the society: + + </p> + <p> + "<i>Resolved</i>, That the compact which exists between + the North and the South is a covenant with death + and an agreement with hell—involving both parties + <a class="newpage" name="P_311" id="P_311" title="P_311"></a> + in atrocious criminality—and should be immediately + annulled." + + </p> + <p> + At its tenth anniversary, in 1844, the American + Society resolved likewise that there should + be no Union with slaveholders; and in May of the + same year the New England Society voted by a large + majority to dissolve the 'covenant with death, and the + agreement with hell.' Almost the whole number of + the Garrisonian Abolitionists had by this time placed + upon their banner of immediate emancipation the + revolutionary legend "No Union with slaveholders." + <i>Cathago est delenda</i> were now ever on the lips + of the pioneer. 'The Union it must and shall be destroyed' + became the beginning, the middle, and the end of all + his utterances on the slavery question. + + </p> + <p> + The attitude of the anti-slavery disunionists to the + Government which they were seeking to overthrow + was clearly stated by Francis Jackson in a letter returning + to the Governor of Massachusetts his commission + as a justice of the peace. Says he, "To me + it appears that the vices of slavery, introduced into the + constitution of our body politic by a few slight + punctures, has now so pervaded and poisoned the + whole system of our National Government that literally + there is no health in it. The only remedy that + I can see for the disease is to be found in the <em>dissolution + of the patient</em>.... Henceforth it (the Constitution) + is dead to me, and I to it. I withdraw all + profession of allegiance to it, and all my voluntary + efforts to sustain it. The burdens that it lays upon + me, while it is held up by others, I shall endeavor to + bear patiently, yet acting with reference to a higher + law, and distinctly declaring that, while I retain my + <a class="newpage" name="P_312" id="P_312" title="P_312"></a> + own liberty, I will be a party to no compact which + helps to rob any other man of his." + + </p> + <p> + The Abolition agitation for the dissolution of the + Union was assisted not a little by sundry occurrences + of national importance. The increasing arrogance + and violence of the South in Congress on all + matters relating to the subject of slavery was one of + these occurrences. Freedom of debate and the right + of petition, Southern intolerance had rendered well + nigh worthless in the National Legislature. In this + way the North, during several months in every year, + was forced to look at the reverse and the obverse + faces, of the Union. These object-lessons taught + many minds, no doubt, to count the cost which the + preservation of the Union entailed upon the free + States—"to reflect upon their debasement, guilt, and + danger" in their partnership with slaveholders. Another + circumstance which induced to this kind of reflection + was the case of George Latimer, who was + seized as a fugitive slave in Boston in the autumn of + 1842. From beginning to end the Latimer case revealed + how completely had Massachusetts tied her + own hands as a party to the original compact with + slavery whose will was the supreme law of the land. In + obedience to this supreme law Chief-Justice Shaw refused + to the captive the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i>, and + Judge Story granted the owner possession of the + fugitive, and time to procure evidence of his ownership. + But worse still Massachusetts officials and one + of her jails were employed to aid in the return of a + man to slavery. This degradation aroused the greatest + indignation in the State and led to the enactment + of a law prohibiting its officials from taking part in + <a class="newpage" name="P_313" id="P_313" title="P_313"></a> + the return of fugitive slaves, and the use of its jails + and prisons for their detention. The passage of + this personal liberty measure served to increase the + activity of the anti-Union working forces in the + South. + + </p> + <p> + Then, again, the serious difficulty between Massachusetts + and two of the slave States in regard to their + treatment of her colored seamen aided Garrison in + his agitation for the dissolution of the Union by the + keen sense of insult and injury which the trouble + begat and left upon the popular mind. Colored men + in Massachusetts enjoyed a fair degree of equality + before her laws, were endowed with the right to vote, + and were, barring the prejudice against color, treated + by the commonwealth as citizens. They were + employed in the merchant service of her interstate + trade. But at two of the Southern ports where her + vessels entered, the colored seamen were seized by the + local police and confined in houses of detention until + the vessels to which they belonged were ready to + depart, when they were released and allowed to join + the vessels. This was a most outrageous proceeding, + outrageous to the colored men who were thus deprived + of their liberty, outrageous also to the owners of the + vessels who were deprived of the service of their + employés. Of what avail was the constitutional guaranty + that "the citizens of each State shall be + entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens + in the several States", many men began to question? + The South was evidently disposed to support only that + portion of the national compact which sustained the + slave system, all the rest upon occasion it trampled + on and nullified. This lesson was enforced anew upon + <a class="newpage" name="P_314" id="P_314" title="P_314"></a> + Massachusetts by the affair of her colored seamen. + Unable to obtain redress of the wrong done her citizens, + the State appointed agents to go to Charleston + and New Orleans and test the constitutionality of the + State laws under which the local authorities had + acted. But South Carolina and Louisiana, especially + the former, to whom Samuel Hoar was accredited, + evinced themselves quite equal to the exigency to + which the presence of the Massachusetts agents gave + rise. To cut a long story short, these gentlemen, + honored citizens of a sister State, and covered with + the ægis of the Constitution, found that they could + make no success of the business which they had in + hand, found indeed that as soon as that business was + made public that they stood in imminent peril of + their lives. Whereupon, wisely conceiving discretion + to be the better part of valor, they beat a hasty + retreat back to their native air. The Massachusetts + agents were driven out of Charleston and New + Orleans. Where was the sacred and glorious union + between Massachusetts and South Carolina and Louisiana + that such things were possible—were constantly + occurring? The circumstance made a strong impression + on the State whose rights were thus grossly violated. + It helped to convert Massachusetts to its later + opposition to slavery, and to make its public sentiment + more tolerant of the Garrisonian opposition to + the covenant with death and the agreement with hell. + To the agitation growing out of the scheme for the + annexation of Texas must, however, be ascribed the + premium among all the anti-Union working facts and + forces of the first few years after Garrison and his + coadjutors had raised the cry of "No union with + <a class="newpage" name="P_315" id="P_315" title="P_315"></a> + slaveholders." This agitation renewed the intensity + and sectionalism of the then almost forgotten struggle + over the admission of Missouri nearly a quarter + of a century before, and which was concluded by the + Missouri compromise. This settlement was at the + time considered quite satisfactory to the South. But + Calhoun took an altogether different view of the matter + twenty years later. The arrangement by which + the South was excluded from the upper portion of + the Louisiana Territory he came to regard as a cardinal + blunder on the part of his section. The fact is that + within those two decades the slave-holding had been + completely outstripped by the non-slave-holding + States in wealth, population, and social growth. The + latter had obtained over the former States an indisputable + supremacy in those respects. Would not the + political balance settle also in the natural order of + things in the Northern half of the Union unless it + could be kept where it then was to the south of + Mason and Dixon's line by an artificial political + make-weight. This artificial political make-weight + was nothing less than the acquisition of new slave + territory to supply the demand for new slave States. + Texas, with the territorial dimensions of an empire, + answered the agrarian needs of the slave system. And + the South, under the leadership of Calhoun, determined + to make good their fancied loss in the settlement + of the Missouri controversy by annexing Texas. + + </p> + <p> + But all the smouldering dread of slave domination, + all the passionate opposition to the extension of + slavery, to the acquisition of new slave territory and + the admission of new slave States, awoke hotly in + the heart of the North. "No more slave territory." + <a class="newpage" name="P_316" id="P_316" title="P_316"></a> + "No more slave States," resounded during this + crisis, through the free States. "Texas or disunion," + was the counter cry which reverberated + through the slave States. Even Dr. Channing, who + had no love for Garrison or his anti-slavery ultraism, + was so wrought upon by the scheme for the annexation + of Texas as to profess his preference for the + dissolution of the Union, "rather than receive Texas + into the Confederacy." "This measure, besides entailing + on us evils of all sorts," the doctor boldly + pointed out, "would have for its chief end to bring + the whole country under the slave-power, to make + the general Government the agent of slavery; and + this we are bound to resist at all hazards. The free + States should declare that the very act of admitting + Texas will be construed as a dissolution of the Union." + + </p> + <p> + The Northern blood was at fever heat, and an + unwonted defiance of consequences, a fierce contempt + of ancient political bugaboos marked the utterances + of men erstwhile timid of speech upon all questions + relating to slavery. In the anti-Texas convention + held in Faneuil Hall January 29, 1845, all this + timidity disappeared in the presence of the new peril. + It was not a convention of Abolitionists, although Garrison + was a member, but of politicians, mostly of the + Whig party. "The anti-slavery spirit of the convention," + wrote Edmund Quincy to R.D. Webb, "was + surprising. The address and the speeches of the + gentlemen, not Abolitionists, were such as caused + Garrison to be mobbed ten years ago, and such as + we thought thorough three or four years ago. There + were no qualifications, or excuses, or <em>twaddle</em>." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison flung himself into the anti-Texas movement + <a class="newpage" name="P_317" id="P_317" title="P_317"></a> + with all his customary force and fire. Elected + a delegate to the Faneuil Hall Convention by the influence + of Francis Jackson, he took a leading part in its + proceedings, "created the most stir in the whole matter," + Wendell Phillips thought. Charles Sumner, + who heard him speak for the first time, was struck + with his "natural eloquence," and described his + words as falling "in fiery rain." Again at a mass meeting + for Middlesex County, held at Concord, to consider + the aggressions of the slave-power, did the words of + the pioneer fall "in fiery rain." Apprehensive that the + performance of Massachusetts, when the emergency + arose, would fall far short of her protestations, he + exclaimed, "I have nothing to say, sir, nothing. I + am tired of words, tired of hearing strong things + said, where there is no heart to carry them out. + When we are prepared to state the whole truth, and + die for it, if necessary—when, like our fathers, we are + prepared to take our ground, and not shrink from it, + counting not our lives dear unto us—when we are + prepared to let all earthly hopes go back to the + board—<em>then</em> let us say so; + <em>till</em> then, the less we say + the better, in such an emergency as this. 'But who + are we, will men ask.' that talk of such things? 'Are + we enough to make a revolution?' No, sir; but we + are enough to <em>begin</em> one, and, once begun, it never + can be turned back. I am for revolution were I + utterly alone. I am there because I <em>must</em> be there. + I <em>must</em> cleave to the right. I cannot choose but obey + the voice of God. + + </p> + <p> + " ... Do not tell me of our past Union, and for + how many years we have been one. We were only + one while we were ready to hunt, shoot down, and + <a class="newpage" name="P_318" id="P_318" title="P_318"></a> + deliver up the slave, and allow the slave-power to + form an oligarchy on the floor of Congress! The + moment we say no to this, the Union ceases—the + Government falls." + + </p> + <p> + The Texan struggle terminated in the usual way, + in the triumph of the slave-power. Texas was + annexed and admitted into the sisterhood of States, + giving to the Southern section increased slave representation + in both branches of Congress, and thereby + aiding to fasten, what at the moment appeared to be + its permanent domination in national affairs. As + Garrison had apprehended, the performance of the + North fell far short of its protestations when the + crisis came. It swallowed all its brave words, and + collapsed into feeble and disheartened submission to + its jubilant and hitherto invincible antagonist. The + whole North except the small and irrepressible band + of Garrisonian Abolitionists were cast down by the + revulsive wave of this disastrous event. Writing to + his friend Webb, Garrison discourses thus upon the + great defeat: "Apparently the slave-holding power + has never been so strong, has never seemed to be so + invincible, has never held such complete mastery over + the whole, has never so successfully hurled defiance at + the Eternal and Just One, as at the present time; and + yet never has it in reality been so weak, never has it + had so many uncompromising assailants, never has it + been so filled with doubt and consternation, never + has it been so near its downfall, as at this moment. + Upon the face of it, this statement looks absurdly + paradoxical; but it is true, nevertheless. We are + groping in thick darkness; but it is that darkest + hour which is said to precede the dawn of day." + <a class="newpage" name="P_319" id="P_319" title="P_319"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap17"></a> + CHAPTER XVII. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + AS IN A LOOKING GLASS. + + </h2> + <p> + Garrison was the most dogmatic, as he was the + most earnest of men. It was almost next to impossible + for him to understand that his way was not the + only way to attain a given end. A position reached + by him, he was curiously apt to look upon as a sort + of <i>ultima thule</i> of human endeavor in that + direction of the moral universe. And, notwithstanding instances + of honest self-depreciation, there, nevertheless, hung + around his personality an air and assumption of + moral infallibility, as a reformer. His was not a + tolerant mind. Differences with him he was prone to + treat as gross departures from principle, as evidences + of faithlessness to freedom. He fell upon the men + who did not see eye to eye with him with tomahawk + and scalping knife. He was strangely deficient in a + sense of proportion in such matters. His terrible + severities of speech, he visited upon the slave-power + and the Liberty party alike. And although a non-resistent, + in that he eschewed the use of physical + force, yet there never was born among the sons of + men a more militant soul in the use of moral force, + in the quickness with which he would whip out the + rapiers, or hurl the bolts and bombs of his mother + tongue at opponents. The pioneer must have been + an unconscious believer in the annihilation of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_320" id="P_320" title="P_320"></a> + wicked, as he must have been an unconscious believer + in the wickedness of all opposition to his idea of + right and duty. This, of course, must be taken only + as a broad description of the reformer's character. + He was a man, one of the grandest America has + given to the world, but still a man with his tendon of + Achilles, like the rest of his kind. + + </p> + <p> + His narrow intolerance of the idea of anti-slavery + political action, and his fierce and unjust censure of + the champions of that idea, well illustrate the trait in + point. Birney and Whittier, and Wright and Gerritt + Smith, and Joshua Leavitt, he apparently quite forgot, + were actuated by motives singularly noble, were in + their way as true to their convictions as he was to his. + No, there was but one right way, and in that way + stood the feet of the pioneer. His way led directly, + unerringly, to the land of freedom. All other ways, + and especially the Liberty party way, twisted, doubled + upon themselves, branched into labyrinths of folly + and self-seeking. "Ho! all ye that desire the freedom + of the slave, who would labor for liberty, follow + me and I will show you the only true way," was the + tone which the editor of the <i>Liberator</i> held + to men, who were battering with might and main to breach + the walls of the Southern Bastile. They were plainly + not against the slave, although opposed to Mr. Garrison, + narrowly, unjustly opposed to him, without + doubt, but working strenuously according to their + lights for the destruction of a common enemy and + tyrant. This was the test, which Garrison should + have taken as conclusive. The leaders of the Liberty + party, though personally opposed to him and to his + line of action, were, nevertheless, friends of the slaves, + <a class="newpage" name="P_321" id="P_321" title="P_321"></a> + and ought to have been so accounted and treated by + the man who more than any other was devoted to the + abolition of slavery. + + </p> + <p> + But the whole mental and moral frame of the man + precluded such liberality of treatment of opponents. + They had rejected his way, which was the only true + way, and were, therefore, anathema maranatha. When + a moral idea which has been the subject of widespread + agitation, and has thereby gained a numerous + following, reaches out, as reach out it must, sooner or + later, for incorporation into law, it will, in a republic + like ours, do so naturally and necessarily through + political action—along the lines of an organized party + movement. The Liberty party formation was the + product of this strong tendency in America. Premature + it possibly was, but none the less perfectly natural. + Now every political party, that is worthy of + the name, is a compound rather than a simple fact, + consisteth of a bundle of ideas rather than a single + idea. Parties depend upon the people for success, + upon the people not of one interest but of many + interests and of diversities of views upon public questions. + One plank is not broad enough to accommodate + their differences and multiplicity of desires. + There must be a platform built of many planks to + support the number of votes requisite to victory at + the polls. There will always be one idea or interest + of the many ideas or interests, that will dominate the + organization, be erected into a paramount issue upon + which the party throws itself upon the country, but + the secondary ideas or interests must be there all the + same to give strength and support to the main idea + and interest. + + </p> + <p><a class="newpage" name="P_322" id="P_322" title="P_322"></a> + Besides this peculiarity in the composition of the + great political parties in America, there is another not + less distinct and marked, and that is the Constitutional + limitations of the Federal political power. + Every party which looks for ultimate success at the + polls must observe strictly these limitations in its aims + and issues. Accordingly when the moral movement + against slavery sought a political expression of the + idea of Abolition it was constrained within the metes + and bounds set up by the National Constitution. + Slavery within the States lay outside of the political + boundaries of the general Government. Slavery within + the States, therefore, the more sagacious of the Liberty + party leaders placed not among its bundle of + ideas, into its platform of national issues. But it was + otherwise with slavery in the District of Columbia, in + the national territories, under the national flag on the + high seas, for it lay within the constitutional reach of + the federal political power, and its abolition was + demanded in the Third party platform. These + leaders were confident that the existence of slavery + depended upon its connection with the National Government. + Their aim was to destroy the evil by cutting + this connection through which it drew its blood + and nerve supplies. They planted themselves upon + the anti-slavery character of the Constitution, believing + that it "does not sanction nor nationalize slavery + but condemns and localizes it." + + </p> + <p> + This last position of the Liberty party leaders + struck Garrison as a kind of mental and moral + enormity. At it and its authors, the anti-slavery + Jupiter, launched his bolts, fast and furious. Here + is a specimen of his chain lightning: "We have + <a class="newpage" name="P_323" id="P_323" title="P_323"></a> + a very poor opinion of the intelligence of any + man, and very great distrust of his candor or + honesty, who tries to make it appear that no pro-slavery + compromise was made between the North and + the South, at the adoption of the Constitution. We + cherish feelings of profound contempt for the quibbling + spirit of criticism which is endeavoring to explain + away the meaning of language, the design of + which as a matter of practice, and the adoption of + which as a matter of bargain, were intelligently and + clearly understood by the contracting parties. The + truth is the misnamed 'Liberty party' is under the + control of as ambitious, unprincipled, and crafty leaders + as is either the Whig or Democratic party; and + no other proof of this assertion is needed than their + unblushing denial of the great object of the national + compact, namely, union at the sacrifice of the colored + population of the United States. Their new interpretations + of the Constitution are a bold rejection of + the facts of history, and a gross insult to the intelligence + of the age, and certainly never can be carried + into effect without dissolving the Union by provoking + a civil war." All the same, the pioneer to the contrary + notwithstanding, many of these very Liberty party + leaders were men of the most undoubted candor and + honesty and of extraordinary intelligence. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison was never able to see the Liberty party, + and for that matter Wendell Phillips, Edmund + Quincy, and others of the old organization leaders + could not either, except through the darkened glass + of personal antagonisms growing out of the schism + of 1840. It was always, under all circumstances, to + borrow a phrase of Phillips, "Our old enemy, Liberty + <a class="newpage" name="P_324" id="P_324" title="P_324"></a> + party." And, as Quincy naïvely confesses in an article + in the <i>Liberator</i> pointing out the + reasons why Abolitionists should give to the Free-soil party + incidental aid and comfort, which were forbidden to their + "old enemy, Liberty party," the significant and + amusing fact that the latter was "officered by deserters." + Ay, there was indeed the rub! The military + principle of the great leader forbade him to + recognize deserters as allies. Discipline must be + maintained, and so he proceeded to maintain the + anti-slavery discipline of his army by keeping up a + constant fusillade into the ranks of the deserter band, + who, in turn, were every whit as blinded by the old + quarrel and separation, and who slyly cherished the + modest conviction that, when they seceded, the salt + of old organization lost its savor, and was thenceforth + fit only to be trampled under the Liberty party's feet. + Without doubt, those old Abolitionists and Liberty + party people belonged to the category of "humans." + + </p> + <p> + The scales of the old grudge dropped from Garrison's + eyes directly the Free-Soil party loomed upon + the political horizon. He recognized at once that, if + it was not against the slave, it was for the slave; apprehended + clearly that, in so far as the new party, + which, by the way, was only the second stage in the + development of the central idea of his old enemy, + Liberty party, as the then future Republican party + was to be its third and final expression, apprehended + clearly I say that, in so far as the new party resisted + the aggressions and pretensions of the slave-power, it + was fighting for Abolition—was an ally of Abolitionism. + + </p> + <p> + In the summer of 1848, from Northampton, whither + <a class="newpage" name="P_325" id="P_325" title="P_325"></a> + he had gone to take the water cure, Garrison counseled + Quincy, who was filling the editorial chair, in + the interim, at the <i>Liberator</i> office, + in this sage fashion: + "As for the Free-Soil movement, I feel that great + care is demanded of us disunionists, both in the + <i>Standard</i> and the + <i>Liberator</i>, in giving credit to whom + credit is due, and yet in no case even seeming to be + satisfied with it." In the winter of 1848 in a letter to + Samuel May, Jr., he is more explicit on this head. "As + for the Free-Soil movement," he observes, "I am + for hailing it as a cheering sign of the times, and an + unmistakable proof of the progress we have made, + under God, in changing public sentiment. Those + who have left the Whig and Democratic parties for + conscience's sake, and joined the movement, deserve + our commendation and sympathy; at the same time, + it is our duty to show them, and all others, that there + is a higher position to be attained by them or they + will have the blood of the slave staining their garments. + This can be done charitably yet faithfully. On + the two old parties, especially the Whig-Taylor party, + I would expend—<i>pro tempore</i>, + at least—our heaviest + ammunition." This is as it should be, the tone of + wise and vigilant leadership, the application of the + true test to the circumstances, viz., for freedom if + against slavery; not to be satisfied, to be sure, with + any thing less than the whole but disposed to give + credit to whom it was due, whether much or little. + Pity that the pioneer could not have placed himself + in this just and discriminating point of view in respect + of his old enemy, Liberty party, praising in it + what he found praiseworthy, while blaming it for + what he felt was blameworthy. But perfection weak + <a class="newpage" name="P_326" id="P_326" title="P_326"></a> + human nature doth not attain to in this terrestrial + garden of the passions, and so very likely the magnanimity + which we have desired of Garrison is not for + that garden to grow but another and a heavenly. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison ill brooked opposition, came it from friends + or foes. He was so confident in his own positions + that he could not but distrust their opposites. Of + course, if his were right, and of that doubt in his mind + there was apparently none, then the positions of all + others had to be wrong. This masterful quality of + the man was constantly betrayed in the acts of + his life and felt by his closest friends and associates + in the anti-slavery movement. Quincy, writing to + Richard Webb, narrates how, at the annual meeting + of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1843, Garrison + was for removing it to Boston, but that he and + Wendell Phillips were for keeping it where it then + was in New York, giving at the same time sundry + good and sufficient reasons for the faith that was in + them, and how, thereupon, "Garrison dilated his nostrils + like a war-horse, and snuffed indignation at us." + "If the Boston friends were unwilling to take the + trouble and responsibility," were the petulant, accusative + words put by Quincy into his chief's mouth on + the occasion, "then there was nothing more to be + said; we must try to get along as well as we could in + the old way." And how they disclaimed "any unwillingness + to take trouble and responsibility," while + affirming "the necessity of their acting on their own + idea." + + </p> + <p> + Another characteristic of the pioneer is touched + upon by the same writer in a relation which he was + making to Webb of Garrison's election to the presidency + <a class="newpage" name="P_327" id="P_327" title="P_327"></a> + of the parent society. Says Quincy: "Garrison + makes an excellent president at a public meeting + where the order of speakers is in some measure arranged, + as he has great felicity in introducing and interlocuting + remarks; but at a meeting for debate he + does not answer so well, as he is rather too apt, with + all the innocence and simplicity in the world, to do + all the talking himself." + + </p> + <p> + The same friendly critic has left his judgment of + other traits of the leader, traits not so much of the + man as of the editor. It is delivered in a private + letter of Quincy to Garrison on resigning the temporary + editorship of the <i>Liberator</i> to + "its legitimate + possessor." who had been for several months health-hunting + at Northampton in the beautiful Connecticut + Valley. Quincy made bold to beard the Abolition + lion in his lair, and twist his tail in an extremely + lively manner. "Now, my dear friend," wrote the + disciple to the master, "you must know that to the + microscopic eyes of its friends, as well as to the telescopic + eyes of its enemies, <em>the</em><i>Liberator</i><em>has faults</em>, + these they keep to themselves as much as they honestly + may, but they are not the less sensible of them, + and are all the more desirous to see them immediately + abolished. Luckily, they are not faults of principle—neither + moral nor intellectual deficiencies—but faults + the cure of which rests solely with yourself. + + </p> + <p> + "I hardly know how to tell you what the faults are + that we find with it, lest you should think them + none at all, or else unavoidable. But no matter, of + that you must be the judge; we only ask you to listen + to our opinion. We think the paper often bears + the mark of haste and carelessness in its getting up; + <a class="newpage" name="P_328" id="P_328" title="P_328"></a> + that the matter seems to be hastily selected and put + in <i>higgledy-piggledy</i>, + without any very apparent reason + why it should be in at all, or why it should be in the + place where it is. I suppose this is often caused by + your selecting articles with a view to connect remarks + of your own with them, which afterward in your + haste you omit. Then we complain that each paper + is not so nearly a complete work in itself as it might + be made, but that things are often left at loose ends, + and important matters broken off in the middle. I + assure you, that Brother Harriman is not the only + one of the friends of the <i>Liberator</i> + who grieves over + your 'more anon' and 'more next week'—which + 'anon' and 'next week' never arrive. + + </p> + <p> + "Then we complain that your editorials are too + often wanting, or else such, from apparent haste, as + those who love your fame cannot wish to see; that + important topics, which you feel to be such, are too + often either entirely passed over or very cursorily + treated, and important moments like the present + neglected.... + + </p> + <p> + "We have our suspicions, too, that good friends + have been disaffected by the neglect of their communications; + but of this we can only speak by conjecture. + In short, it appears to those who are your + warmest friends and the stanchest supporters of the + paper, that you might make the <i>Liberator</i> + a more powerful and useful instrumentality than it is, powerful + and useful as it is, by additional exertions on + your part. It is very unpleasant to hear invidious + comparisons drawn between the + <i>Liberator</i> and + <i>Emancipator</i> + with regard to the manner of getting it up, + and to have not to deny but to excuse them—and we + <a class="newpage" name="P_329" id="P_329" title="P_329"></a> + knowing all the time that you have all the tact and + technical talent for getting up a good newspaper that + Leavitt has, with as much more, intellectual ability + as you have more moral honesty, and only wanting + some of his (pardon me) industry, application, and + method." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison, to his honor, did not allow the exceeding + candor of his mentor to disturb their friendship. + The pioneer was not wholly without defence to the + impeachment. He might have pleaded ill health, of + which he had had <i>quantum suf.</i> + since 1836 for himself + and family. He might have pleaded also the dissipation + of too much of his energies in consequence of + more or less pecuniary embarrassments from which + he was never wholly freed; but, above all, he might + have pleaded his increasing activity as an anti-slavery + lecturer. His contributions to the movement against + slavery were of a notable character in this direction, + both in respect of quantity and quality. He was not + alone the editor of the <i>Liberator</i>, + he was unquestionably + besides one of the most effective and interesting + of the anti-slavery speakers—indeed in the judgment + of so competent an authority as James Russell + Lowell, he was regarded as the most effective of the + anti-slavery speakers. Still, after all is placed to his + credit that can possibly be, Quincy's complaints + would be supported by an altogether too solid basis + of fact. The pioneer was much given to procrastination. + What was not urgent he was strongly tempted + to put off for a more convenient time. His work + accumulated. He labored hard and he accomplished + much, but because of this habit of postponing + for to-morrow what need not be done to-day, he was + <a class="newpage" name="P_330" id="P_330" title="P_330"></a> + necessarily forced to leave undone many things which + he ought to have done and which he might have + accomplished had he been given to putting off for + to-morrow nothing which might be finished to-day. + + </p> + <p> + The pioneer was a man of sorrows and acquainted + with grief, but never was he wholly cast down by his + misfortunes. His cheerful and bouyant spirit kept + him afloat above his sorrows, above his griefs. The + organ of mirthfulness in him was very large. He + was an optimist in the best sense of that word, viz., + that all things work together for good to them that + love goodness. In the darkest moments which the + Abolition cause encountered his own countenance was + full of light, his own heart pierced through the + gloom and communicated its glow to those about + him, his own voice rang bugle-like through reverse + and disaster. + + </p> + <p> + In his family the reformer was seen at his best. + His wife was his friend and equal, his children his + playfellows and companions. The dust of the great + conflict he never carried with him into his home to + choke the love which burned ever brightly on its + hearth and in the hearts which it contained. What + he professed in the <i>Liberator</i>, + what he preached in the world, of non-resistance, + woman's rights, perfectionism, + he practiced in his home, he embodied as + father, and husband, and host. Never lived reformer + who more completely realized his own ideals to + those nearest and dearest to him than William Lloyd + Garrison. + + </p> + <p> + He had seven children, five boys and two girls. + The last, Francis Jackson, was born to him in the + year 1848. Two of them died in childhood, a boy + <a class="newpage" name="P_331" id="P_331" title="P_331"></a> + and a girl. The loss of the boy, whom the father + had "named admiringly, gratefully, reverently," + Charles Pollen, was a terrible blow to the reformer, + and a life-long grief to the mother. He seemed to + have been a singularly beautiful, winning, and affectionate + little man and to have inspired sweet hopes + of future "usefulness and excellence" in the breasts + of his parents. "He seemed born to take a century + on his shoulders, without stooping; his eyes were + large, lustrous, and charged with electric light; his + voice was clear as a bugle, melodious, and ever ringing + in our ears, from the dawn of day to the ushering + in of night, so that since it has been stilled, our dwelling + has seemed to be almost without an occupant," + lamented the stricken father to Elizabeth Pease, of + Darlington, England. + + </p> + <p> + "Death itself to me is not terrible, is not repulsive," + poured the heartbroken pioneer into the ears of his + English friend, "is not to be deplored. I see in it as + clear an evidence of Divine wisdom and beneficence + as I do in the birth of a child, in the works of creation, + in all the arrangements and operations of nature. + I neither fear nor regret its power. I neither expect + nor supplicate to be exempted from its legitimate + action. It is not to be chronicled among calamities; + it is not to be styled "a mysterious dispensation of + Divine Providence"; it is scarcely rational to talk of + being resigned to it. For what is more rational, what + more universal, what more impartial, what more serviceable, + what more desirable, in God's own time, + hastened neither by our ignorance or folly?... + + </p> + <p> + "When, therefore, my dear friend, I tell you that + the loss of my dear boy has overwhelmed me with + <a class="newpage" name="P_332" id="P_332" title="P_332"></a> + sadness, has affected my peace by day and my repose + by night, has been a staggering blow, from the shock + of which I find it very difficult to recover, you will + not understand me as referring to anything pertaining + to another state of existence, or as gloomily affected + by a change inevitable to all; far from it. Where + the cherished one who has been snatched from us is, + what is his situation, or what his employment, I + know not, of course; and it gives me no anxiety + whatever. Until I join him at least my responsibility + to him as his guardian and protector has ceased; he + does not need my aid, he cannot be benefited by my + counsel. That he will still be kindly cared for by + Him who numbers the very hairs of our heads, and + without whose notice a sparrow cannot fall to the + ground; that he is still living, having thrown aside + his mortal drapery, and occupying a higher sphere of + existence, I do not entertain a doubt. My grief + arises mainly from the conviction that his death was + premature; that he was actually defrauded of his + life through unskillful treatment; that he might have + been saved, if we had not been so unfortunately situated + at that time. This to be sure, is not certain; + and not being certain, it is only an ingredient of consolation + that we find in our cup of bitterness." + + </p> + <p> + The pioneer was one of the most generous of givers. + Poor indeed he was, much beyond the common allotment + of men of his intelligence and abilities, but he + was never too indigent to answer the appeals of + poverty. If the asker's needs were greater than his + own he divided with him the little which he had. To + his home all sorts of people were attracted, Abolitionists, + peace men, temperance reformers, perfectionists, + <a class="newpage" name="P_333" id="P_333" title="P_333"></a> + homoeopathists, hydropathists, mesmerists, spiritualists, + Grahamites, clairvoyants, whom he received with + unfailing hospitality, giving welcome and sympathy + to the new ideas, food and shelter for the material + sustenance of the fleshly vehicles of the new ideas. + He evidently was strongly of the opinion that there + are "more things in heaven and earth than are + dreamt of" in the philosophy of any particular period + in the intellectual development of man. No age + knows it all. It was almost a lo, here, and a lo, + there, with him, so large was his bump of wonder, so + unlimited was his appetite for the incredible and the + improbable in the domain of human knowledge and + speculation. Great was the man's faith, great was + his hope, great was his charity. + + </p> + <p> + He was one of the most observant of men in all + matters affecting the rights of others; he was one of + the least observant in all matters appertaining to himself. + With a decided taste for dress, yet his actual + knowledge of the kind of clothes worn by him from + day to day was amusingly inexact, as the following + incident shows: Before wearing out an only pair of + trousers, the pioneer had indulged in the unusual luxury + of a new pair. But as there was still considerable + service to be got out of the old pair, he, like a prudent + man, laid aside the new ones for future use. His + wife, however, who managed all this part of the domestic + business, determined, without consulting him, + the morning when the new trousers should be donned. + She made the necessary changes when her lord was + in bed, putting the new in the place of the old. Garrison + wore for several days the new trousers, thinking + all the time that they were his old ones until his illusions + <a class="newpage" name="P_334" id="P_334" title="P_334"></a> + in this regard were dispelled by an incident + which cost him the former. Some poor wretch of a + tramp, knocking in an evil hour at the pioneer's door + and asking for clothes, decided the magnificent possessor + of two pairs of trousers, to don his new ones + and to pass the old ones on to the tramp. But when + he communicated the transaction to his wife, she + hoped, with a good deal of emphasis, that he had not + given away the pair of breeches which he was wearing, + for if he had she would beg to inform him that + he had given away his best ones! But the pioneer's + splendid indifference to <i>meum</i> and + <i>tuum</i> where his own + possessions were concerned was equal to the occasion. + He got his compensation in the thought that his loss + was another's gain. That, indeed, was not to be accounted + loss which had gone to a brother-man whose + needs were greater than his own. + <a class="newpage" name="P_335" id="P_335" title="P_335"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap18"></a> + CHAPTER XVIII. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE TURNING OF A LONG LANE. + + </h2> + <p> + Garrison's forecast of the future, directly after the + annexation of Texas, proved singularly correct. + Never, as at that moment, had the slave-power + seemed so secure in its ascendency, yet never, at any + previous period, was it so near its downfall. Freedom + had reached that darkest hour just before dawn; and + this, events were speedily to make clear. If the South + could have trammeled up the consequences of annexation, + secure, indeed, for a season, would it have held + its political supremacy in America? But omnipotent + as was the slave-power in the Government, it was not + equal to this labor. In the great game, in which + Texas was the stakes, Fate had, unawares, slipped into + the seat between the gamesters with hands full of + loaded dice. At the first throw the South got Texas, + at the second the war with Mexico fell out, and at + the third new national territory lay piled upon the + boards. + + </p> + <p> + Calhoun, the arch-annexationist, struggled desperately + to avert the war. He saw as no other Southern + leader saw its tremendous significance in the conflict + between the two halves of the Union for the political + balance. The admission of Texas had made an adjustment + of this balance in favor of the South. Calhoun's + plan was to conciliate Mexico, to sweep with + <a class="newpage" name="P_336" id="P_336" title="P_336"></a> + our diplomatic broom the gathering war-clouds from + the national firmament. War, he knew, would imperil + the freshly fortified position of his section—war + which meant at its close the acquisition of new national + territory, with which the North would insist + upon retrieving its reverse in the controversy over + Texas. War, therefore, the great nullifier resolved + against. He cried halt to his army, but the army + heard not his voice, heeded not his orders, in the wild + uproar and clamor which arose at the sight of helpless + Mexico, and the temptation of adding fresh slave + soil to the United States South, through her spoliation; + Calhoun confessed that, with the breaking out + of hostilities between the two republics an impenetrable + curtain had shut from his eyes the future. The + great plot for maintaining the political domination of + the South had miscarried. New national territory + had become inevitable with the firing of the first gun. + Seeing this, Calhoun endeavored to postpone the evil + day for the South by proposing a military policy of + "masterly inactivity" whereby time might be gained + for his side to prepare to meet the blow when it fell. + But his "masterly inactivity" policy was swept aside + by the momentum of the national passion which + the war had aroused. + + </p> + <p> + California and New Mexico became the strategic + points of the slavery struggle at the close of the war. + To open both to the immigration of slave-labor was + thenceforth the grand design of the South. Over + Oregon occurred a fierce preliminary trial of strength + between the sections. The South was thrown in the + contest, and the anti-slavery principle of the Ordinance + of 1787 applied to the Territory. Calhoun, + <a class="newpage" name="P_337" id="P_337" title="P_337"></a> + who was apparently of the mind that as Oregon went + so would go California and New Mexico, was violently + agitated by this reverse. "The great strife between + the North and the South is ended," he passionately + declared. Immediately the charge was made and + widely circulated through the slave States that the + stronger was oppressing the weaker section, wresting + from it its just share in the common fruits of common + victories. For had not California and New Mexico + been won by the bravery and blood of the South as + of the North, and how then was the North to deprive + the South of its joint ownership of them without + destroying the federal equality of the two halves of + the Union? What was it but to subvert the Union + existing among the States? + + </p> + <p> + Disunion sentiment was thenceforth ladled out to + the slave States in increasing quantities. The turning + of the long lane in the domination of the slave-power + was visibly near. With Garrison at one end and + Calhoun at the other the work of dissolution advanced + apace. The latter announced, in 1848, that the separation + of the two sections was complete. Ten years + before, Garrison had made proclamation that the + Union, though not in form, was, nevertheless, in fact + dissolved. And possibly they were right. The line + of cleavage had at the date of Calhoun's announcement + passed entirely through the grand strata of + national life, industrial, moral, political, and religious. + There remained indeed but a single bond of connection + between the slave-holding and the non-slave-holding + States, viz., fealty to party. But in 1848 + not even this slender link was intact. + + </p> + <p> + The anti-slavery uprising was a fast growing factor + <a class="newpage" name="P_338" id="P_338" title="P_338"></a> + in the politics of the free States. This was evinced + by the aggressiveness of anti-slavery legislation, the + repeal of slave sojournment laws, the enactment of + personal liberty laws, the increasing preference manifested + by Whig and by Democratic electors for anti-slavery + Whig, and anti-slavery Democratic leaders. + Seward and Chase, and Hale and Hamlin, Thaddeus + Stevens and Joshua R. Giddings, were all in Congress + in 1849. A revolution was working in the North; a + revolution was working in the South. New and + bolder spirits were rising to leadership in both sections. + On the Southern stage were Jefferson Davis, + Barnwell Rhett, David Atchison, Howell Cobb, + Robert Toombs, and James M. Mason. The outlook + was portentous, tempestuous. + + </p> + <p> + The tide of excitement culminated in the crisis + of 1850. The extraordinary activity of the under-ground + railroad system, and its failure to open the + national Territories to slave immigration had transported + the South to the verge of disunion. California, + fought over by the two foes, was in the act of withdrawing + herself from the field of contention to a + position of independent Statehood. It was her rap + for admission into the Union as a free State which precipitated + upon the country the last of the compromises + between freedom and slavery. It sounded the opening + of the final act of Southern domination in the + republic. + + </p> + <p> + The compromise of 1850, a series of five acts, three + of which it took to conciliate the South, while two + were considered sufficient to satisfy the North, was, + after prolonged and stormy debate, adopted to save + Webster's glorious Union. These five acts were, in + <a class="newpage" name="P_339" id="P_339" title="P_339"></a> + the agonized accents of Clay, to heal "the five fire + gaping wounds" of the country. But the wounds + were immedicable, as events were soon to prove. + Besides, two at least of the remedies failed to operate + as emollients. They irritated and inflamed the + national ulcers and provoked fresh paroxysms of the + disease. The admission of California as a free State + was a sort of perpetual <i>memento mori</i> + to the slave-power. + It hung forever over the South the Damoclean + blade of Northern political ascendency in the + Union. The fugitive slave law on the other hand + produced results undreamt of by its authors. Who + would have ventured to predict the spontaneous, irresistible + insurrection of the humane forces and passions + of the North which broke out on the passage of the + infamous bill? Who could have foretold the moral + and political consequences of its execution, for instance, + in Boston, which fifteen years before had + mobbed anti-slavery women and dragged Garrison + through its streets? The moral indignation aroused + by the law in Massachusetts swept Webster and the + Whigs from power, carried Sumner to the Senate and + crowned Liberty on Beacon Hill. It worked a revolution + in Massachusetts, it wrought changes of the + greatest magnitude in the free States. + + </p> + <p> + From this time the reign of discord became universal. + The conflict between the sections increased + in virulence. At the door of every man sat the fierce + figure of strife. It fulmined from the pulpit and + frowned from the pews. The platforms of the free + States resounded with the thunder of tongues. The + press exploded with the hot passions of the hour. + Parties warred against each other. Factions arose + <a class="newpage" name="P_340" id="P_340" title="P_340"></a> + within parties and fought among themselves with no + less bitterness. Wrath is infectious and the wrathful + temper of the nation became epidemic. The Ishmaelitish + impulse to strike something or someone, was + irresistible. The bonds which had bound men to one + another seemed everywhere loosening, and people in + masses were slipping away from old to enter into + new combinations of political activity. It was a period + of tumultuous transition and confusion. The + times were topsy-turvy and old Night and Chaos were + the angels who sat by the bubbling abysses of the + revolution. + + </p> + <p> + In the midst of this universal and violent agitation + of the public mind the old dread of disunion returned + to torment the American <i>bourgeoisie</i>, + who through + their presses, especially those of the metropolis of the + Union, turned fiercely upon the Abolitionists. While + the compromise measures were the subject of excited + debate before Congress, the anniversary meeting of + the American Anti-Slavery Society fell due. But the + New York journals, the <i>Herald</i> in + particular, had no + mind to allow the meeting to take place without + renewing