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diff --git a/old/53852-0.txt b/old/53852-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f4d3e8e..0000000 --- a/old/53852-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3655 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Letters to Catherine E. Beecher, by Angelina E. Grimké - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Letters to Catherine E. Beecher, - in reply to an essay on slavery and abolitionism, addressed - to A. E. Grimké - -Author: Angelina E. Grimké - -Release Date: December 31, 2016 [EBook #53852] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS TO CATHERINE E. BEECHER *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - - LETTERS - TO - CATHERINE E. BEECHER, - - IN REPLY TO - AN ESSAY ON SLAVERY AND ABOLITIONISM, - ADDRESSED TO - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - REVISED BY THE AUTHOR. - - BOSTON: - PRINTED BY ISAAC KNAPP, - 25, CORNHILL. - 1838. - - Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1838, - by ISAAC KNAPP, - in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. - - - - -LETTER I. - -FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF ABOLITIONISTS. - - - BROOKLINE, Mass., _6 month, 12th, 1837_. - -MY DEAR FRIEND: Thy book has appeared just at a time, when, from the -nature of my engagements, it will be impossible for me to give it that -attention which so weighty a subject demands. Incessantly occupied in -prosecuting a mission, the responsibilities of which task all my powers, I -can reply to it only by desultory letters, thrown from my pen as I travel -from place to place. I prefer this mode to that of taking as long a time -to answer it, as thou didst to determine upon the best method by which to -counteract the effect of my testimony at the north--which, as the preface -of thy book informs me, was thy main design. - -Thou thinkest I have not been ‘sufficiently informed in regard to the -feelings and opinions of Christian females at the North’ on the subject of -slavery; for that in fact they hold the same _principles_ with -Abolitionists, although they condemn their measures. Wilt thou permit me -to receive their principles from thy pen? Thus instructed, however -misinformed I may heretofore have been, I can hardly fail of attaining to -accurate knowledge. Let us examine them, to see how far they correspond -with the principles held by Abolitionists. - -The great fundamental principle of Abolitionists is, that man cannot -rightfully hold his fellow man as property. Therefore, we affirm, that -_every slaveholder is a man-stealer_. We do so, for the following reasons: -to steal a man is to rob him of himself. It matters not whether this be -done in Guinea, or Carolina; a man is a _man_, and _as_ a man he has -_inalienable_ rights, among which is the right to personal _liberty_. Now -if every man has an _inalienable_ right to personal liberty, it follows, -that he cannot rightfully be reduced to slavery. But I find in these -United States, 2,250,000 men, women and children, robbed of that to which -they have an _inalienable_ right. How comes this to pass? Where millions -are plundered, are there no _plunderers_? If, then, the slaves have been -robbed of their liberty, _who_ has robbed them? Not the man who stole -their forefathers from Africa, but he who now holds them in bondage; no -matter _how_ they came into his possession, whether he inherited them, or -bought them, or seized them at their birth on his own plantation. The only -difference I can see between the original man-stealer, who caught the -African in his native country, and the American slaveholder, is, that the -former committed _one_ act of robbery, while the other perpetrates the -same crime _continually_. Slaveholding is the perpetrating of acts, all of -the same kind, in a _series_, the first of which is technically called -man-stealing. The _first_ act robbed the man of himself; and the same -state of mind that prompted _that act, keeps up the series_, having -_taken_ his all from him: it _keeps_ his all from him, not only _refusing_ -to _restore_, but still robbing him of all he gets, and as fast as he gets -it. Slaveholding, then, is _the constant or habitual perpetration of the -act of man-stealing. To make_ a slave is _man-stealing_--_the ACT -itself_--to _hold_ him such is man-stealing--the _habit_, the _permanent_ -state, made up of _individual_ acts. In other words--to _begin_ to hold a -slave is man-stealing--to _keep on_ holding him is merely a _repetition_ -of the first act--a doing the same identical thing _all the time_. A -series of the same acts continued for a length of time is a _habit_--_a -permanent state_. And the _first_ of this series of the _same_ acts that -make up this _habit_ or state is just like all the rest. - -If every slave has a right to freedom, then surely the man who withholds -that right from him to-day is a man-stealer, though he may not be the -first person who has robbed him of it. Hence we find that Wesley -says--‘Men-_buyers_ are _exactly on a level_ with men-_stealers_.’ And -again--‘Much less is it possible that any child of man should ever be -_born a slave_.’ Hear also Jonathan Edwards--‘To hold a man in a state of -slavery, is to be _every day guilty_ of robbing him of his liberty, or of -_man-stealing_.’ And Grotius says--‘Those are men-stealers who abduct, -_keep_, sell or buy _slaves_ or freemen.’ - -If thou meanest merely that _acts_ of that _same nature_, but differently -located in a series, are designated by different terms, thus pointing out -their different _relative positions_, then thy argument concedes what we -affirm,--the identity in the _nature_ of the acts, and thus it dwindles to -a mere philological criticism, or rather a mere play upon words. - -These are Abolition sentiments on the subject of slaveholding; and -although our principles are universally held by our opposers at the North, -yet I am told on the 44th page of thy book, that ‘the word man-stealer has -one peculiar signification, and is no more synonymous with slaveholder -than it is with sheep-stealer.’ I must acknowledge, thou hast only -confirmed my opinion of the difference which I had believed to exist -between Abolitionists and their opponents. As well might Saul have -declared, that he held similar views with Stephen, when he stood by and -kept the raiment of those who slew him. - -I know that a broad line of distinction is drawn between our principles -and our measures, by those who are anxious to ‘avoid the appearance of -evil’--very desirous of retaining the fair character of enemies to -slavery. Now, our _measures_ are simply the carrying out of our -_principles_; and we find, that just in proportion as individuals embrace -our principles, in spirit and in truth, they cease to cavil at our -measures. Gerrit Smith is a striking illustration of this. Who cavilled -more at Anti-Slavery _measures_, and who more ready now to acknowledge his -former blindness? Real Abolitionists know full well, that the slave never -has been, and never can be, a whit the better for mere abstractions, -floating in the _head_ of any man; and they also know, that _principles, -fixed in the heart_, are things of another sort. The former have never -done any good in the world, because they possess no vitality, and -therefore cannot bring forth _the fruits_ of holy, untiring effort; but -the latter live in the lives of their possessors, and breathe in their -words. And I am free to express my belief, that _all_ who really and -heartily approve our _principles_, will also approve our _measures_; and -that, too, just as certainly as a good tree will bring forth good fruit. - -But there is another peculiarity in the views of Abolitionists. We hold -that the North is guilty of the crime of slaveholding--we assert that it -is a _national_ sin: on the contrary, in thy book, I find the following -acknowledgement:--‘_Most_ persons in the non-slaveholding States, have -considered the matter of southern slavery as one in which they were no -more called to interfere, than in the abolition of the press-gang system -in England, or the tithe-system in Ireland.’ Now I cannot see how the same -principles can produce such entirely different opinions. ‘Can a good tree -bring forth corrupt fruit?’ This I deny, and cannot admit what thou art -anxious to prove, viz. that ‘Public opinion may have been _wrong_ on this -point, and yet _right_ on all those great _principles_ of rectitude and -justice relating to slavery.’ If Abolition principles are generally -adopted at the North, how comes it to pass, that there is no abolition -action here, except what is put forth by a few despised fanatics, as they -are called? Is there any living faith without works? Can the sap circulate -vigorously, and yet neither blossoms put forth nor fruit appear? - -Again, I am told on the 7th page, that all Northern Christians believe it -is a sin to hold a man in slavery for ‘_mere purposes of gain_;’ as if -this was the _whole_ abolition principle on this subject. I can assure -thee that Abolitionists do not stop here. Our principle is, that _no -circumstances can ever justify_ a man in holding his fellow man as -_property_; it matters not what _motive_ he may give for such a monstrous -violation of the laws of God. The claim to him as _property_ is an -annihilation of his right to himself, which is the foundation upon which -all his other rights are built. It is high-handed robbery of Jehovah; for -He has declared, ‘All souls are _mine_.’ For myself, I believe there are -hundreds of thousands at the South, who do _not_ hold their slaves, by any -means, as much ‘for purposes of gain,’ as they do from _the lust of -power_: this is the passion that reigns triumphant there, and those who do -not know this, have much yet to learn. Where, then, is the similarity in -our views? - -I forbear for the present, and subscribe myself, - - Thine, but not in the bonds of gospel Abolitionism, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER II. - -IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION. - - - BROOKLINE, Mass., _6th month, 17th, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND: Where didst thou get thy statement of what Abolitionists mean -by immediate emancipation? I assure thee, it is a novelty. I never heard -any abolitionist say that slaveholders ‘were physically unable to -emancipate their slaves, and of course are not bound to do it,’ because in -some States there are laws which forbid emancipation. This is truly what -our opponents affirm; but _we_ say that all the laws which sustain the -system of slavery are unjust and oppressive--contrary to the fundamental -principles of morality, and, therefore, null and void. - -We hold, that all the slaveholding laws violate the fundamental principles -of the Constitution of the United States. In the preamble of that -instrument, the great objects for which it was framed are declared to be -‘to establish justice, to promote the _general_ welfare, and to secure the -blessings of _liberty_ to us and to our posterity.’ The slave laws are -flagrant violations of these fundamental principles. Slavery subverts -justice, promotes the welfare of the _few_ to the manifest injury of the -many, and robs thousands of the _posterity_ of our forefathers of the -blessings of liberty. This cannot be denied, for Paxton, a Virginia -slaveholder, says, ‘the _best_ blood in Virginia flows in the veins of -slaves!’ Yes, even the blood of a Jefferson. And every southerner knows, -that it is a common thing for the _posterity of our forefathers_ to be -sold on the vendue tables of the South. _The posterity of our fathers_ are -advertised in American papers as runaway slaves. Such advertisements often -contain expressions like these: ‘has sometimes passed himself off as a -_white_ man,’--‘has been mistaken for a _white_ man,’--‘_quite white_, has -_straight_ hair, and would not readily be taken for a slave,’ &c. - -Now, thou wilt perceive, that, so far from thinking that a slaveholder is -bound by the _immoral_ and _unconstitutional_ laws of the Southern States, -_we_ hold that he is solemnly bound as a man, as an American, to _break_ -them, and that _immediately_ and openly; as much so, as Daniel was to -pray, or Peter and John to preach--or every conscientious Quaker to refuse -to pay a militia fine, or to train, or to fight. _We_ promulgate no such -time-serving doctrine as that set forth by thee. When _we_ talk of -immediate emancipation, we speak that we do mean, and the slaveholders -understand us, if thou dost not. - -Here, then, is another point in which we are entirely at variance, though -the _principles_ of abolitionism are ‘generally adopted by our opposers.’ -What shall I say to these things, but that I am glad thou hast afforded -me an opportunity of explaining to thee what _our principles_ really are? -for I apprehend that _thou_ ‘hast not been sufficiently informed in regard -to the feelings and opinions’ of abolitionists. - -It matters not to me what meaning ‘Dictionaries or standard writers’ may -give to immediate emancipation. My Dictionary is the Bible; my standard -authors, prophets and apostles. When Jehovah commanded Pharaoh to ‘let the -people go,’ he meant that they should be _immediately emancipated_. I read -his meaning in the judgments which terribly rebuked Pharaoh’s repeated and -obstinate refusal to ‘let the people go.’ I read it in the _universal_ -emancipation of near 3,000,000 of Israelites in _one awful night_. When -the prophet Isaiah commanded the Jews ‘to loose the bands of wickedness, -to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye -break every yoke,’ he taught no gradual or partial emancipation, but -_immediate, universal emancipation_. When Jeremiah said, ‘Execute judgment -in the MORNING, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the -oppressor,’ he commanded _immediate_ deliverance. And so also with Paul, -when he exhorted masters to render unto their servants that which is just -and equal. Obedience to this command would _immediately_ overturn the -whole system of American Slavery; for liberty is justly _due_ to every -American citizen, according to the laws of God and the Constitution of our -country; and a fair recompense for his labor is the right of every man. -Slaveholders know this is just as well as we do. John C. Calhoun said in -Congress, in 1833--‘He who _earns_ the money--who _digs it out of the -earth_ with the sweat of his brow, has a _just title_ to it against the -Universe. _No one_ has a right to touch it _without his consent_, except -his government, and _it only_ to the extent of its _legitimate_ wants: to -take more is _robbery_.’ - -If our fundamental principle is right, that no man can rightfully hold his -fellow man as _property_, then it follows, of course, that he is bound -_immediately_ to cease holding him as such, and that, too, in _violation -of the immoral and unconstitutional laws_ which have been framed for the -express purpose of ‘turning aside the needy from judgment, and to take -away the right from the poor of the people, that widows may be their prey, -and that they may rob the fatherless.’ Every slaveholder is bound to cease -to do evil _now_, to emancipate his slaves _now_. - -Dost thou ask what I mean by emancipation? I will explain myself in a few -words. 