the reign of terror of fifteen years before. + Garrison was depicted as worse than Robespierre, with + an insatiable appetite for the destruction of established + institutions, both human and divine. The dissolution + of the Union, the "overthrow of the churches, + the Sabbath, and the Bible," all were required to glut + his malevolent passion. "Will the men of sense allow + meetings to be held in this city which are calculated + to make our country the arena of blood and murder," + roared the <i>Herald</i>, + "and render our city an object of + horror to the whole South?... Public opinion + <a class="newpage" name="P_341" id="P_341" title="P_341"></a> + should be regulated. These Abolitionists should not + be allowed to misrepresent New York." In order to + suppress the Abolitionists that paper did not blink at + any means, however extreme or revolutionary, but + declared boldly in favor of throttling free discussion. + "When free discussion does not promote the public + good," argued the editor, "it has no more right to + exist than a bad government that is dangerous and + oppressive to the common weal. It should be overthrown." + The mob thus invoked came forward on + the opening of the convention to overthrow free discussion. + + </p> + <p> + The storm which the New York press was at so + much labor to brew, Garrison did not doubt would + break over the convention. He went to it in a truly + apostolic spirit of self-sacrifice. "Not knowing the + things that shall befall me there, saving that bonds + and afflictions abide with me in every city," he wrote + his wife an hour before the commencement of the + convention. His prevision of violence was quickly + fulfilled. He had called Francis Jackson to the chair + during the delivery of the opening speech which fell + to the pioneer to make as the president of the society. + His subject was the Religion of the Country, to which + he was paying his respects in genuine Garrisonian + fashion. Belief in Jesus in the United States had no + vital influence on conduct or character. The chief + religious denominations were in practice pro-slavery, + they had uttered no protest against the national sin. + There was the Roman Catholic Church whose "priests + and members held slaves without incurring the rebuke + of the Church." At this point the orator was interrupted + by one of those monstrous products of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_342" id="P_342" title="P_342"></a> + slums of the American metropolis, compounded of the + bully, the blackleg, and the demagogue in about + equal proportions. It was the notorious Captain + Isaiah Rynders, perched with his band of blackguards + in the organ loft of the tabernacle and ready + to do the will of the metropolitan journals by over-throwing + the right of free discussion. He was not disposed + to permit Mr. Garrison's censure of the Roman + Catholic Church to pass unchallenged, so he begged + to ask "whether there are no other churches as well as + the Catholic Church, whose clergy and lay members + hold slaves?" To which the anti-slavery leader + replied with the utmost composure, not inclined to + let even Captain Rynders interrupt the even and + orderly progression of his discourse: "Will the + friend wait for a moment, and I will answer him in + reference to other churches?" "The friend" thereupon + resumed his seat in the organ loft, and Garrison + proceeded with his indictment of the churches. There + was the Episcopal Church, whose clergy and laity + dealt with impunity in human flesh, and the Presbyterians, + whose ministers and members did likewise + without apparently any compunctious visitings of + conscience, ditto the Baptist, ditto the Methodist. In + fact "all the sects are combined," the orator sternly + continued, "to prevent that jubilee which it is the + will of God should come." + + </p> + <p> + But the bully in the organ loft, who was not content + for long to play the part of Patience on a monument, + interrupted the speaker with a second question + which he looked upon, doubtless, as a hard nut to + crack. "Are you aware," inquired the blackleg + "that the slaves in the South have their prayer-meetings + <a class="newpage" name="P_343" id="P_343" title="P_343"></a> + in honor of Christ?" The nut was quickly + crushed between the sharp teeth of the orator's scathing + retort. Mr. Garrison—"Not a slave-holding or + a slave-breeding Jesus. (Sensation.) The slaves believe + in a Jesus that strikes off chains. In this country + Jesus has become obsolete. A profession in him + is no longer a test. Who objects to his course in + Judæa? The old Pharisees are extinct, and may + safely be denounced. Jesus is the most respectable + person in the United States. (Great sensation and + murmurs of disapprobation.) Jesus sits in the President's + chair of the United States. (A thrill of horror + here seemed to run through the assembly.) Zachary + Taylor sits there, which is the same thing, for he believes + in Jesus. He believes in war, and the Jesus + that 'gave the Mexicans hell.'" (Sensation, uproar, + and confusion.) + + </p> + <p> + This rather sulphurous allusion to the President of + the glorious Union, albeit in language used by himself + in a famous order during the Mexican War, acted + as a red rag upon the human bull in the organ loft, + who, now beside himself with passion, plunged madly + down to the platform with his howling mob at his + heels. "I will not allow you to assail the President of + the United States. You shan't do it!" bellowed the + blackguard, shaking his fist at Mr. Garrison. But + Mr. Garrison, with that extraordinary serenity of + manner which was all his own, parleyed with the + ruffian, as if he was no ruffian and had no mob at his + back. "You ought not to interrupt us," he remonstrated + with gentle dignity. "We go upon the principle + of hearing everybody. If you wish to speak, I + will keep order, and you shall be heard." Rynders + <a class="newpage" name="P_344" id="P_344" title="P_344"></a> + was finally quieted by the offer of Francis Jackson to + give him a hearing as soon as Mr. Garrison had + brought his address to an end. + + </p> + <p> + Rev. W.H. Furness, of Philadelphia, who was a + member of the convention and also one of the speakers, + has preserved for us the contrasts of the occasion. + "The close of Mr. Garrison's address," says he, + "brought down Rynders again, who vociferated and + harangued at one time on the platform, and then + pushing down into the aisles, like a madman followed + by his keepers. Through the whole, nothing could + be more patient and serene than the bearing of Mr. + Garrison. I have always revered Mr. Garrison for + his devoted, uncompromising fidelity to his great + cause. Today I was touched to the heart by his + calm and gentle manners. There was no agitation, + no scorn, no heat, but the quietness of a man engaged + in simple duties." + + </p> + <p> + The madman and his keepers were quite vanquished + on the first day of the convention by the wit, repartee, + and eloquence of Frederick Douglass, Dr. Furness, + and Rev. Samuel R. Ward, whom Wendell Phillips + described as so black that "when he shut his eyes + you could not see him." But it was otherwise on the + second day when public opinion was "regulated," + and free discussion overthrown by Captain Rynders + and his villainous gang, who were resolved, with the + authors of the compromise, that the Union as it was + should be preserved. + + </p> + <p> + But, notwithstanding the high authority and + achievements of this noble band of patriots and + brothers, Garrison's detestation of the Union but + increased, and his cry for its dissolution grew deeper + <a class="newpage" name="P_345" id="P_345" title="P_345"></a> + and louder. And no wonder. For never had the + compact between freedom and slavery seemed more + hateful than after the passage of the Fugitive Slave + Bill. The state of panic which it created among the + colored people in the free States will form, if ever + written down, one of the most heartrending chapters + in human history. Hundreds and thousands fled + from their homes into the jaws of a Canadian winter + to escape the jaws of the slave-hounds, whose fierce + baying began presently to fill the land from Massachusetts + to Ohio. It made no difference whether + these miserable people had been always free or were + fugitives from slavery, the terror spread among + them all the same. The aged and the young turned + their backs upon their homes and hurried precipitately + into a strange country. Fathers with wives + and children dependant upon them for their daily + bread, were forced by the dread of being captured + and returned to bondage to abandon their homes + and loved ones, sometimes without so much as a + touch of their hands or a tone of their voices in + token of farewell. Perhaps on his way to work in + the morning some husband or son has caught a + glimpse among the faces on the street of one face, + the remembrance of which to the day of death, + he can never lose, a face he had known in some far + away Southern town or plantation, and with which + are connected in the poor fellow's brain the most + frightful sufferings and associations. Crazed at the + sight, with no thought of home, of the labors which + are awaiting him, oblivious of everything but the + abject terror which has suddenly taken possession of + him, he hastens away to hide and fly, fly and hide, until + <a class="newpage" name="P_346" id="P_346" title="P_346"></a> + he reaches a land where slave-hounds enter not, and + panting fugitives find freedom. Wendell Phillips + tells of an old woman of seventy who asked his + advice about flying, though originally free, and fearful + only of being caught up by mistake. The distress + everywhere was awful, the excitement indescribable. + From Boston alone in the brief space of + three weeks after the rescue of Shadrach, nearly a + hundred of these panic stricken creatures had fled. + The whole number escaping into Canada Charles + Sumner placed as high as six thousand souls. But + in addition to this large band of fugitives, others + emigrated to the interior of New England away from + the seaboard centers of trade and commerce where + the men-hunters abounded. + + </p> + <p> + The excitement and the perils of this period were + not confined to the colored people. Their white + friends shared both with them. We are indebted to Mr. + Phillips for the following graphic account of these + excitements and perils in Boston in March, 1851. + He has been describing the situation in the city, in + respect of the execution of the infamous law, to + Elizabeth Pease, and goes on thus: "I need not + enlarge on this; but the long evening sessions—debates + about secret escapes—plans to evade where we + can't resist—the door watched that no spy may enter—the + whispering consultations of the morning—some + putting property out of their hands, planning to + incur penalties, and planning also that, in case of + conviction, the Government may get nothing from + them—the doing, and answering no questions—intimates + forbearing to ask the knowledge which it + may be dangerous to have—all remind one of those + <a class="newpage" name="P_347" id="P_347" title="P_347"></a> + foreign scenes which have hitherto been known to us, + transatlantic republicans, only in books." + + </p> + <p> + On the passage of the Black Bill, as the Abolitionists + stigmatised the law, it was not believed that the + moral sentiment of Boston would execute it, so horrified + did the community seem. But it was soon apparent + to the venerable Josiah Quincy that "The + Boston of 1851 is not the Boston of 1775. Boston," + the sage goes on to remark, "has now become a + mere shop—a place for buying and selling goods; + and, I suppose, also of <em>buying and selling men</em>." The + great idol of her shopkeepers, Daniel Webster, + having striven mightily for the enactment of the + hateful bill while Senator of the United States, had + gone into Millard Fillmore's Cabinet, to labor yet + more mightily for its enforcement. The rescue of + Shadrach, which Mr. Secretary of State characterized + "as a case of treason," set him to thundering + for the Union as it was, and against the "fanatics," + who were stirring up the people of the free States + to resist the execution of the Fugitive Slave Law. + But he was no longer "the God-like" Webster, for + he appeared to the editor of the + <i>Liberator</i> as "an + ordinary-looking, poor, decrepit old man, whose limbs + could scarce support him; lank with age; whose + sluggish legs were somewhat concealed by an over-shadowing + abdomen; with head downcast and arms + shriveled, and dangling almost helpless by his side, + and incapable of being magnetized for the use of + the orator." The voice and the front of "the God-like" + had preceded the "poor decrepit old man" to + the grave. Garrison dealt no less roughly and irreverently + with another of the authors of the wicked + <a class="newpage" name="P_348" id="P_348" title="P_348"></a> + law and another of the superannuated divinities of a + shopkeeping North, Henry Clay. + "<b>HENRY CLAY</b>, + with one foot in the grave," exclaimed the reformer, + "and just ready to have both body and soul cast into + hell, as if eager to make his damnation doubly sure, + rises in the United States Senate and proposes an + inquiry into the expediency of passing yet another + law, by which every one who shall dare peep or + mutter against the execution of the Fugitive Slave Bill + shall have his life crushed out." + + </p> + <p> + In those trial times words from the mouth or the + pen of Abolitionists had the force of deadly missiles. + Incapacitated as Garrison was to resort to physical + resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law by his non-resistant + doctrine, it seemed that all the energy and + belligerency of the man went into the most tremendous + verbal expressions. They were like adamantine + projectiles flung with the savage strength of a catapult + against the walls of slavery. The big sinners, like Webster + and Clay, he singled out for condign punishment, + were objects of his utmost severities of speech. It was + thus that he essayed to breach the iron dungeon in + which the national iniquity had shut the national conscience. + Saturated was the reformer's mind with the + thought of the Bible, its solemn and awful imagery, + its fiery and prophetic abhorrence and denunciations + of national sins, all of which furnished him an unfailing + magazine whence were drawn the bolts which + he launched against the giant sin and the giant sinners + of his time. And so Clay had not only "one + foot in the grave," but was "just ready to have both + body and soul cast into hell." + + </p> + <p> + While physical resistance of the Slave Law was + <a class="newpage" name="P_349" id="P_349" title="P_349"></a> + wholly out of the question with Garrison, he, nevertheless, + refused to condemn the men with whom it + was otherwise. Here he was anything but a fanatic. + All that he required was that each should be consistent + with his principles. If those principles bade him + resist the enforcement of the Black Bill, the apostle + of non-resistance was sorry enough, but in this emergency, + though he possessed the gentleness of the + dove, he also practised the wisdom of the serpent. + That truth moves with men upon lower as well as + higher planes he well knew. It is always partial and + many-colored, refracted as it is through the prisms + of human passion and prejudice. If it appear unto + some minds in the red bar of strife and blood, so be + it. Each must follow the light which it is given him + to discern, whether the blue of love or the red of + war. Great coadjutors, like Wendell Phillips, Theodore + Parker, and Dr. Henry I. Bowditch, were for + forcible resistance to the execution of the law. So + were the colored people. Preparations to this end + went on vigorously in Boston under the direction of + the Vigilance Committee. The Crafts escaped the + clutches of the slave-hunters, so did Shadrach escape + them, but Sims and Burns fell into them and were + returned to bondage. + + </p> + <p> + From this time on Wendell Phillips became in Boston + and in the North more distinctly the leader of the + Abolition sentiment. The period of pure moral agitation + ended with the passage of the Fugitive Slave + Law. That act opened a new era in the movement, an + era in which non-resistance had no place, an era in + which a resort to physical force in settlement of + sectional differences, the whole trend of things were + <a class="newpage" name="P_350" id="P_350" title="P_350"></a> + making inevitable. Fighting, the Anglo-Saxon + method, as Theodore Parker characterized it, of making + a final settlement of just such controversies as + was the slavery question, was in the air, had become + without any general consciousness of it at the time + appearing in the popular mind, a foregone conclusion, + from the moment that the South wrested from + the National Government the right to defy and + override the moral sentiment of free State communities. + With this advance of the anti-slavery + agitation a stage nearer the end, when fighting would + supersede all other methods, the fighters gravitated + naturally to the front of the conflict, and the apostle + of non-resistance fell somewhat into the background + of the great movement started by him. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison had begun, indeed, to recognize that there + were other ways besides his way of abolishing slavery—had + begun to see that these with his led to Rome, + to the ultimate extinction of the evil, to which anti-slavery + unionists and disunionists were alike devoted. + His innate sagacity and strong sense of justice + lifted the reformer to larger toleration of mind. + At a dinner given in Boston in May, 1853, by the Free + Democracy to John P. Hale, he was not only present + to testify his appreciation of the courage and services + of Mr. Hale to the common cause, but while there + was able to speak thus tolerantly—tolerantly for him + certainly—of a Union dear to the company about the + table yet hateful beyond measure to himself: "Sir, + you will pardon me," spoke the arch anti-slavery disunionist, + "for the reference. I have heard something + here about our Union, about the value of the Union, + and the importance of preserving the Union, Gentlemen, + <a class="newpage" name="P_351" id="P_351" title="P_351"></a> + if you have been so fortunate as to find a + Union worth preserving, I heartily congratulate you. + Cling to it with all your souls!" For himself, he has + not been so fortunate. With a price set on his head in + one of the Southern States, and outlawed in all of + them, he begs to be pardoned if found lacking in + loyalty to the existing Union, which to him, alas: "is + but another name for the iron reign of the slave-power. + We have no common country as yet. God grant we + may have. We shall have it when the jubilee comes—and + not till then," he declared, mindful of the convictions + of others, yet bravely true to his own. The seeds + of liberty, of hatred of the slave-power, planted by + Garrison were springing up in a splendid crop through + the North. Much of the political anti-slavery of the + times were the fruit of his endeavor. Wendell Phillips + has pointed out how the Liberty party was benefited + by the meetings and speeches of Garrisonian + Abolitionists. What was true of the Liberty party + was equally true of Free Soil and Free Democracy. + Although the little band remained small, it was potent + in swelling, year after year, the anti-slavery membership + of all the parties, Whig and Democratic, as + well as of those already mentioned. "Uncle Tom's + Cabin" might fairly be classed among the large indirect + results produced by Garrison. "But," as Phillips + justly remarked, "'Uncle Tom' would never + have been written had not Garrison developed the + facts; and never would have succeeded had he not + created readers and purchasers." Garrisonism had + become an influence, a power that made for liberty + and against slavery in the United States. It had become + such also in Great Britain. George Thompson, + <a class="newpage" name="P_352" id="P_352" title="P_352"></a> + writing the pioneer of the marvelous sale of "Uncle + Tom" in England, and of the unprecedented demand + for anti-slavery literature, traced their source to his + friend: "Behold the fruit of your labors," he exclaimed, + "and rejoice." + + </p> + <p> + Mr. Garrison's pungent characterization of the + "Union" at the dinner of the Free Democracy as + "but another name for the iron reign of the slave-power," + found almost instant illustration of its truth + in the startling demand of that power for the repeal + of the Missouri Compromise. In 1850 the South lost + California, but it received at the time an advantage + of far-reaching consequence, viz., the admission of + the principle of federal non-intervention upon the + subject of slavery in the national Territories into the + bill organizing Territorial Governments for New Mexico + and Utah. The train which was to blow down + the slave wall of 1820 and open to slave immigration + the northern half of the Louisiana Territory, was laid + in the compromise measures of 1850. + + </p> + <p> + Calhoun, strongly dissatisfied as he was with the + Missouri settlement, recoiled from countenancing any + agitation on the part of the South looking to its + repeal on the ground that such action was calculated + to disturb "the peace and harmony of the Union." + But four years after the death of the great nullifier, + his disciples and followers dared to consummate a + crime, the consequences of which he shrank from + inviting. The political conditions four years had + indeed modified in one important particular at least. + In Calhoun's lifetime, there was no Northern leader + bold enough to undertake to engineer an act of abrogation + through Congress. If the North were willing, + <a class="newpage" name="P_353" id="P_353" title="P_353"></a> + possessed sufficient magnanimity, to surrender, in the + interest of brotherly love between the sections, the + benefits which inured to it under the Missouri Compromise, + neither Calhoun nor the South would have + declined the proffered sacrifice. The selection of + Stephen A. Douglas in 1854 as the leader of the + movement for repeal put a new face on the business, + which was thereby made to appear to proceed from + the free, not from the slave States. This was + adroit, the fixing upon the losing section the initiative + and the responsibility of the act of abrogation. + + </p> + <p> + Besides this element, there was another not less + specious which lent to the scheme an air of fairness, + and that was the application to the Territories of the + American principle of local self-government, in other + words, the leaving to the people of the Territories the + right to vote slavery up or vote it down, as they + might elect. The game was a deep one, worthy of + the machinations of its Northern and Southern + authors. But, like other elaborate schemes of mice + and men, it went to pieces under the fatal stroke of + an unexpected circumstance. The act which abrogated + the Missouri Compromise broke the much-enduring + back of Northern patience at the same + time. In the struggle for the repeal Southern Whigs + and Southern Democrats forgot their traditionary + party differences in battling for Southern interests, + which was not more or less than the extension to + the national Territories of the peculiar institution. + The final recognition of this ugly fact on the part of + the free States, raised a popular flood in them big + enough to whelm the Whig party and to float a great + <a class="newpage" name="P_354" id="P_354" title="P_354"></a> + political organization, devoted to uncompromising + opposition to the farther extension of slavery. The + sectionalism of slavery was at last met by the sectionalism + of freedom. From that moment the old Union, + with its slave compromises, was doomed. In the + conflict then impending its dissolution was merely + a matter of time, unless indeed the North should + prove strong enough to preserve it by the might of its + arms, seeing that the North still clung passionately to + the idea of national unity. + + </p> + <p> + Not so, however, was it with Garrison. Sharper + and sterner rose his voice against any union with + Slaveholders. On the Fourth of July following the + repeal of the Missouri Compromise, the reformer at + Framingham, Mass., gave a fresh and startling sign + of his hatred of the Union by burning publicly the + Constitution of the United States. Before doing so + however, he consigned to the flames a copy of the + <i>Fugitive Slave Law</i>, + next the decision of Judge Loring + remanding Anthony Burns to slavery, also the + charge of Judge Benjamin R. Curtis to the Grand + Jury touching the assault upon the court-house for the + rescue of Burns. Then holding up the United States + Constitution, he branded it as the source and parent + of all the other atrocities—a covenant with death + and an agreement with hell—and consumed it to + ashes on the spot, exclaiming, "So perish all compromises + with tyranny! And let all the people say, + Amen!" This dramatic act and the "tremendous + shout" which "went up to heaven in ratification of + the deed" from the assembled multitude, what were + they but the prophecy of a fiercer fire already burning + in the land, soon to blaze about the pillars of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_355" id="P_355" title="P_355"></a> + Union, of a more tremendous shout soon to burst + with the wrath of a divided people over that + <a class="newpage" name="P_356" id="P_356" title="P_356"></a></p> + <div class="lg">"perfidious bark<br>Built i' th' eclipse, and rigged with curses dark."<br><br></div> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap19"></a> + CHAPTER XIX. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + FACE TO FACE. + + </h2> + <p> + Face to face at last were freedom and slavery. + The final struggle between them for mastery had + come. Narrow, indeed, was the issue that divided + the combatants, slavery extension on the one side, + and slavery restriction on the other, not total and + immediate emancipation, but it was none the less + vital and supreme to the two enemies. Back of the + Southern demand for "More slave soil" stood a solid + South, back of the Northern position, "No more slave + soil" was rallying a fast uniting North. The political + revolution, produced by the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, + advanced apace through the free States from Maine + to Michigan. A flood-tide of Northern resistance + had suddenly risen against the slave-power. + + </p> + <p> + Higher than anywhere else rose this flood-tide in + Massachusetts. The judge who remanded Anthony + Burns to slavery was removed from office, and a Personal + Liberty Law, with provisions as bold as they + were thorough, enacted for the protection of fugitive + slaves. Mr. Garrison sat beside the President of the + State Senate when that body voted to remove Judge + Loring from his office. Such was Massachusetts's + answer to the abrogation of the Missouri Compromise, + and a triumphant slave-power. Its instant + <a class="newpage" name="P_357" id="P_357" title="P_357"></a> + effect was to accelerate in the South the action of the + disunion working forces there, to hurry the inevitable + moment when the two sections would rush + together in a death-grapple within or without Webster's + once glorious Union. + + </p> + <p> + Indeed the foes had already closed in a frightful + wrestle for the possession of Kansas. When the + National Government adopted the popular sovereignty + doctrine in solution of the Territorial problem + between the two halves of the Union, freedom and + slavery thereupon precipitated their forces upon the + debatable land, and, for the first time, the men of the + North and the men of the South came into actual + physical collision in defence of their respective ideas + and institutions. The possession of land is nine + points of the law among Anglo-Saxons, and for this + immense advantage both sides flung themselves into + Kansas—the North by means of emigrant aid societies, + the South by means of bands of Border ruffians + under the direction of a United States Senator. It + was distinctly understood and ordained in connection + with the repeal of the compromise of 1820, that final + possession of the Territories then thrown open to + slave labor should be determined by the people + inhabiting the same. In the contest for peopling + Kansas the superior colonizing resources of the free + States was presently made manifest. They, in any + fair contest with ballots, had a majority of the polls, + and were, therefore, able to vote slavery down. + Worsted as the South clearly was in a show of heads, + it threw itself back upon fraud and force to decide + the issue in its favor. The cartridge-box took the + place of the ballot-box in bleeding Kansas, and violence + <a class="newpage" name="P_358" id="P_358" title="P_358"></a> + and anarchy, as a consequence, reigned therein + for the space of several years. + + </p> + <p> + This is no place to depict those scenes of slave-holding + outrages, supported as they were by a Northern + President with Southern principles. The sight of + them rapidly changed the pacific character of the + free States. Many a peace man dropped his peace + principles before this bloody duel between the civilization + of the South and that of the North. Ministers + and churches took up collections to send, not Bibles, + but Sharp's rifles to their brethren in Kansas. The + South had appealed to the sword, and the North had + sternly accepted the challenge. War was in the air, + and the Northern temper, without there being any + general consciousness of it, was fast mounting to the + war point in the thermometer of the passions, thanks + to the perfidy and ruffianism of the slave-power in + Congress and Kansas. + + </p> + <p> + This trend and strong undertow of the nation + toward a civil outbreak and commotion, though + unnoted by the multitude, was yet, nevertheless, seen + and felt by many thoughtful and far-seeing minds; + and by no one more clearly than by T.W. Higginson, + who at the twentieth anniversary of the Boston + mob, discoursed thus on this head: "Mr. Phillips + told us that on this day, twenty years ago, the military + could not protect the meeting, because the guns + were outside in the mob—or the men who should + have carried them! There has been a time since + when the men were on the outside and the guns too; + and as surely as this earth turns on its axis, that time + will come again! And it is for you, men, who + hear me, to think what you will do when that time + <a class="newpage" name="P_359" id="P_359" title="P_359"></a> + comes; and it is for you, women, who hear me, to + think what you will do, and what you are willing—I + will not say, to <em>consent</em> that those you love + should do, but what you are willing to + <em>urge</em> them to do, and to + send them from your homes, knowing that they will + do it, whether they live or die." The murderous + assault upon Charles Sumner in the Senate Chamber + at Washington by Preston S. Brooks, served to intensify + the increasing belligerency of the Northern + temper, to deepen the spreading conviction that the + irrepressible conflict would be settled not with the + pen through any more fruitless compromises, but in + Anglo-Saxon fashion by blood and iron. + + </p> + <p> + Amid this general access of the fighting propensity, + Garrison preserved the integrity of his non-resistant + principles, his aversion to the use of physical + force as an anti-slavery weapon. Men like Charles + Stearns talked of shouldering their Sharp's rifles + against the Border ruffians as they would against wild + beasts. For himself, he could not class any of his + fellow-creatures, however vicious and wicked, on the + same level with wild beasts. Those wretches were, + he granted, as bad and brutal as they were represented + by the free State men of Kansas, but to him + they were less blameworthy than were their employers + and indorsers, the pro-slavery President and his + Cabinet, pro-slavery Congressmen, and judges, and + doctors of divinity, and editors. Incomparably guilty + as these "colossal conspirators against the liberty, + peace, happiness, and safety of the republic" were; + and, though his moral indignation "against their + treasonable course" burned like fire, he, nevertheless, + wished them no harm. He shrank from the idea of + <a class="newpage" name="P_360" id="P_360" title="P_360"></a> + the physical collision of man with a brother man, + and with him all mankind were brothers. No one is + able to draw a sword or point a rifle at any member + of the human family, "in a Christian state of mind." + He held to Jesus, who condemned violence, forbade + the entertainment by his disciples of retaliatory feelings + and the use of retaliatory weapons. When Jesus + said "Love your enemies," he did not mean, "Kill + them if they go too far." + + </p> + <p> + Garrison's moral radicalism and political sagacity + were never exhibited to better advantage than during + these tremendous years of the crisis. He saw the + sudden rise of a great political organization opposed + to the farther extension of slavery to national territory. + It was by no means a party after his heart, and + for total and immediate emancipation, and the dissolution + of the Union, yet he perceived that while this + was true, it was, nevertheless, in its narrow purpose, + battling against the slave-power, fighting the slave + system, and to this extent was worthy of the commendation + of Abolitionists. "It helps to disseminate no + small amount of light and knowledge," the reformer + acutely observed, "in regard to the nature and workings + of the slave system, being necessitated to do + this to maintain its position; and thus, for the time + being, it is moulding public sentiment in the right + direction, though with no purpose to aid us in the + specific work we are striving to accomplish, namely, + the dissolution of the Union, and the abolition of + slavery throughout the land." While bating no jot + of his anti-slavery principles, he all the same put in + practice the apostolic injunction to give credit to + whom credit is due, by cordially commending what + <a class="newpage" name="P_361" id="P_361" title="P_361"></a> + he found worthy of commendation in the purpose + and policy of the Republican party, and by urging a + like conduct upon his followers. In the Presidential + canvass of 1856 his sympathies went strongly with + Frémont as against Buchanan and Fillmore, although + his Abolition principles precluded him from voting + for the Republican candidate or from urging his disciples + to vote for him. But, barring this moral barrier, + had he "a million votes to bestow" he "would + cast them all for Frémont ... not because he is an + Abolitionist or a Disunionist ... but because he is + for the non-extension of slavery, in common with the + great body of the people of the North, whose attachment + to the Union amounts to idolatry." + + </p> + <p> + When the election was over the motto of the + <i>Liberator</i> + was still "No union with slaveholders," and + would have remained the same though Frémont instead + of Buchanan had triumphed at the polls, until + indeed the domination of the slave-power had ended, + and the North and the National Constitution had + been divorced from all criminal connection with slavery. + The anti-slavery agitation for the dissolution of + the Union went on with increased zeal. A State convention, + called by T.W. Higginson and others, "to + consider the practicability, probability, and expediency + of a separation between the free and slave States, + and to take such other measures as the condition of the + times may require," met at Worcester, Mass., January + 15, 1857, with Frank W. Bird in the chair, and + William Lloyd Garrison among the vice-presidents. + The pioneer's speech on the occasion was a characteristic + and noteworthy utterance. Its tone throughout + was grave and argumentative. Here is a specimen + <a class="newpage" name="P_362" id="P_362" title="P_362"></a> + of it, and of the way in which he met the most serious + objection to the Abolition movement for disunion: + "The air is filled with objections to a movement of this + kind. I am neither surprised nor disquieted at this. + One of these is of a very singular nature, and it is + gravely urged that it is conclusive against disunion. + It is to this effect: We must remain in the Union + because it would be inhuman in us to turn our backs + upon millions of slaves in the Southern States, and to + leave them to their fate! Men who have never been + heard of in the anti-slavery ranks, or who are ever + submitting to a compromise of principle, have their + bowels wonderfully moved all at once with sympathy + for the suffering slave! Even our esteemed friend, + Theodore Parker (who deals in no cant) says, in his + letter, that he cannot consent to cut himself off from + the slave population. Now, we who are engaged in + this movement claim to be equally concerned for the + liberation of the slave. If we have not yet proved our + willingness to suffer the loss of all things, rather than + turn and flee, God knows that we are prepared to + bear any new cross that He, in His Providence, may + be disposed to lay upon us. For one, I make no parade + of my anxiety for the deliverance of those in bondage; + but I do say that it strikes me as remarkable + that those who, for a quarter of a century, have borne + the heat and burden of the day, should have the imputation + cast upon them of intending to leave four + millions of slaves in their chains, by seeking the overthrow + of this Union!... + + </p> + <p> + " ... I declare that this talk of leaving the slave + to his fate is not a true representation of the case; + and it indicates a strange dullness of comprehension + <a class="newpage" name="P_363" id="P_363" title="P_363"></a> + with regard to our position and purpose. What! Is + it to forsake the slave when I cease to be the aider + and abettor of his master? What! When the North + is pressing down upon four millions of slaves like an + avalanche, and we say to her, 'Take off that pressure—stand + aside—give the slave a chance to regain his + feet and assert his freedom!' is that turning our + backs upon him? Here, for example, is a man engaged + in highway robbery, and another man is acting + as an accessory, without whose aid the robber cannot + succeed. In saying to the accomplice. 'Hands off! + Don't aid the villain!' shall I be told that this is enabling + the highwayman to rob with impunity? What + an absurdity! Are we not trying to save the pockets + of all travelers from being picked in seeking to break + up all connection with highway robbery?" + + </p> + <p> + The convention projected a general convention of + the free States to consider the subject, and + "<i>Resolved</i>, + That the sooner the separation takes place, + the more peaceful it will be; but that peace or war is + <em>a secondary consideration</em> in view of our + present perils. + Slavery must be conquered, peaceably if we can, forcibly + if we must." The projected general convention, + owing to the monetary crisis of 1857, did not take + place; but the extraordinary public excitement on + the slavery question increased rather than diminished + during the year. The increasing menace to the domination + of the slave-power from this source had become + so great that it was deemed prudent on the + part of the upholders of that power to allay it by + means of an authoritative utterance upon the vexed + question of slavery in the national Territories from + the highest judicial tribunal in the Land. The Northern + <a class="newpage" name="P_364" id="P_364" title="P_364"></a> + respect for the opinion of the Supreme Court, the + South and her allies in the free States counted upon + as the vehicle of the quieting medicament. For, if + the Missouri Compromise were pronounced by that + Court unconstitutional and, therefore, + <i>ab initio</i>, null + and void, no wrong was done the North through its + formal repeal by Congress. The act of abrogation, + in this view, added nothing to the South which did + not belong to it as well before as after its passage, + detracted nothing from the North which was justly + its due in the premises. In pursuance of this cunningly + devised scheme the Supreme Court delivered + itself of an opinion in the famous "Dred Scott Case." + So abhorrent it was to the intelligence and moral sense + of the free States, that it produced results altogether + opposed to those designed by the men who invoked + it. Instead of checking, the execrated judgment + augmented enormously the existing excitement. Garrison's + bitter taunt that "the Union is but another + name for the iron reign of the slave-power," was + driven home to the North, by the Dred Scott decision, + with the logic of another unanswerable fact. Confidence + in the independence and impartiality of the + Supreme Court was seriously shaken, and widespread + suspicion struck root at the North touching the subserviency + of that tribunal to the interests and designs + of the slave-power. + + </p> + <p> + The popular agitation at this fresh and alarming + evidence of the purpose and power of the South upset + the machinations of the schemers, swelled the numerical + strength of the new Northern party opposed to + the Territorial aggressions and pretensions of the + slave section. So rapid was the growth of the Republican + <a class="newpage" name="P_365" id="P_365" title="P_365"></a> + party that the slave leaders anticipated its + accession to power at the then next Presidential election. + So certain were they in their forebodings of defeat + that they set about in dead earnest to put their + side of the divided house in order for the impending + struggle for Southern independence. Military preparations + went forward with a vengeance, arms and + munitions of war which were the property of the + General Government began to move southward, to + Southern military depots and posts for the defence of + the United States South, when at last the word + "<b>DISUNION</b>" should be pronounced + over the Republic. + The Lincoln-Douglass debate augmented + everywhere the excitement, fed the already mighty + numbers of the new party. More and more the public + consciousness and conviction were squaring with + Mr. Lincoln's oracular words in respect that the + Union could not "endure permanently half slave and + half free." + + </p> + <p> + The darkness and tumult of the rising tempest + were advancing apace, when suddenly there burst + from the national firmament the first warning peal of + thunder, and over Virginia there sped the first bolt of + the storm. John Brown with his brave little band, + at Harper's Ferry, had struck for the freedom of the + slave. Tired of words, the believer in blood and iron + as a deliverer, had crossed from Pennsylvania into + Virginia on the evening of October 16, 1859, and + seized the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry. + Although soon overpowered, captured, tried, and + hanged for his pains by the slave-power, the martyr had + builded better than he knew. For the blow struck by + him then and there ended almost abruptly the period + <a class="newpage" name="P_366" id="P_366" title="P_366"></a> + of argument and ushered in the period of arms. The + jar from that battle-ax at the roots of the slave system + hurled together in a death struggle right and + wrong, freedom and slavery, in the republic. + + </p> + <p> + This attempt on the part of John Brown to liberate + the slaves seemed to Garrison "misguided, wild, and + apparently insane, though disinterested and well-intended." + On non-resistant grounds he deplored + this use of the sword to effect emancipation, and condemned + the leader. But, judging him according to + the standard of Bunker Hill and the men of 1776, he + did not doubt that Brown deserved "to be held in + grateful and honorable remembrance to the latest posterity, + by all those who glory in the deeds of a Wallace + or Tell, a Washington or Warren." + + </p> + <p> + The raid of Brown and his subsequent execution, + and their reception at the North revealed how vast + was the revolution in public sentiment on the slavery + question which had taken place there, since the + murder of Lovejoy, eighteen years before. Lovejoy + died defending the right of free speech and the + liberty of the press, yet the Attorney-General of + Massachusetts declared that "he died as the fool + dieth." Brown died in an invasion of a slave State, + and in an effort to emancipate the slaves with a band + of eighteen followers, and he was acclaimed, from one + end of the free States to the other, hero and martyr. + Mr. Garrison commenting on this immensely significant + fact, acutely and justly observed that: "The + sympathy and admiration now so widely felt for him, + prove how marvelous has been the change affected in + public opinion during the thirty years of moral + agitation—a change so great indeed, that whereas, + <a class="newpage" name="P_367" id="P_367" title="P_367"></a> + ten years since, there were thousands who could not + endure my lightest word of rebuke of the South, they + can now easily swallow John Brown whole and his + rifle into the bargain. In firing his gun, he has + merely told us what time of day it is. It is high noon, + thank God!" + + </p> + <p> + But there is another circumstance hardly less significant + of another change at the North even more + momentous than the one just noted. + + </p> + <p> + On December 2d, the day on which Brown was + hung, solemn funeral observances were held throughout + the North by Abolitionists. At the great meeting + in Boston, held in Tremont Temple, and presided + over by Samuel E. Sewall, Garrison inquired as to the + number of non-resistants who were present. To this + question there came a solitary reply. There was but + one non-resistant beside himself in the hall. Where + were his followers? Why had they forsaken their + principles? The tide of Northern belligerency, which + was everywhere rising to its flood, everywhere rushing + and mounting to the tops of those dams which + separate war and peace had swept away his followers, + had caused them to forsake their principles. + True to their Anglo-Saxon instinct, they had reverted + to the more human, if less Christian method + of cutting the Gordian knot of the republic with the + sword. + + </p> + <p> + The irresistible drift of the North toward the point + where peace ends and war begins, which that solitary + "I" at the John Brown meeting denoted, was still + further indicated by what appeared not wholly unlike + a change in Mr. Garrison's attitude on the same subject. + His non-resistant position was the same, but + <a class="newpage" name="P_368" id="P_368" title="P_368"></a> + somehow his face seemed to turn warward too, with + the rest of the nation, in the following passage taken + from his address at that John Brown meeting: + + </p> + <p> + "Nevertheless, I am a non-resistant," said he, + speaking to that solitary confession of non-resistance + principles, "and I not only desire, but have labored + unremittingly to effect the peaceful abolition of slavery, + by an appeal to the reason and conscience of the + slaveholder; yet, as a peace man, an ultra peace + man, I am prepared to say: Success to every slave + insurrection at the South, and in every slave country. + And I do not see how I compromise or stain my peace + profession in making that declaration. Whenever + there is a contest between the oppressed and the + oppressor, the weapons being equal between the parties, + God knows that my heart must be with the + oppressed, and always against the oppressor. Therefore, + whenever commenced, I cannot but wish success + to all slave insurrections.... Rather than see men + wearing their chains, in a cowardly and servile spirit, + I would as an advocate of peace, much rather see them + breaking the head of the tyrant with their chains. + Give me, as a non-resistant, Bunker Hill, and Lexington, + and Concord, rather than the cowardice and + servility of a Southern slave plantation." + + </p> + <p> + The unmistakable signs of disintegration, the swift + action of the national tragedy, the Charleston Convention, + the disruption of the Democratic party, the + last bond between the North and the South, filled + the heart of the pioneer with solemn joy. "Only + think of it!" he exulted at the anniversary of the + American Anti-Slavery Society in New York, May 8, + 1860; "only think of it! the party which has for so + <a class="newpage" name="P_369" id="P_369" title="P_369"></a> + many years cried out, 'There must be no agitation on + this subject' is now the most agitated of all the + parties in the country. The party which declares that + there ought not to be any sectionalism as against + slavery, has now been sundered geographically, and + on this very question! The party which had said, + 'Let discussions cease forever,' is busily engaged in + the discussion, so that, possibly, the American Anti-Slavery + Society might adjourn <i>sine die</i>, after we get + through with our present meetings, and leave its work + to be carried on in the other direction!" This was all + true enough. The sections were at last sundered, + and a day of wrath was rising dark and dreadful over + "States dissevered, discordant, belligerent." + <a class="newpage" name="P_370" id="P_370" title="P_370"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap20"></a> + CHAPTER XX. + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE DEATH-GRAPPLE. + + </h2> + <p> + The triumph of the Republican party at the polls + was the signal for the work of dissolution to begin. + Webster's terrific vision of "a land rent with civil + feuds" became reality in the short space of six + weeks after Lincoln's election, by the secession of + South Carolina from the Union. Quickly other + Southern States followed, until a United States South + was organized, the chief stone in the corner of the + new political edifice being Negro slavery. It was not + six weeks after the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, + when the roar of cannon in Charleston Harbor announced + to the startled country that war between the + States had begun. The first call of the new President + for troops to put down the rebellion and to save + the Union, and the patriotic uprising which it evoked + made it plain that the struggle thus opened was to + be nothing less than a death-grapple between the two + sections. + + </p> + <p> + Before the attack on Fort Sumter, Garrison was + opposed to coercing the rebel States back into the + Union. He admitted the Constitutional power of + the National Government to employ force in maintaining + the integrity of the Republic. "The Federal + Government must not pretend to be in actual operation, + embracing thirty-four States," the editor of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_371" id="P_371" title="P_371"></a><i>Liberator</i> commented, "and then allow + the seceding States to trample upon its flag, steal its property, and + defy its authority with impunity; for it would then + be (as it is at this moment) a mockery and a laughing-stock. + Nevertheless to think of whipping the South + (for she will be a unit on the question of slavery) into + subjection, and extorting allegiance from millions of + people at the cannon's mouth, is utterly chimerical. + True, it is in the power of the North to deluge her + soil with blood, and inflict upon her the most terrible + sufferings; but not to conquer her spirit, or change + her determination." + + </p> + <p> + He, therefore, proposed that "the people of the + North should recognize the fact that + <b>THE UNION IS DISSOLVED</b>, + and act accordingly. They should see, in + the madness of the South, the hand of God, liberating + them from 'a covenant with death' and an 'agreement + with hell,' made in a time of terrible peril, and + without a conception of its inevitable consequences, + and which has corrupted their morals, poisoned their + religion, petrified their humanity as towards the millions + in bondage, tarnished their character, harassed + their peace, burdened them with taxation, shackled + their prosperity, and brought them into abject + vassalage." + + </p> + <p> + It is not to be wondered at that Garrison, under + the circumstances, was for speeding the South rather + than obstructing her way out of the Union. For + hardly ever had the anti-slavery cause seen greater + peril than that which hung over it during the months + which elapsed between Lincoln's election and the + attack on Sumter, owing to the paralyzing apprehensions + to which the free States fell a prey in view of the + <a class="newpage" name="P_372" id="P_372" title="P_372"></a> + then impending disruption of their glorious Union. + Indeed no sacrifice of anti-slavery accomplishments, + policy, and purpose of those States were esteemed too + important or sacred to make, if thereby the dissolution + of the Union might be averted. Many, Republicans + as well as Democrats, were for repealing the + Personal Liberty Laws, and for the admission of + New Mexico as a State, with or without slavery, for + the enforcement of the Fugitive State Law, for suppressing + the right of free speech and the freedom of + the press on the subject of slavery, and for surrendering + the Northern position in opposition to the extension + of slavery to national Territories, in order to + placate the South and keep it in the Union. Nothing + could have possibly been more disastrous to the + anti-slavery movement in America than a Union + saved on the terms proposed by such Republican + leaders as William H. Seward, Charles Francis Adams, + Thomas Corwin, and Andrew G. Curtin. The Union, + under the circumstances, was sure death to the slave, + in disunion lay his great life-giving hope. Therefore + his tried and sagacious friend was for sacrificing + the Union to win for him freedom. + + </p> + <p> + As the friends of the Union were disposed to haggle + at no price to preserve it, so was Garrison disposed + to barter the Union itself in exchange for the abolition + of slavery. "Now, then, let there be a <b>CONVENTION + OF THE FREE STATES</b>," he suggested, "called to + organize an independent government on free and + just principles; and let them say to the slave States: + Though you are without excuse for your treasonable + conduct, depart in peace! Though you have + laid piratical hands on property not your own, we + <a class="newpage" name="P_373" id="P_373" title="P_373"></a> + surrender it all in the spirit of magnanimity! And + if nothing but the possession of the Capitol will + appease you, take even that without a struggle! Let + the line be drawn between us where free institutions + end and slave institutions begin!" + + </p> + <p> + But the thunder of the rebel guns in Charleston + Harbor wrought in the reformer a complete revolution + in this regard. In the tremendous popular uprising + which followed that insult to the national + flag he perceived that the old order with its compromises + and dispositions to agree to anything, to do + anything for the sake of preserving the Union had + passed away forever. When it was suggested as an + objection to his change of base that the "Administration + is endeavoring to uphold the Union, the Constitution, + and the Laws, even as from the formation + of the Government," he was not for a moment deceived + by its apparent force, but replied sagely that + "this is a verbal and technical view of the case." + "Facts are more potential than words," he remarked + with philosophic composure, "and events greater + than parchment arrangements. The truth is, the + old Union is <i>nan est invenius</i>, + and its restoration, with + its pro-slavery compromises, well-nigh impossible. + The conflict is really between the civilization of + freedom and the barbarism of slavery—between the + principles of democracy and the doctrines of absolutism—between + the free North and the man-imbruting + South; therefore, to this extent hopeful for the cause + of impartial liberty." + + </p> + <p> + With the instinct of wise leadership, he adjusted + himself and his little band of Abolitionists, as far as + he was able, to the exigencies of the revolution. In + <a class="newpage" name="P_374" id="P_374" title="P_374"></a> + his madness there was always remarkable method. + When the nation was apathetic, dead on the subject + of slavery, he used every power which he possessed + or could invent to galvanize it into life. But with the + prodigious excitement which swept over the free + States at the outbreak of the war, Garrison saw that + the crisis demanded different treatment. Abolitionists + and their moral machinery he felt should be withdrawn, + for a season at least, from their conspicuous + place before the public gaze, lest it happen that they + should divert the current of public opinion from the + South to themselves, and thus injure the cause of + the slave. He accordingly deemed it highly expedient + that the usual anniversary of the American + Anti-Slavery Society, held in New York, ought, + under the circumstances, to be postponed, coming + as it would but a few weeks after the attack on + Sumter, and in the midst of the tremendous loyal + uprising against the rebels. This he did, adding, by + way of caution, this timely counsel: "Let nothing be + done at this solemn crisis needlessly to check or divert + the mighty current of popular feeling which is now + sweeping southward with the strength and impetuosity + of a thousand Niagaras, in direct conflict with + that haughty and perfidious slave-power which has + so long ruled the republic with a rod of iron, for its + own base and satanic purposes." + + </p> + <p> + The singular tact and sagacity of the pioneer in + this emergency may be again seen in a letter to Oliver + Johnson, who was at the time editing the + <i>Anti-Slavery Standard</i>. + Says the pioneer: "Now that civil war + has begun, and a whirlwind of violence and excitement + is to sweep through the country, every day increasing + <a class="newpage" name="P_375" id="P_375" title="P_375"></a> + in interest until its bloodiest culmination, it + is for the Abolitionists to 'stand still and see the salvation + of God,' rather than to attempt to add anything + to the general commotion. It is no time for + minute criticism of Lincoln, Republicanism, or even + the other parties, now that they are fusing, for a + death-grapple with the Southern slave oligarchy; for + they are instruments in the hands of God to carry + forward and help achieve the great object of emancipation + for which we have so long been striving.... + We need great circumspection and consummate + wisdom in regard to what we may say and do under + these unparalleled circumstances. We are rather, for + the time being, to note the events transpiring than + seek to control them. There must be no needless + turning of popular violence upon ourselves by any + false step of our own." + + </p> + <p> + The circumspection, the tact, and sagacity which + marked his conduct at the beginning of the rebellion + characterized it to the close of the war, albeit at no + time doing or saying aught to compromise his anti-slavery + principle of total and immediate emancipation. + On the contrary, he urged, early and late, upon + Congress and the President the exercise of the war + power to put an end for ever to slavery. Radical + Abolitionists like Stephen S. Foster were for denying + to the Administration anti-slavery support and countenance, + and for continuing to heap upon the Government + their denunciations until it placed itself + "openly and unequivocally on the side of freedom," + by issuing the edict of emancipation. Against this + zeal without discretion Garrison warmly protested. + "I cannot say that I do not sympathize with the Government," + <a class="newpage" name="P_376" id="P_376" title="P_376"></a> + said he, "as against Jefferson Davis and + his piratical associates. There is not a drop of blood + in my veins, both as an Abolitionist and a peace man, + that does not flow with the Northern tide of sentiment; + for I see, in this grand uprising of the manhood + of the North, which has been so long groveling + in the dust, a growing appreciation of the value of + liberty and free institutions, and a willingness to + make any sacrifice in their defence against the barbaric + and tyrannical power which avows its purpose, + if it can, to crush them entirely out of existence. + When the Government shall succeed (if it shall succeed) + in conquering a peace, in subjugating the South, + and shall undertake to carry out the Constitution as + of old, with all its pro-slavery compromises, then will + be my time to criticise, reprove, and condemn; then + will be the time for me to open all the guns that I + can bring to bear upon it. But blessed be God that + 'covenant with death' has been annulled, and that + 'agreement with hell' no longer stands. I joyfully + accept the fact, and leave all verbal criticism until a + more suitable opportunity." + + </p> + <p> + But it must be confessed that at times during the + struggle, Lincoln's timidity and apparent indifference + as to the fate of slavery, in his anxiety to save the + Union, weakened Garrison's confidence in him, and + excited his keenest apprehensions "at the possibility + of the war terminating without the utter extinction + of slavery, by a new and more atrocious compromise + on the part of the North than any that has yet been + made." The pioneer therefore adjudged it prudent + to get his battery into position and to visit upon the + President for particular acts, such as the revocation + <a class="newpage" name="P_377" id="P_377" title="P_377"></a> + of anti-slavery orders by sundry of his generals in the + field, and upon particular members of his Cabinet + who were understood to be responsible for the shuffling, + hesitating action of the Government in its relation + to slavery, an effective fire of criticism and + rebuke. + + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless Mr. Garrison maintained toward the + Government a uniform tone of sympathy and moderation. + "I hold," said he, in reply to strictures of Mr. + Phillips upon the President at the annual meeting of + the Massachusetts Society in 1862; "I hold that it is + not wise for us to be too microscopic in endeavoring + to find disagreeable and annoying things, still less to + assume that everything is waxing worse and worse, + and that there is little or no hope." He himself was full + of hope which no shortcomings of the Government + was able to quench. He was besides beginning to + understand the perplexities which beset the administration, + to appreciate the problem which confronted + the great statesman who was at the head of the + nation. He was getting a clear insight into the workings + of Lincoln's mind, and into the causes which + gave to his political pilotage an air of timidity and + indecision. + + </p> + <p> + "Supposing Mr. Lincoln could answer to-night," + continued the pioneer in reply to his less patient and + hopeful coadjutors, "and we should say to him: + 'Sir, with the power in your hands, slavery being the + cause of the rebellion beyond all controversy, why + don't you put the trump of jubilee to your lips, and + proclaim universal freedom?'—possibly he might + answer: 'Gentlemen, I understand this matter quite + as well as you do. I do not know that I differ in + <a class="newpage" name="P_378" id="P_378" title="P_378"></a> + opinion from you; but will you insure me the support + of a united North if I do as you bid me? Are all + parties and all sects at the North so convinced and so + united on this point that they will stand by the Government? + If so, give me the evidence of it, and I will + strike the blow. But, gentlemen, looking over the + entire North, and seeing in all your towns and cities + papers representing a considerable, if not a formidable + portion of the people, menacing and bullying the + Government in case it dared to liberate the slaves, + even as a matter of self-preservation, I do not feel + that the hour has yet come that will render it safe for + the Government to take that step.' I am willing to + believe that something of this kind weighs in the + mind of the President and the Cabinet, and that there + is some ground for hesitancy as a mere matter of + political expediency." This admirable and discriminating + support of the President finds another capital + illustration in weighty words of his in answer to animadversions + of Prof. Francis W. Newman, of England, + directed against Mr. Lincoln. Says Garrison: + "In no instance, however, have I censured him (Lincoln) + for not acting upon the highest abstract principles + of justice and humanity, and disregarding his + Constitutional obligations. His freedom to follow + his convictions of duty as an individual is one thing—as + the President of the United States, it is limited by + the functions of his office, for the people do not elect + a President to play the part of reformer or philanthropist, + nor to enforce upon the nation his own + peculiar ethical or humanitary ideas without regard + to his oath or their will." + + </p> + <p> + Great indeed was the joy of the pioneer when President + <a class="newpage" name="P_379" id="P_379" title="P_379"></a> + Lincoln on January 1, 1863, issued his Emancipation + Proclamation. The same sagacious and statesmanlike + handling of men and things distinguished + his conduct after the edict of freedom was made as + before. When the question of Reconstruction was + broached in an administrative initiative in Louisiana, + the President gave great offence to the more + radical members of his party, and to many Abolitionists + by his proposal to readmit Louisiana to Statehood + in the Union with no provision for the extension of + the suffrage to the negro. This exhibition of the + habitual caution and conservatism of Mr. Lincoln + brought upon him a storm of criticism and remonstrances, + but not from Garrison. There was + that in him which appreciated and approved the + evident disposition of the President to make haste + slowly in departing from the American principle of + local self-government even in the interest of liberty. + Then, too, he had his misgivings in relation to the virtue + of the fiat method of transforming chattels into + citizens. "Chattels personal may be instantly translated + from the auction-block into freemen," he remarked + in defence of the administrative policy in the + reconstruction of Louisiana, "but when were they + ever taken at the same time to the ballot-box, and invested + with all political rights and immunities? According + to the laws of development and progress it is + not practicable.... Besides, I doubt whether he has + the Constitutional right to decide this matter. Ever + since the Government was organized, the right of suffrage + has been determined by each State in the Union + for itself, so that there is no uniformity in regard to it. + + </p> + <p> + " ... In honestly seeking to preserve the Union, it + <a class="newpage" name="P_380" id="P_380" title="P_380"></a> + is not for President Lincoln to seek, by a special + edict applied to a particular State or locality, to do + violence to a universal rule, accepted and acted upon + from the beginning till now by the States in their individual + sovereignty.... Nor, if the freed blacks + were admitted to the polls by Presidential fiat do I + see any permanent advantage likely to be secured by + it; for, submitted to as a necessity at the outset, as + soon as the State was organized and left to manage + its own affairs, the white population with their superior + intelligence, wealth, and power, would unquestionably + alter the franchise in accordance with their + prejudices, and exclude those thus summarily brought + to the polls. Coercion would gain nothing." A very + remarkable prophecy, which has since been exactly + fulfilled in the Southern States. Garrison, however, + in the subsequent struggle between Congress and Mr. + Lincoln's successor over this selfsame point in its + wider relation to all of the Southern States, took + sides against Andrew Johnson and in favor of the Congressional + fiat method of transforming chattels personal + into citizens. The elimination of Abraham Lincoln + from, and the introduction of Andrew Johnson + upon the National stage at this juncture, did undoubtedly + effect such a change of circumstances, as + to make the Congressional fiat method a political necessity. + It was distinctly the less of two evils which + at the moment was thrust upon the choice of the + Northern people. + + </p> + <p> + The same breadth and liberality of view, which + marked his treatment of Mr. Lincoln upon the subject + of emancipation and of that of reconstruction, + marked his treatment also of other questions which + <a class="newpage" name="P_381" id="P_381" title="P_381"></a> + the suppression of the rebellion presented to his consideration. + Although a radical peace man, how just + was his attitude toward the men and the measures + of the War for the Union. Nothing that he did + evinced on his part greater tact or toleration than his + admirable behavior in this respect. To his eldest son, + George Thompson, who was no adherent of the doctrine + of non-resistance, and who was commissioned by + Governor Andrew, a second lieutenant in the Fifty-fifth + Massachusetts Regiment, the pioneer wrote expressing + his regret that the young lieutenant had not + been able "to adopt those principles of peace which + are so sacred and divine to my soul, yet you will bear + me witness that I have not laid a straw in your way + to prevent your acting up to your own highest convictions + of duty." Such was precisely his attitude + toward the North who, he believed, in waging war + against the South for the maintenance of the Union, + was acting up to her own highest convictions of duty. + And not a straw would he place across her path, under + those circumstances, though every step bore witness + to one of the most gigantic and destructive wars in + history. + + </p> + <p> + Garrison did not have to wait for posthumous appreciation + from his countrymen. His steady and + discriminating support of the Government, and his + ardent sympathy with the arms of the North won him + appreciation in his lifetime. Indeed, there came to him, + if not popularity, something closely akin to it during + the war. His visit to the capital in June, 1864, well + illustrates the marvelous changes which had taken + place in the Union touching himself and his cause. + On his way to Washington the pioneer stopped over + <a class="newpage" name="P_382" id="P_382" title="P_382"></a> + at Baltimore, which he had not revisited for thirty-four + years, and where the Republican Convention, + which renominated Lincoln was in session. He + watched the proceedings from the gallery, and witnessed + with indescribable emotions the enthusiastic + demonstrations of joy with which the whole body of + delegates greeted the radical anti-slavery resolution + of the Convention. To the reformer it was "a full + indorsement of all the Abolition fanaticism and + incendiarism" with which he had been branded for + years. The jail where he had been held a prisoner + for seven weeks, like the evil which he had denounced, + was gone, and a new one stood in its place, + which knew not Garrison. In the court-house where + he was tried and sentenced he was received by a + United States judge as an illustrious visitor. Judge + Bond hunted up the old indictment against the junior + editor of the + <i>Genius of Universal Emancipation</i>, where + it had lain for a generation, during which that guiltless + prisoner had started a movement which had + shaken the nation by its mighty power, and slavery + out of it. "Eight or nine of the original jurymen + who gave the verdict against Mr. Garrison are still + living," wrote Theodore Tilton, at the time, to the + <i>Independent</i>, "and Judge Bond jocosely + threatened to summon them all into Court, that Mr. Garrison might + forgive them in public." + + </p> + <p> + At Washington the pioneer's reception seemed to + him like a dream. And no wonder. He was heartily + received by President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton. + He was accorded the most marked attentions on the + floor of both branches of Congress. On every side + there rose up witnesses to the vastness of the revolution + <a class="newpage" name="P_383" id="P_383" title="P_383"></a> + which had taken place, and to the fact that the + great Abolitionist was no longer esteemed an enemy + of the Republic but one of its illustrious citizens. + This was evinced in a signal and memorable manner + a little later when the National Government extended + to him an invitation to visit Fort Sumter as its guest + on the occasion of the re-raising over it of the Stars + and Stripes. He went, and so also went George + Thompson, his lifelong friend and coadjutor, who + was the recipient of a similar invitation from the + Secretary of War. + + </p> + <p> + This visit of Mr. Garrison, taken in all its dramatic + features, is more like a chapter of fiction, with its + strange and improbable incidents and situations, than + a story of real life. The pioneer entered Georgia + and trod the streets of Savannah, whose legislature + thirty-three years before had set a price upon his + head. In Charleston he witnessed the vast ruin which + the war had wrought, realized how tremendous had + been the death-struggle between Freedom and + Slavery, and saw everywhere he turned that slavery + was beaten, was dead in its proud, rebellious center. + Thousands upon thousands of the people whose + wrongs he had made his own, whose woes he had + carried in his soul for thirty-five years, greeted him, + their deliverer, in all stages of joy and thanksgiving. + They poured out at his feet their overflowing love and + gratitude. They covered him with flowers, bunches + of jessamines, and honeysuckles and roses in the + streets of Charleston, hard by the grave where Calhoun + lay buried. "'Only listen to that in Charleston + streets!' exclaimed Garrison, on hearing the band of + one of the black regiments playing the air of 'Old + <a class="newpage" name="P_384" id="P_384" title="P_384"></a> + John Brown', and we both broke into tears," relates + Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, who stood by the side of + the pioneer that April morning under the spire of + St. Michael's church. + + </p> + <p> + "The Government has its hold upon the throat of + the monster, slavery," Mr. Garrison assured an audience + of nearly four thousand freedmen, "and is + strangling the life out of it." It was even so. Richmond + had fallen, and Lee had surrendered. The + early and total collapse of the rebellion was impending. + The Government was, indeed, strangling the + life out of it and out of slavery, its cause and mainspring. + The monster had, however, a crowning horror + to add to a long list of horrors before fetching its + last gasp. The assassination of President Lincoln + was the dying blow of slavery, aimed through him at + the Union which he had maintained. Appalling as + was the deed, it was vain, for the Union was saved, + and liberty forever secured to the new-born nation. + As Garrison remarked at the tomb of Calhoun, on + the morning that Lincoln died, "Down into a deeper + grave than this slavery has gone, and for it there is + no resurrection." + <a class="newpage" name="P_385" id="P_385" title="P_385"></a></p> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="chap21"></a> + CHAPTER XXI + <br><br><br><br><br><br> + THE LAST. + + </h2> + <p> + "Garrison," said George Thompson on the steamer + which was conveying the Government party out of + Charleston Harbor on their return trip; "Garrison + you began your warfare at the North in the face of + rotten eggs and brickbats. Behold you end it at + Charleston on a bed of roses!" The period of persecution + had indeed ended, the reign of missiles had + ceased, but with the roses there came to the pioneer + not a few thorns. Bitter was the sorrow which visited + him in the winter of 1863. Without warning his + wife was on the night of December 29th, stricken with + paralysis, which crippled her for the rest of her life. + No words can adequately express all that she had + been to the reformer in his struggle with slavery. + She was a providential woman raised up to be the wife + and helpmate of her husband, the strenuous man + of God. "As a wife for a period of more + than twenty-six years," he wrote her on the completion + of her fiftieth year, "you have left nothing + undone to smooth the rugged pathway of my public + career—to render home the all-powerful magnet of + attraction, and the focal point of domestic enjoyment—to + make my welfare and happiness at all times + a matter of tender solicitude—and to demonstrate the + depth and fixedness of that love which you so long + <a class="newpage" name="P_386" id="P_386" title="P_386"></a> + ago plighted to me.... Whatever of human + infirmity we may have seen in each other, I believe + few have enjoyed more unalloyed bliss in wedded + life than ourselves." For twelve years after that sad + December night the lovely invalid was the object of + her husband's most tender and assiduous care. And + when at last she left him in January, 1876, the loneliness + which fell upon his heart seemed more than he + could bear. + + </p> + <p> + Differences with old associates was a grievous thorn + which came to the pioneer during the progress of the + war. The first marked disagreement between him + and them occurred at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts + Anti-Slavery Society not a month after + his wife's prostration. The clash came between the + leader and his great coadjutor Wendell Phillips over + a resolution introduced by the latter, condemning the + Government and declaring its readiness "to sacrifice + the interest and honor of the North to secure a sham + peace." Garrison objected to the severity of this + charge. He believed that there was but one party at + the North of which it was true, and that was the + party of Copperheads. He endeavored, therefore, to + modify the harshness of the resolution by giving it + a more moderate tone. But the anti-Lincoln feeling + of the Convention proved too strong for his resistance, + and Mr. Phillips's resolution