1. It is ‘to reject with indignation, the wild and guilty phantasy, -that man can hold _property_ in man.’ 2. To pay the laborer his hire, for -he is worthy of it. 3. No longer to deny him the right of marriage, but to -‘let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own -husband,’ as saith the apostle. 4. To let parents have their own children, -for they are the gift of the Lord to _them_, and no one else has any right -to them. 5. No longer to withhold the advantages of education and the -privilege of reading the Bible. 6. To put the slave under the protection -of equitable laws. - -Now, why should not _all_ this be done immediately? Which of these things -is to be done next year, and which the year after? and so on. _Our_ -immediate emancipation means, doing justice and loving mercy -_to-day_--and this is what we call upon every slaveholder to do. - -I have seen too much of slavery to be a gradualist. I dare not, in view of -such a system, tell the slaveholder, that ‘he is physically unable to -emancipate his slaves.’ I say _he is able_ to let the oppressed go free, -and that such heaven-daring atrocities ought to _cease now_, henceforth -and forever. Oh, my very soul is grieved to find a northern woman thus -‘sewing pillows under all arm-holes,’ framing and fitting soft excuses for -the slaveholder’s conscience, whilst with the same pen she is _professing_ -to regard slavery as a sin. ‘An open enemy is better than such a secret -friend.’ - -Hoping that thou mayest soon be emancipated from such inconsistency, I -remain until then, - - Thine _out_ of the bonds of Christian Abolitionism, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER III. - -MAIN PRINCIPLE OF ACTION. - - - LYNN, _6th Month, 23d, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND:--I now pass on to the consideration of ‘the main principle of -action in the Anti-Slavery Society.’ Thou art pleased to assert that it -‘rests wholly on a false deduction from past experience.’ In this, also, -thou ‘hast not been sufficiently informed.’ Our main principle of action -is embodied in God’s holy command--‘Wash you, make you clean, put away the -evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do -well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead -for the widow.’ Under a solemn conviction that it is our duty as Americans -to ‘cry aloud and spare not, to lift up our voices as a trumpet, and to -show our people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins,’ -we are striving to rouse a slumbering nation to a sense of the -retributions which must soon descend upon her guilty head, unless like -Ninevah she repent, and ‘break off her sins by righteousness, and her -transgressions by showing mercy to the poor.’ _This_ is our ‘main -principle of action.’ Does it rest ‘wholly on a false deduction from past -experience?’ or on the experience of Israel’s King, who exclaimed, ‘In -keeping of them (thy commandments,) there is great reward.’ - -Thou art altogether under a mistake, if thou supposest that our ‘main -principle of action’ is the successful effort of abolitionists in England, -in reference to the abolition of the slave-trade; for I hesitate not to -pronounce the attempts of Clarkson and Wilberforce, at that period of -their history, to have been a _complete failure_; and never have the -labors of any philanthropists so fully showed the inefficacy of halfway -principles, as have those of these men of honorable fame. The doctrines -now advocated by the American Anti-Slavery Society, were not advanced by -the abolitionists of that day. _They_ were _not_ immediate abolitionists, -but just such gradualists as thou art even now. If I supposed that our -labors in the cause of the slave would produce _no better_ results than -those of these worthies, I should utterly despair. I need not remind thee, -that they bent all their energies to the annihilation of the slave-trade, -under the impression that _this_ was the mother of slavery; and that after -toiling for twenty years, and obtaining the passage of an act to that -effect, the result was a mere _nominal_ abolition; for the atrocities of -the slave-trade are, if possible, _greater_ now than ever. I will explain -what I mean. A friend of mine one evening last winter, heard a -conversation between two men, one of whom had, until recently, been a -slave-trader. He had made several voyages to the coast of Africa, and said -that once his vessel was chased by an English man of war, and that, in -order to avoid a search and the penalty of death, he threw every slave -overboard; and when his companion expressed surprise and horror at such a -wholesale murder, ‘Why,’ said the trader, ‘it was the fault of the -English; they had no business to make a law to hang a man on the yard arm, -if they caught him with slaves in his ship.’ He intimated that it was not -an uncommon thing for the captains of slavers thus to save their lives.