was finally adopted + as the sentiment of the society. + + </p> + <p> + The discordant note thus struck grew sharper and + louder during the year. The divergence of views in + the ranks of the Abolitionists touching the Southern + policy of the Administration grew wider, until the + subject of Mr. Lincoln's renomination sundered the + <a class="newpage" name="P_387" id="P_387" title="P_387"></a> + little band into two wings—one for renomination, + headed by Garrison, the other against renomination, + and led by Phillips. These differences presently + developed into, if not positive antagonism, then something + closely akin to it between the two wings and + the two leaders. No little heat was generated from + the strong, sharp things said on both sides. Garrison + was wiser than Phillips in his unwillingness to have + the country, in the homely speech of the President, + "swap horses while crossing a stream." + + </p> + <p> + Serious differences of opinion sprang up also between + the two leaders and the two wings in relation + to the proper time for dissolving the anti-slavery + organizations. Garrison held on one side that this + time had come with the adoption of the thirteenth + amendment abolishing slavery, while Phillips held on + the other that the societies should continue their + operations until the negro was invested with the right + to vote. And here it seems that Phillips was wiser + than Garrison in his purpose not to abandon in 1865 + the old machinery for influencing public sentiment + in the negro's interest. + + </p> + <p> + At the anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery + Society, in May, 1865, Garrison contended for its dissolution, + declaring that "Nothing is more clear in + my own mind, nothing has ever been more clear, than + that this is the fitting time to dissolve our organization, + and to mingle with the millions of our fellow-countrymen + in one common effort to establish justice + and liberty throughout the land." For two days the + debate upon this question raged in the convention, + but when the vote was taken it was found that a large + majority of the delegates agreed with Mr. Phillips. + <a class="newpage" name="P_388" id="P_388" title="P_388"></a> + Mr. Garrison was, nevertheless, reëlected President, + but declined and withdrew from the society. The + controversy was renewed at the annual meeting of the + Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in January, 1866. + But here again a large majority voted against dissolution. + Warm words fell from both Garrison and + Phillips and their respective supporters, which tried + sorely the friendship of the two leaders. + + </p> + <p> + In accordance with his views touching the discontinuance + of the anti-slavery societies, Garrison discontinued + the publication of the <i>Liberator</i> after the + completion of its thirty-fifth volume in December, + 1865. He did not mean by this act to cease his + labors for the negro. Far from it. For he, like + Phillips, stood for his absolute equality before the + law. But he perceived that old things had passed + away, and with them the need of the old instruments, + and that what remained to be done for the black man + required to be done with new means. "The object," + said he in his valedictory, "for which the + <i>Liberator</i> + was commenced, the extermination of chattel slavery, + having been gloriously consummated, it seems to me + specially appropriate to let its existence cover the + historic period of the great struggle; leaving what + remains to be done to complete the work of emancipation + to other instrumentalites (of which I hope to + avail myself), under new auspices, with more abundant + means, and with millions instead of hundreds + for allies." + + </p> + <p> + With the discontinuance of the <i>Liberator</i> + Garrison's occupation, from which he had derived a regular + though somewhat uncertain income for the support + of his family, was gone. He was not in destitute circumstances, + <a class="newpage" name="P_389" id="P_389" title="P_389"></a> + however, thanks to the generosity of + friends, who had already secured him the home in + Roxbury, where he spent the remaining years of his + life. He had also been one of the legatees under the + will of Charles F. Hovey, who left about forty thousand + dollars to the anti-slavery cause. But the age + of the reformer, he was then sixty, and the state of + his health, which was much impaired, together with + the helplessness of his wife, made some provision for + his and her support, other than the little which he + possessed, a matter of anxious thought on the part + of himself and his friends. He had given thirty-five + years of his life to the public good. His services to + his country and to the world were above all price, all + money considerations. It was felt that to him who + had given so much to the world, the world should in + his need make some substantial acknowledgement in + return. + + </p> + <p> + Some of his countrymen, accordingly, conceived + the plan of a national testimonial to the philanthropist, + which should ensure to him during the rest of + his life a competence. + + </p> + <p> + A committee having this end in view was organized + March 28, 1866, at the house of Dr. Henry I. Bowditch. + John A. Andrew, who was its chairman, wrote + the address to the public, to which were appended + the chief names in the politics and literature of the + land. Nearly two years afterward, on March 10, 1868, + the committee were able to place in Mr. Garrison's + hands the handsome sum of thirty-one thousand dollars + with a promise of possibly one or two thousand + more a little later. To the energy and devotedness of + one man, the Rev. Samuel May, Jr., more than to any + <a class="newpage" name="P_390" id="P_390" title="P_390"></a> + other, and perhaps than all others put together, this + noble achievement was due. The pioneer was + deeply moved at the high and generous character of + the recognition accorded his labors. "Little, indeed, + did I know or anticipate how prolonged or how virulent + would be the struggle," said he in his reply to + the committee, "when I lifted up the standard of + immediate emancipation, and essayed to rouse the + nation to a sense of its guilt and danger. But having + put my hands to the plow, how could I look + back? For, in a cause so righteous, I could not + doubt that, having turned the furrows, if I sowed in + tears I should one day reap in joy. But, whether + permitted to live to witness the abolition of slavery + or not, I felt assured that, as I demanded nothing + that was not clearly in accordance with justice and + humanity, sometime or other, if remembered at all, + I should stand vindicated in the eyes of my countrymen." + The names of John Bright, John Stuart Mill, + William E. Foster, and Samuel Morley, among the + contributors to the fund, lent to the testimonial an + international character. + + </p> + <p> + In May, 1867, Garrison went abroad the fourth + time, and traveled in Great Britain and on the Continent. + Everywhere that he went he was received as + an illustrious visitor and as a benefactor of mankind. + At a breakfast in London which "was intended to commemorate + one of the greatest of the great triumphs + of freedom, and to do honor to a most eminent instrument + in the achievement of that freedom," and at + which were gathered the genius, the wealth, and + aristocracy of England and Scotland, John Bright, + who presided, welcomed the illustrious guest "with + <a class="newpage" name="P_391" id="P_391" title="P_391"></a> + a cordiality which knows no stint and no limit for + him and for his noble associates, both men and + women," and ventured to speak a verdict which he + believed would be sanctioned by all mankind, viz., + that "William Lloyd Garrison and his fellow-laborers + in that world's work—are they not + + </p> + <div class="lg">"On Fame's eternal bead-roll worthy to be filed?"<br><br></div> + <p> + With the discontinuance of the <i>Liberator</i> + Garrison's active career came to a close. But his sympathetic + interest in the freedmen, temperance, the cause of + women, and in other reformatory enterprises continued + unabated. He watched with stern and vigilant + eye, and bleeding heart the new rebellion at the + South whose purpose was the nullification of the civil + and political rights of the blacks, and the overthrow + of the military rule of the National Government in + the Southern States. He did not see what time has + since made clear that a genuine reconstruction + of the South, and the ultimate solution of + the Southern problem had, in accordance with + social laws, to proceed from within, from the South + itself, not from without and from Washington. The + old fire again burned in his speech as tidings of the + violence of the whites and the sufferings of the blacks + reached him from the former slave section. Indeed, + the last written words of his, addressed to the public, + were words in defence of the race to whose freedom + he had devoted his life—words which, trumpet-tongued + raised anew the rallying-cry of "Liberty and + equal rights for each, for all, and for ever, wherever + the lot of man is cast within our broad domains!" + + </p> + <p> + True to his grand motto "My country is the world! + my countrymen are all mankind," he espoused the + <a class="newpage" name="P_392" id="P_392" title="P_392"></a> + cause of the Chinese, and denounced the National policy + of excluding them on the ground of race from the + republic but a few months before his death. The anti-Chinese + movement appeared to him "narrow, conceited, + selfish, anti-human, anti-Christian." "Against + this hateful spirit of caste," wrote the dying philanthropist, + "I have earnestly protested for the last fifty + years, wherever it has developed itself, especially in + the case of another class, for many generations still + more contemned, degraded, and oppressed; and the + time has fully come to deal with it as an offence to + God, and a curse to the world wherever it seeks to + bear sway." + + </p> + <p> + On the same grand principle of human fraternity + Mr. Garrison dealt with the questions of trade and + tariffs also. He believed in liberty, civil, religious, + and commercial. He was in fact a radical free trader + on moral and humanitary grounds. "He is the most + sagacious political economist," was a remark of his, + "who contends for the highest justice, the most far-reaching + equality, a close adherence to natural laws, + and the removal of all those restrictions which foster + national pride and selfishness." And here is another + like unto it: "Believing that the interests of the + American people in no wise materially differ from + those of the people of any other country, and denying + the rectitude or feasibility of building ourselves up + at their expense by an exclusive policy, obstructing + the natural flow of material exchanges, I avow myself + to be a radical free trader, even to the extent of + desiring the abolition of all custom-houses, as now + constituted, throughout the world. That event is far + distant, undoubtedly, but I believe it will come with + <a class="newpage" name="P_393" id="P_393" title="P_393"></a> + the freedom and enlightenment of mankind. My + faith is absolute that it will prove advantageous to + every branch of industry, whether at home or abroad." + + </p> + <p> + The closing years of the reformer's life were years + of great bodily suffering. A disease of the kidneys + and a chronic catarrh of the head made steady + inroads upon the resources of his constitution, made + life at times a wheel on which he was racked with + physical tortures, all of which he bore with the utmost + fortitude and serenity of spirit. "The longer I + live, the longer I desire to live," he wrote Samuel J. + May, "and the more I see the desirableness of living; + yet certainly not in this frail body, but just as it shall + please the dear Father of us all." One by one he + saw the little band of which he was leader dwindle + as now one and now another dropped by the way. + And it was he or Mr. Phillips, or both, who spoke the + last loving words over their coffins. As the little + band passed on to the unseen country, a new joy + awoke in the soul of the leader left behind, the joy of + anticipation, of glad reunion beyond the grave. "How + unspeakably pleasant it will be to greet them, and to + be greeted by them on the other side of the line," it + seemed to him as he, too, began to descend toward + the shore of the swift, silent river. The deep, sweet + love for his mother returned with youthful freshness + and force to him, the man of seventy-three years, at + the thought of coming again into her presence. A + strange yearning was tugging at his heart for all the + dear ones gone before. The fond mother, who had + watched over his childhood, and the fond wife, who + had been the stay of his manhood, were the first two + whom he yearned to meet after crossing the river. + <a class="newpage" name="P_394" id="P_394" title="P_394"></a> + The joyous thought of his approaching meeting + with those white-souled women cheered and comforted + the reformer amid excruciating physical sufferings. + Worn out by heroic and Herculean labors for + mankind and by a complication of diseases, he more + and more longed for rest, to go home to beloved + ones as he expressed it. To the question, "What do + you want, Mr. Garrison?" asked by the attending + physician on the day before his death, he replied, + weariedly, "To finish it up!" And this he did at the + home of his daughter, Mrs. Henry Villard, in New + York, in the midst of children and grandchildren, + near midnight, on May 24, 1879. + + </p> + <p> + "While that ear could listen," said Wendell + Phillips over the illustrious champion of liberty as + he lay dead in the old church in Roxbury; "While + that ear could listen, God gave what he has rarely + given to man, the plaudits and prayers of four millions + of victims." But as he lay there he had, besides, + the plaudits and praise of an emancipated nation. + The plaudits and praise of an emancipated race, mingling + melodiously with those of an emancipated nation + made noble music about his bier. In the city, where + forty-three years before he was mobbed, the flags + floated at half-mast in his honor; and on Beacon + Hill, where the Government once desired his destruction, + the voice of appreciation was heard and tokens + of the State's sorrow met the eye. Great in life + great also in death was William Lloyd Garrison. + + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h3><a name="Lowell"></a></h3> + <div class="lg">"Men of a thousand shifts and wiles, look here!<br>See one straightforward conscience put in pawn<br>To win a world; see the obedient sphere<br>By bravery's simple gravitation drawn!<br><br></div> + <div class="lg"><a class="newpage" name="P_395" id="P_395" title="P_395"></a>Shall we not heed the lesson taught of old,<br>And by the present's lips repeated still,<br>In our own single manhood to be bold,<br>Fortressed in conscience and impregnable will?"<br><br></div> + </div> + </div> + <div class="teidiv"> + <h2><a name="index"></a> + INDEX. + + </h2> + <table summary="index"> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_396" id="P_396" title="P_396"></a><a class="newpage" name="P_397" id="P_397" title="P_397"></a> + Adams, Charles Francis, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_372" class="ref">372</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Adams, John Quincy, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_054" class="ref">54</a>, <a href="#P_250" class="ref">250</a>-<a href="#P_251" class="ref">251</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Adams, Nehemiah, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_278" class="ref">278</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Adams, William, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_292" class="ref">292</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Alcott, A. Bronson, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_090" class="ref">90</a>, <a href="#P_091" class="ref">91</a>, <a href="#P_134" class="ref">134</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + American Anti-Slavery Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_174" class="ref">174</a>, <a href="#P_311" class="ref">311</a>, <a href="#P_340" class="ref">340</a>, <a href="#P_373" class="ref">373</a>, <a href="#P_387" class="ref">387</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Andover Seminary, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_190" class="ref">190</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Andrew, John A., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_381" class="ref">381</a>, <a href="#P_389" class="ref">389</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Annexation of Texas, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_335" class="ref">335</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Anti-Slavery Standard</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_299" class="ref">299</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Atchison, David, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>, <a href="#P_374" class="ref">374</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Attucks, Crispus, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_227" class="ref">227</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Bacon, Leonard W., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_162" class="ref">162</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Bartlett, Ezekiel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_018" class="ref">18</a>, <a href="#P_020" class="ref">20</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Beecher, Lyman, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_110" class="ref">110</a>, <a href="#P_111" class="ref">111</a>, <a href="#P_161" class="ref">161</a>, <a href="#P_189" class="ref">189</a>, <a href="#P_190" class="ref">190</a>, <a href="#P_269" class="ref">269</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Benson, George, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_194" class="ref">194</a>, <a href="#P_263" class="ref">263</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Benson, George W., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_168" class="ref">168</a>, <a href="#P_178" class="ref">178</a>, <a href="#P_234" class="ref">234</a>, <a href="#P_260" class="ref">260</a>, <a href="#P_281" class="ref">281</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Benson, Henry E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_212" class="ref">212</a>, <a href="#P_263" class="ref">263</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Benton, Thomas H., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_105" class="ref">105</a>-<a href="#P_106" class="ref">106</a>, <a href="#P_252" class="ref">252</a>, <a href="#P_253" class="ref">253</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Bird, Frank W., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_361" class="ref">361</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Birney, James G., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>, <a href="#P_298" class="ref">298</a>, <a href="#P_320" class="ref">320</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Bond, Judge, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_382" class="ref">382</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_217" class="ref">217</a>, <a href="#P_233" class="ref">233</a>, <a href="#P_240" class="ref">240</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Bourne, Rev. George, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_108" class="ref">108</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_398" id="P_398" title="P_398"></a> + Bowditch, Henry I., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_233" class="ref">233</a>, <a href="#P_349" class="ref">349</a>, <a href="#P_389" class="ref">389</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Bright, John, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_390" class="ref">390</a>, <a href="#P_391" class="ref">391</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Brooks, Preston S., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_359" class="ref">359</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Brown, John, + <a href="#P_365" class="ref">365</a>-<a href="#P_368" class="ref">368</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Buffum, Arnold, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_139" class="ref">139</a>, <a href="#P_177" class="ref">177</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Burleigh, Charles C., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_221" class="ref">221</a>, <a href="#P_223" class="ref">223</a>, <a href="#P_235" class="ref">235</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Buxton, Thomas Fowell, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_152" class="ref">152</a>, <a href="#P_154" class="ref">154</a>, <a href="#P_204" class="ref">204</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Calhoun, John C., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_246" class="ref">246</a>, <a href="#P_252" class="ref">252</a>, <a href="#P_315" class="ref">315</a>, <a href="#P_335" class="ref">335</a>, <a href="#P_336" class="ref">336</a>, <a href="#P_337" class="ref">337</a>, <a href="#P_352" class="ref">352</a>, <a href="#P_353" class="ref">353</a>, <a href="#P_384" class="ref">384</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Campbell, John Reid, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_225" class="ref">225</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Channing, Dr. W.E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_110" class="ref">110</a>, <a href="#P_111" class="ref">111</a>, <a href="#P_256" class="ref">256</a>, <a href="#P_316" class="ref">316</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Chapman, Maria Weston, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_223" class="ref">223</a>, <a href="#P_258" class="ref">258</a>, <a href="#P_259" class="ref">259</a>, <a href="#P_277" class="ref">277</a>, <a href="#P_292" class="ref">292</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Chase, Salmon P., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Child, David Lee, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_134" class="ref">134</a>, <a href="#P_136" class="ref">136</a>, <a href="#P_138" class="ref">138</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Child, Lydia Maria, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>, <a href="#P_210" class="ref">210</a>, <a href="#P_277" class="ref">277</a>, <a href="#P_292" class="ref">292</a>, <a href="#P_309" class="ref">309</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Clay, Henry, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_339" class="ref">339</a>, <a href="#P_348" class="ref">348</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Clerical Appeal, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_282" class="ref">282</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Clarkson, Thomas, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_155" class="ref">155</a>, <a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Coffin, Joshua, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_139" class="ref">139</a>, <a href="#P_198" class="ref">198</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Cobb, Howell, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Collier, Rev. William, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_040" class="ref">40</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Collins, John A., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_298" class="ref">298</a>, <a href="#P_299" class="ref">299</a>, <a href="#P_300" class="ref">300</a>, <a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Colonization Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_060" class="ref">60</a>, <a href="#P_072" class="ref">72</a>, <a href="#P_144" class="ref">144</a>-<a href="#P_156" class="ref">156</a>, <a href="#P_162" class="ref">162</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Colored Seaman, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_313" class="ref">313</a>-<a href="#P_314" class="ref">314</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Colorphobia, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_157" class="ref">157</a>-<a href="#P_169" class="ref">169</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Colver, Nathaniel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Commercial Advertiser</i>, New York, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_170" class="ref">170</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Courier</i>, Boston, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_128" class="ref">128</a>, <a href="#P_129" class="ref">129</a>, <a href="#P_217" class="ref">217</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Courier and Enquirer</i>, New York, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_171" class="ref">171</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Corwin, Thomas, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_372" class="ref">372</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Cox, Abraham L., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_185" class="ref">185</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>, <a href="#P_209" class="ref">209</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Crandall, Prudence, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_165" class="ref">165</a>-<a href="#P_168" class="ref">168</a>, <a href="#P_199" class="ref">199</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Cresson, Elliott, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_150" class="ref">150</a>, <a href="#P_151" class="ref">151</a>, <a href="#P_153" class="ref">153</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Cropper, James, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_154" class="ref">154</a>, <a href="#P_205" class="ref">205</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Curtin, Andrew G., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_372" class="ref">372</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Curtis, Benjamin R., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_354" class="ref">354</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Cuyler, Rev. Theodore L., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_384" class="ref">384</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_399" id="P_399" title="P_399"></a> + Davis, Jefferson, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>, <a href="#P_376" class="ref">376</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Disunion Convention at Worcester, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_361" class="ref">361</a>-<a href="#P_363" class="ref">363</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Dole, Ebenezer, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_086" class="ref">86</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Douglas, Stephen A., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_353" class="ref">353</a>, <a href="#P_365" class="ref">365</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Douglass, Frederick, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_300" class="ref">300</a>, <a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Dred Scott Case, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_364" class="ref">364</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Duncan, Rev, James, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_108" class="ref">108</a>-<a href="#P_109" class="ref">109</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Emancipator, The</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_283" class="ref">283</a>, <a href="#P_285" class="ref">285</a>, <a href="#P_286" class="ref">286</a>, <a href="#P_328" class="ref">328</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Emerson, Ralph Waldo, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_281" class="ref">281</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Evening Post</i>, New York, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_208" class="ref">208</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Everett, Edward, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_030" class="ref">30</a>, <a href="#P_031" class="ref">31</a>, <a href="#P_243" class="ref">243</a>, <a href="#P_244" class="ref">244</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Farnham, Martha, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_016" class="ref">16</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Fessenden, Samuel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_141" class="ref">141</a>, <a href="#P_148" class="ref">148</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Follen, Prof. Charles, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_201" class="ref">201</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>, <a href="#P_247" class="ref">247</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Forten, James, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_144" class="ref">144</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Foster, Stephen S., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>, <a href="#P_375" class="ref">375</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Foster, William E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_390" class="ref">390</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Frémont, John C., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_361" class="ref">361</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Free Press</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_027" class="ref">27</a>, <a href="#P_034" class="ref">34</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Fugitive Slave Law, effect of, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_345" class="ref">345</a>-<a href="#P_347" class="ref">347</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Fugitive Slaves, The Crafts, Shadrach, Sims, Burns, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_349" class="ref">349</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Fuller, John E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_219" class="ref">219</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Furness, Rev. W.H., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, Abijah, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_012" class="ref">12</a>-<a href="#P_015" class="ref">15</a>, <a href="#P_018" class="ref">18</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, Charles Follen, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_331" class="ref">331</a>-<a href="#P_332" class="ref">332</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, Francis Jackson, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_330" class="ref">330</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, George Thompson, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_381" class="ref">381</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, Helen Eliza, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_194" class="ref">194</a>-<a href="#P_196" class="ref">196</a>, <a href="#P_219" class="ref">219</a>, <a href="#P_297" class="ref">297</a>, <a href="#P_331" class="ref">331</a>, <a href="#P_385" class="ref">385</a>-<a href="#P_386" class="ref">386</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, James, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_019" class="ref">19</a>, <a href="#P_020" class="ref">20</a>, <a href="#P_302" class="ref">302</a>-<a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, Joseph, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_011" class="ref">11</a>, <a href="#P_012" class="ref">12</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, Wendell Phillips, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_297" class="ref">297</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, William Lloyd, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Early years, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_011" class="ref">11</a>-<a href="#P_026" class="ref">26</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Publishes <i>Free Press,</i></td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_027" class="ref">27</a>-<a href="#P_034" class="ref">34</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + seeks work in Boston, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_035" class="ref">35</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + nominates Harrison Gray Otis for Congress, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_035" class="ref">35</a>-<a href="#P_036" class="ref">36</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + temperance and the <i>Philanthropist</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_039" class="ref">39</a>-<a href="#P_044" class="ref">44</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_400" id="P_400" title="P_400"></a> + meets Lundy, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_044" class="ref">44</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + early attitude on the slavery question, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_046" class="ref">46</a>-<a href="#P_050" class="ref">50</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + on war, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_051" class="ref">51</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + first experience with ministers on the subject of slavery, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_052" class="ref">52</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Anti-slavery Committee of twenty, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_053" class="ref">53</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + goes to Bennington, Vt., to edit the <i>Journal of the Times</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_054" class="ref">54</a>-<a href="#P_055" class="ref">55</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + monster anti-slavery petition to Congress, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_055" class="ref">55</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + anticipates trouble with the South, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_056" class="ref">56</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + begins to preach freedom, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_056" class="ref">56</a>-<a href="#P_057" class="ref">57</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + agrees to help Lundy edit the <i>Genius of Universal Emancipation</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_058" class="ref">58</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Congregational Societies of Boston invite him to deliver Fourth-of-July oration, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_060" class="ref">60</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + the address, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_061" class="ref">61</a>-<a href="#P_067" class="ref">67</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + goes to Baltimore, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_069" class="ref">69</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + raises the standard of immediate emancipation, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_070" class="ref">70</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lundy and he agree to differ, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_071" class="ref">71</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + defends Free People of Color, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_073" class="ref">73</a>-<a href="#P_074" class="ref">74</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + makes acquaintance with barbarism of slavery, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_074" class="ref">74</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + ship <i>Francis</i> and Francis Todd, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_075" class="ref">75</a>-<a href="#P_077" class="ref">77</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + prosecuted and imprisoned, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_077" class="ref">77</a>-<a href="#P_083" class="ref">83</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + released, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_083" class="ref">83</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + visits the North, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_084" class="ref">84</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + returns to Baltimore but leaves it again for good, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_087" class="ref">87</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + lectures on slavery, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_088" class="ref">88</a>-<a href="#P_091" class="ref">91</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + character, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_092" class="ref">92</a>-<a href="#P_094" class="ref">94</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + incarnation of immediate emancipation, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_109" class="ref">109</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Dr. Lyman Beecher, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_110" class="ref">110</a>-<a href="#P_111" class="ref">111</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + difficulties in the way of publishing the <i>Liberator</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_112" class="ref">112</a>-<a href="#P_115" class="ref">115</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + his method of attacking slavery, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_118" class="ref">118</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + he is heard, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_120" class="ref">120</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Walker's appeal, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_121" class="ref">121</a>-<a href="#P_122" class="ref">122</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Nat Turner, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_125" class="ref">125</a>-<a href="#P_126" class="ref">126</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + southern excitement, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_127" class="ref">127</a>-<a href="#P_128" class="ref">128</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + New England Anti-Slavery Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_137" class="ref">137</a>-<a href="#P_138" class="ref">138</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + appointed agent, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_141" class="ref">141</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + thoughts on African colonization, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_143" class="ref">143</a>-<a href="#P_150" class="ref">150</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + first visit to England, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_152" class="ref">152</a>-<a href="#P_156" class="ref">156</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Mr. Buxton's mistake, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_152" class="ref">152</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + prejudice against color, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_157" class="ref">157</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Prudence Crandall, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_166" class="ref">166</a>, <a href="#P_168" class="ref">168</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + organization of New York City Anti-Slavery Society and beginning of the mob period, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_170" class="ref">170</a>-<a href="#P_172" class="ref">172</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + formation of American Anti-Slavery Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_174" class="ref">174</a>-<a href="#P_185" class="ref">185</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + declaration of sentiments, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_182" class="ref">182</a>-<a href="#P_184" class="ref">184</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + increased agitation, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_185" class="ref">185</a>-<a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + marriage, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_193" class="ref">193</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + the wife, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_194" class="ref">194</a>-<a href="#P_196" class="ref">196</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + poverty of the <i>Liberator</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_197" class="ref">197</a>-<a href="#P_200" class="ref">200</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + the paper displeases friends, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_201" class="ref">201</a>-<a href="#P_204" class="ref">204</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + George Thompson, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_204" class="ref">204</a>-<a href="#P_206" class="ref">206</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Faneuil Hall meeting to put the Abolitionists down, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_211" class="ref">211</a>-<a href="#P_215" class="ref">215</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + gallows for two, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_215" class="ref">215</a>-<a href="#P_216" class="ref">216</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + the Broad-Cloth Mob, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_218" class="ref">218</a>-<a href="#P_232" class="ref">232</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Thompson leaves the country, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_238" class="ref">238</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + appears before a committee of Massachusetts legislature, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_245" class="ref">245</a>-<a href="#P_246" class="ref">246</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Pennsylvania Hall, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_257" class="ref">257</a>-<a href="#P_260" class="ref">260</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Marlboro Chapel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_260" class="ref">260</a>-<a href="#P_261" class="ref">261</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + ill health, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_263" class="ref">263</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Educational Convention of anti-slavery agents, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_264" class="ref">264</a>-<a href="#P_265" class="ref">265</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_401" id="P_401" title="P_401"></a> + the Sabbath question, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_265" class="ref">265</a>-<a href="#P_272" class="ref">272</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + The woman's question, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_273" class="ref">273</a>-<a href="#P_280" class="ref">280</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + clerical appeal, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_282" class="ref">282</a>-<a href="#P_285" class="ref">285</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + anti-slavery political action, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_286" class="ref">286</a>-<a href="#P_288" class="ref">288</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + conflict between the New York and the Boston boards, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_289" class="ref">289</a>-<a href="#P_291" class="ref">291</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + the World's Convention, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_292" class="ref">292</a>-<a href="#P_295" class="ref">295</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + visit to Scotland, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_295" class="ref">295</a>-<a href="#P_296" class="ref">296</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + in the lecture field, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_300" class="ref">300</a>-<a href="#P_301" class="ref">301</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + his brother James, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_302" class="ref">302</a>-<a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + meets charges of infidelity, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>-<a href="#P_304" class="ref">304</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Irish Address, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_304" class="ref">304</a>-<a href="#P_305" class="ref">305</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + no union with slaveholders, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_306" class="ref">306</a>-<a href="#P_312" class="ref">312</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Texas agitation, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_316" class="ref">316</a>-<a href="#P_318" class="ref">318</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + dislikes Liberty party, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_319" class="ref">319</a>-<a href="#P_323" class="ref">323</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + some characteristics, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_326" class="ref">326</a>-<a href="#P_334" class="ref">334</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + the Rynders Mob, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_340" class="ref">340</a>-<a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + publicly burns the United States Constitution, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_354" class="ref">354</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + answers objections to his disunionism, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_362" class="ref">362</a>-<a href="#P_363" class="ref">363</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Harper's Ferry, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_365" class="ref">365</a>-<a href="#P_367" class="ref">367</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + secession: first attitude to it, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_370" class="ref">370</a>-<a href="#P_373" class="ref">373</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + second attitude, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_373" class="ref">373</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + adapts himself to circumstances, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_373" class="ref">373</a>-<a href="#P_381" class="ref">381</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lincoln and emancipation, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_379" class="ref">379</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + visits Baltimore, Washington, Charleston, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_381" class="ref">381</a>-<a href="#P_384" class="ref">384</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + illness and death of his wife, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_385" class="ref">385</a>-<a href="#P_386" class="ref">386</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + differences with anti-slavery associates, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_386" class="ref">386</a>-<a href="#P_388" class="ref">388</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + discontinues the <i>Liberator</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_388" class="ref">388</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + national testimonial, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_389" class="ref">389</a>-<a href="#P_390" class="ref">390</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + fourth visit to England, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_390" class="ref">390</a>-<a href="#P_391" class="ref">391</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + champions cause of Southern negroes, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_391" class="ref">391</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + champions cause of Chinese, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_392" class="ref">392</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + believes in Free Trade, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_392" class="ref">392</a>-<a href="#P_393" class="ref">393</a>; + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + illness and death, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_393" class="ref">393</a>-<a href="#P_395" class="ref">395</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Garrison, William Lloyd, Jr., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_297" class="ref">297</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Gazette</i>, Boston, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_217" class="ref">217</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Genius of Universal Emancipation</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_058" class="ref">58</a>, <a href="#P_069" class="ref">69</a>, <a href="#P_071" class="ref">71</a>-<a href="#P_075" class="ref">75</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Gibbons, James S., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_309" class="ref">309</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Giddings, Joshua R., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Goodell, William, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>, <a href="#P_247" class="ref">247</a>, <a href="#P_248" class="ref">248</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Green, William, Jr., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_184" class="ref">184</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Grimké, Angelina E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_235" class="ref">235</a>, <a href="#P_258" class="ref">258</a>-<a href="#P_259" class="ref">259</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Grimké, Sisters, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_275" class="ref">275</a>-<a href="#P_280" class="ref">280</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Hale, John P., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>, <a href="#P_350" class="ref">350</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Hamilton, Alexander, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_104" class="ref">104</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Hamlin, Hannibal, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Haydon, Benjamin Robert, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_294" class="ref">294</a>, <a href="#P_295" class="ref">295</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Hayne, Robert Y., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_209" class="ref">209</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Herald</i>, Newburyport, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_021" class="ref">21</a>, <a href="#P_026" class="ref">26</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_402" id="P_402" title="P_402"></a><i>Herald</i>, New York, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_340" class="ref">340</a>, <a href="#P_341" class="ref">341</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Higginson, T.W., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_358" class="ref">358</a>-<a href="#P_359" class="ref">359</a>, <a href="#P_361" class="ref">361</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Hoar, Samuel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_314" class="ref">314</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Horton, Jacob, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_061" class="ref">61</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Hovey, Charles F., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_389" class="ref">389</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Jackson, Francis, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_233" class="ref">233</a>, <a href="#P_240" class="ref">240</a>-<a href="#P_241" class="ref">241</a>, <a href="#P_311" class="ref">311</a>-<a href="#P_312" class="ref">312</a>, <a href="#P_317" class="ref">317</a>, <a href="#P_341" class="ref">341</a>, <a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Jewett, Daniel E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_175" class="ref">175</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Jocelyn, Rev. Simeon Smith, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Johnson, Andrew, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_380" class="ref">380</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Johnson, Oliver, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_114" class="ref">114</a>, <a href="#P_134" class="ref">134</a>, <a href="#P_137" class="ref">137</a>, <a href="#P_139" class="ref">139</a>, <a href="#P_160" class="ref">160</a>-<a href="#P_161" class="ref">161</a>, <a href="#P_374" class="ref">374</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Journal</i>, Camden (S.C.), + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_128" class="ref">128</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Journal</i>, Louisville (Ky.), + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_120" class="ref">120</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Kansas, Struggle over, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_357" class="ref">357</a>-<a href="#P_358" class="ref">358</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Kelley, Abby, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_259" class="ref">259</a>, <a href="#P_291" class="ref">291</a>, <a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Kimball, David T., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_175" class="ref">175</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Knapp, Isaac, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_113" class="ref">113</a>, <a href="#P_127" class="ref">127</a>, <a href="#P_139" class="ref">139</a>, <a href="#P_197" class="ref">197</a>, <a href="#P_200" class="ref">200</a>, <a href="#P_265" class="ref">265</a>, <a href="#P_301" class="ref">301</a>-<a href="#P_302" class="ref">302</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Kneeland, Abner, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_090" class="ref">90</a>, <a href="#P_268" class="ref">268</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lane Seminary, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_189" class="ref">189</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Latimer, George, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_312" class="ref">312</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Leavitt, Joshua, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_320" class="ref">320</a>, <a href="#P_329" class="ref">329</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Leggett, Samuel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_086" class="ref">86</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Liberator, The</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_111" class="ref">111</a>-<a href="#P_120" class="ref">120</a>, <a href="#P_126" class="ref">126</a>-<a href="#P_129" class="ref">129</a>, <a href="#P_131" class="ref">131</a>, <a href="#P_141" class="ref">141</a>, <a href="#P_163" class="ref">163</a>, <a href="#P_165" class="ref">165</a>, <a href="#P_169" class="ref">169</a>, <a href="#P_176" class="ref">176</a>, <a href="#P_197" class="ref">197</a>-<a href="#P_204" class="ref">204</a>, <a href="#P_236" class="ref">236</a>, <a href="#P_237" class="ref">237</a>, <a href="#P_265" class="ref">265</a>, <a href="#P_284" class="ref">284</a>, <a href="#P_297" class="ref">297</a>, <a href="#P_327" class="ref">327</a>-<a href="#P_329" class="ref">329</a>, <a href="#P_388" class="ref">388</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lincoln, Abraham, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_365" class="ref">365</a>, <a href="#P_370" class="ref">370</a>, <a href="#P_375" class="ref">375</a>, <a href="#P_376" class="ref">376</a>, <a href="#P_377" class="ref">377</a>, <a href="#P_378" class="ref">378</a>, <a href="#P_379" class="ref">379</a>, <a href="#P_380" class="ref">380</a>, <a href="#P_382" class="ref">382</a>, <a href="#P_384" class="ref">384</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lloyd, Fanny, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_013" class="ref">13</a>-<a href="#P_020" class="ref">20</a>, <a href="#P_024" class="ref">24</a>-<a href="#P_026" class="ref">26</a>, <a href="#P_044" class="ref">44</a>-<a href="#P_045" class="ref">45</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Longfellow, Stephen, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_148" class="ref">148</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Loring, Edward Greeley, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_354" class="ref">354</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Loring, Ellis Grey, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_134" class="ref">134</a>, <a href="#P_135" class="ref">135</a>, <a href="#P_136" class="ref">136</a>, <a href="#P_138" class="ref">138</a>, <a href="#P_245" class="ref">245</a>, <a href="#P_264" class="ref">264</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lovejoy, Elijah P., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_254" class="ref">254</a>-<a href="#P_257" class="ref">257</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lowell, James Russell, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_136" class="ref">136</a>, <a href="#P_329" class="ref">329</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lumpkin, Wilson, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_128" class="ref">128</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lundy, Benjamin, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_044" class="ref">44</a>, <a href="#P_045" class="ref">45</a>, <a href="#P_046" class="ref">46</a>, <a href="#P_048" class="ref">48</a>-<a href="#P_054" class="ref">54</a>, <a href="#P_057" class="ref">57</a>, <a href="#P_058" class="ref">58</a>, <a href="#P_069" class="ref">69</a>, <a href="#P_071" class="ref">71</a>, <a href="#P_072" class="ref">72</a>, <a href="#P_075" class="ref">75</a>, <a href="#P_108" class="ref">108</a>, <a href="#P_133" class="ref">133</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lunt, George, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_244" class="ref">244</a>, <a href="#P_247" class="ref">247</a>, <a href="#P_248" class="ref">248</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Lyman, Theodore, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_223" class="ref">223</a>, <a href="#P_224" class="ref">224</a>, <a href="#P_227" class="ref">227</a>, <a href="#P_228" class="ref">228</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_403" id="P_403" title="P_403"></a> + Macaulay, Zachary, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_154" class="ref">154</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Malcolm, Rev. Howard, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_052" class="ref">52</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Martineau, Harriet, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_094" class="ref">94</a>, <a href="#P_240" class="ref">240</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Mason, James M., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Mason, Jeremiah, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_111" class="ref">111</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_265" class="ref">265</a>, <a href="#P_280" class="ref">280</a>, <a href="#P_297" class="ref">297</a>, <a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Mathew, Father, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_304" class="ref">304</a>, <a href="#P_305" class="ref">305</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + May, Samuel, Jr., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_325" class="ref">325</a>, <a href="#P_389" class="ref">389</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + May, Samuel J., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_090" class="ref">90</a>, <a href="#P_093" class="ref">93</a>, <a href="#P_094" class="ref">94</a>, <a href="#P_134" class="ref">134</a>, <a href="#P_166" class="ref">166</a>, <a href="#P_167" class="ref">167</a>, <a href="#P_179" class="ref">179</a>, <a href="#P_180" class="ref">180</a>, <a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>, <a href="#P_199" class="ref">199</a>, <a href="#P_245" class="ref">245</a>, <a href="#P_272" class="ref">272</a>, <a href="#P_289" class="ref">289</a>, <a href="#P_393" class="ref">393</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + McDowell, James, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_124" class="ref">124</a>, <a href="#P_125" class="ref">125</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + McKim, James Miller, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + McDuffie, Governor, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_243" class="ref">243</a>, <a href="#P_246" class="ref">246</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>Mercury</i>, Charleston, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_126" class="ref">126</a>, + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Mill, John Stuart, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_390" class="ref">390</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Missouri Compromise, Repeal of, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_352" class="ref">352</a>-<a href="#P_354" class="ref">354</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Moore, Esther, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_259" class="ref">259</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Morley, Samuel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_390" class="ref">390</a>, + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Mott, Lucretia, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_178" class="ref">178</a>, <a href="#P_259" class="ref">259</a>, <a href="#P_292" class="ref">292</a>, <a href="#P_293" class="ref">293</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>National Intelligencer</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_128" class="ref">128</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + New England Anti-Slavery Society, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_137" class="ref">137</a>-<a href="#P_141" class="ref">141</a>, <a href="#P_200" class="ref">200</a>, <a href="#P_280" class="ref">280</a>, <a href="#P_311" class="ref">311</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><i>New England Spectator</i>, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_282" class="ref">282</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Newman, Prof. Francis W., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_378" class="ref">378</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + O'Connell, Daniel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_154" class="ref">154</a>, <a href="#P_170" class="ref">170</a>, <a href="#P_171" class="ref">171</a>, <a href="#P_304" class="ref">304</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Otis, Harrison Gray, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_035" class="ref">35</a>, <a href="#P_129" class="ref">129</a>, <a href="#P_130" class="ref">130</a>, <a href="#P_131" class="ref">131</a>, <a href="#P_213" class="ref">213</a>, <a href="#P_214" class="ref">214</a>, <a href="#P_215" class="ref">215</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Palmer, Daniel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_011" class="ref">11</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Palmer, Mary, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_011" class="ref">11</a>, <a href="#P_012" class="ref">12</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Parker, Mary S., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_222" class="ref">222</a>, <a href="#P_234" class="ref">234</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Parker, Theodore, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_121" class="ref">121</a>, <a href="#P_349" class="ref">349</a>, <a href="#P_350" class="ref">350</a>, <a href="#P_362" class="ref">362</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Pastoral Letter, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_277" class="ref">277</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Paxton, Rev. J.D., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Pease, Elizabeth, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_303" class="ref">303</a>, <a href="#P_331" class="ref">331</a>, <a href="#P_346" class="ref">346</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Pennsylvania Hall, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_257" class="ref">257</a>-<a href="#P_260" class="ref">260</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Phelps, Amos A., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>, <a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>, <a href="#P_278" class="ref">278</a>, <a href="#P_280" class="ref">280</a>, <a href="#P_288" class="ref">288</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_404" id="P_404" title="P_404"></a> + Phillips Academy (Andover), + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_190" class="ref">190</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Phillips, Ann Green, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_292" class="ref">292</a>, <a href="#P_293" class="ref">293</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Phillips, Wendell, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_190" class="ref">190</a>, <a href="#P_257" class="ref">257</a>, <a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>, <a href="#P_317" class="ref">317</a>, <a href="#P_323" class="ref">323</a>, <a href="#P_326" class="ref">326</a>, <a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>, <a href="#P_346" class="ref">346</a>-<a href="#P_347" class="ref">347</a>, <a href="#P_349" class="ref">349</a>, <a href="#P_351" class="ref">351</a>, <a href="#P_386" class="ref">386</a>, <a href="#P_387" class="ref">387</a>, <a href="#P_388" class="ref">388</a>, <a href="#P_393" class="ref">393</a>, <a href="#P_394" class="ref">394</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Pillsbury, Parker, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>, + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Prentice, George D., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_120" class="ref">120</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Purvis, Robert, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_144" class="ref">144</a>, <a href="#P_162" class="ref">162</a>, <a href="#P_178" class="ref">178</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Quincy, Edmund, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_299" class="ref">299</a>, <a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>, <a href="#P_316" class="ref">316</a>, <a href="#P_323" class="ref">323</a>, <a href="#P_324" class="ref">324</a>, <a href="#P_325" class="ref">325</a>, <a href="#P_326" class="ref">326</a>, <a href="#P_327" class="ref">327</a>-<a href="#P_329" class="ref">329</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Quincy, Josiah, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_347" class="ref">347</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Rankin, John, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_177" class="ref">177</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Remond, Charles Lenox, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_293" class="ref">293</a>, <a href="#P_295" class="ref">295</a>, <a href="#P_304" class="ref">304</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Rhett, Barnwell, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Rogers, Nathaniel P., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_293" class="ref">293</a>, <a href="#P_295" class="ref">295</a>, <a href="#P_301" class="ref">301</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Rynders, Isaiah, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_341" class="ref">341</a>-<a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Scoble, Rev. John, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_294" class="ref">294</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Sewall, Samuel E., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_090" class="ref">90</a>, <a href="#P_091" class="ref">91</a>, <a href="#P_134" class="ref">134</a>, <a href="#P_135" class="ref">135</a>, <a href="#P_136" class="ref">136</a>, <a href="#P_137" class="ref">137</a>, <a href="#P_138" class="ref">138</a>, <a href="#P_175" class="ref">175</a>, <a href="#P_236" class="ref">236</a>, <a href="#P_367" class="ref">367</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Seward, William H., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>, <a href="#P_372" class="ref">372</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Shaw, Chief-Justice, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_312" class="ref">312</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Slavery, Rise and Progress of, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_095" class="ref">95</a>-<a href="#P_107" class="ref">107</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Smith, Gerritt, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_147" class="ref">147</a>, <a href="#P_236" class="ref">236</a>, <a href="#P_297" class="ref">297</a>, <a href="#P_320" class="ref">320</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Sprague, Peleg, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_213" class="ref">213</a>, <a href="#P_214" class="ref">214</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Stanton, Edwin M., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_382" class="ref">382</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Stanton, Henry B. + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_253" class="ref">253</a>, <a href="#P_288" class="ref">288</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Stearns, Charles, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_359" class="ref">359</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Stevens, Thaddeus, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Stuart, Charles, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_201" class="ref">201</a>, <a href="#P_202" class="ref">202</a>, <a href="#P_264" class="ref">264</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Sumner, Charles, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_234" class="ref">234</a>, <a href="#P_317" class="ref">317</a>, <a href="#P_339" class="ref">339</a>, <a href="#P_346" class="ref">346</a>, <a href="#P_359" class="ref">359</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Tappan, Arthur, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_083" class="ref">83</a>, <a href="#P_084" class="ref">84</a>, <a href="#P_164" class="ref">164</a>, <a href="#P_171" class="ref">171</a>, <a href="#P_184" class="ref">184</a>, <a href="#P_209" class="ref">209</a>, <a href="#P_210" class="ref">210</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Tappan, Lewis, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_177" class="ref">177</a>, <a href="#P_201" class="ref">201</a>, <a href="#P_209" class="ref">209</a>, <a href="#P_283" class="ref">283</a>, <a href="#P_285" class="ref">285</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Texas Agitation, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_314" class="ref">314</a>-<a href="#P_318" class="ref">318</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Thompson, George, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_204" class="ref">204</a>-<a href="#P_206" class="ref">206</a>, <a href="#P_210" class="ref">210</a>, <a href="#P_212" class="ref">212</a>, <a href="#P_213" class="ref">213</a>, <a href="#P_216" class="ref">216</a>, <a href="#P_217" class="ref">217</a>, <a href="#P_218" class="ref">218</a>, <a href="#P_238" class="ref">238</a>, <a href="#P_294" class="ref">294</a>, <a href="#P_295" class="ref">295</a>, <a href="#P_351" class="ref">351</a>, <a href="#P_383" class="ref">383</a>, <a href="#P_385" class="ref">385</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Thurston, David, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_180" class="ref">180</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""><a class="newpage" name="P_405" id="P_405" title="P_405"></a> + Tilton, Theodore, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_382" class="ref">382</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Todd, Francis, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_075" class="ref">75</a>, <a href="#P_076" class="ref">76</a>, <a href="#P_077" class="ref">77</a>, <a href="#P_081" class="ref">81</a>, <a href="#P_082" class="ref">82</a>, <a href="#P_087" class="ref">87</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Toombs, Robert, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Travis, Joseph, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_124" class="ref">124</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Turner, Nat., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_124" class="ref">124</a>-<a href="#P_125" class="ref">125</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Uncle Tom's Cabin, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_351" class="ref">351</a>-<a href="#P_352" class="ref">352</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Villard, Mrs. Henry, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_394" class="ref">394</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Walker, David, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_121" class="ref">121</a>, <a href="#P_122" class="ref">122</a>, <a href="#P_123" class="ref">123</a>, <a href="#P_126" class="ref">126</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Ward, Rev. Samuel R., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_344" class="ref">344</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Ware, Rev. Henry, Jr., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_203" class="ref">203</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Webb, Richard D., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_310" class="ref">310</a>, <a href="#P_316" class="ref">316</a>, <a href="#P_318" class="ref">318</a>, <a href="#P_326" class="ref">326</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Webster, Daniel, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_035" class="ref">35</a>, <a href="#P_101" class="ref">101</a>, <a href="#P_110" class="ref">110</a>, <a href="#P_111" class="ref">111</a>, <a href="#P_117" class="ref">117</a>, <a href="#P_249" class="ref">249</a>, <a href="#P_338" class="ref">338</a>, <a href="#P_339" class="ref">339</a>, <a href="#P_347" class="ref">347</a>, <a href="#P_348" class="ref">348</a>, <a href="#P_370" class="ref">370</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Weld, Theodore D., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_190" class="ref">190</a>, <a href="#P_264" class="ref">264</a>, <a href="#P_279" class="ref">279</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Wesley, John, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_070" class="ref">70</a>, <a href="#P_107" class="ref">107</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + White, Nathaniel H., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_041" class="ref">41</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Whitney, Eli, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_098" class="ref">98</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Whittier, John Greenleaf, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_034" class="ref">34</a>, <a href="#P_175" class="ref">175</a>, <a href="#P_179" class="ref">179</a>, <a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>, <a href="#P_202" class="ref">202</a>, <a href="#P_234" class="ref">234</a>, <a href="#P_279" class="ref">279</a>, <a href="#P_320" class="ref">320</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Wilberforce, William, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_152" class="ref">152</a>, <a href="#P_154" class="ref">154</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Winslow, Isaac, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_177" class="ref">177</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Winslow, Nathan, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_177" class="ref">177</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Wright, Elizur, + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_147" class="ref">147</a>, <a href="#P_149" class="ref">149</a>, <a href="#P_185" class="ref">185</a>, <a href="#P_186" class="ref">186</a>, <a href="#P_202" class="ref">202</a>, <a href="#P_210" class="ref">210</a>, <a href="#P_283" class="ref">283</a>-<a href="#P_285" class="ref">285</a>, <a href="#P_287" class="ref">287</a>, <a href="#P_320" class="ref">320</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + <td valign="top" class=""></td> + </tr> + <tr class=""> + <td valign="top" class=""> + Yerrington, James B., + + </td> + <td valign="top" class=""><a href="#P_113" class="ref">113</a>. + + </td> + </tr> + </table> + </div> + <hr> + <address> By Grimke, Archibald H. (1849-1930). + <br> + <!-- +Generated from projectID40b515c186349 using an XSLT version 1 stylesheet +based on c:\downloads\saxon6_5_3teihtml.xsl +processed using SAXON 6.5.3 from Michael Kay +on 2004-11-11T00:15:50-06:00--></address> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14555 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/14555-h/images/garrison.png b/14555-h/images/garrison.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ee1a82 --- /dev/null +++ b/14555-h/images/garrison.png |