[1] -Where, then, I ask, is this glorious success of which we _hear_ so much, -but _see_ so little? - -Let us travel onward, from the year 1806, when England passed her -abolition act. What were British philanthropists doing for the -emancipation of the slave, for the next twenty years? Nothing at all; and -it was the voice of Elizabeth Heyrick which first awakened them from -their dream of _gradualism_ to an understanding of the simple doctrine of -immediate emancipation; but even though they saw the injustice and -inefficiency of _their own_ views, yet several years elapsed before they -had the courage to promulgate hers. And now I can point thee to the -success of these efforts in the emancipation bill of 1834. But even this -success was paltry, in comparison with what it would have been, had all -the conspicuous abolitionists of England been true to these just and holy -principles. Some of them were false to those principles, and hence the -compensation and apprenticeship system. A few months ago, it was my -privilege to converse with Joseph Sturge, on his return from the West -Indies, via New York, to Liverpool, whither he had gone to examine the -working of England’s plan of emancipation. I heard him speak of the bounty -of £20,000,000 which she had put into the hands of the planters, of their -mean and cruel abuse of the apprenticeship system, and of the hearty -approbation he felt in the thorough-going principles of the Anti-Slavery -Societies in this country, and his increased conviction that _ours_ were -the _only right_ principles on this important subject. That even the -apprenticeship system is viewed by British philanthropists as a complete -failure, is evident from the fact that they are now re-organizing their -Anti-Slavery Societies, and circulating petitions for the substitution of -immediate emancipation in its stead. - -Hence it appears, that so far from our resting ‘wholly upon _a false -deduction from past experience_,’ we are resting on _no_ experience at -all; for no class of men in the world ever have maintained the principles -which we now advocate. Our main principle of action is ‘obedience to -God’--our hope of success is faith in Him, and that faith is as unwavering -as He is true and powerful. ‘Blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, -and whose hope the Lord is.’ - -With regard to the connection between the North and the South, I shall say -but little, having already sent thee my views on that subject in the -letter to ‘Clarkson,’ originally published in the New Haven Religious -Intelligencer. I there pointed out fifteen different ways in which the -North was implicated in the guilt of slavery; and, therefore, I deny the -charge that abolitionists are endeavoring ‘to convince their fellow -citizens of the faults of _another_ community.’ Not at all. We are -spreading out the horrors of slavery before Northerners, in order to show -them _their own sin_ in sustaining such a system of complicated wrong and -suffering. It is because we are politically, commercially, and socially -connected with our southern brethren, that we urge our doctrines upon -those of the free States. We have begun our work _here_, because -pro-slavery men of the North are to the system of slavery just what -temperate drinkers were to the vice of intemperance. Temperance reformers -did not _begin_ their labors among drunkards, but among temperate -drinkers: so Anti-Slavery reformers did not _begin_ their labors among -slaveholders, but among those who were making their fortunes out of the -unrequited toil of the slave, and receiving large mortgages on southern -plantations and slaves, and trading occasionally in ‘slaves and the souls -of men,’ and sending men to Congress to buy up southern land to be -converted into slave States, such as Louisiana and Florida, which cost -_this nation_ $20,000,000--men who have admitted seven slave States into -the Union--men who boast on the floor of Congress, that ‘there is no cause -in which they would sooner buckle a knapsack on their backs and shoulder a -musket, than that of putting down a servile insurrection at the South,’ as -said the present Governor of Massachusetts, which odious sentiment was -repeated by Governor Lincoln only last winter--men who, trained up on -Freedom’s soil, yet go down to the South and marry slaveholders, and -become slaveholders, and then return to our northern cities with slaves in -their train. This is the case with a native of this town, who is now here -with his southern wife and southern _slave_. And as soon as we reform the -recreant sons and daughters of the North,--as soon as we rectify public -opinion at the North,--then I, for one, will promise to go down into the -midst of slaveholders themselves, to promulgate our doctrines in the land -of the slave. But how can we go now, when northern pulpits and -meeting-houses are closed, and northern ministers are dumb, and northern -Governors are declaring that ‘the discussion of the subject of slavery -ought to be made an offence indictable at common law,’ and northern women -are writing books to paralyze the efforts of southern women, who have come -up from the South, to entreat their northern sisters to exert their -influence in behalf of the slave, and in behalf of the slaveholder, who is -as deeply corrupted, though not equally degraded, with the slave. No! No! -the taunts of a New England woman will induce no abolitionist to cease -his rebuke of _northern slaveholders_ and apologists for slavery. -Southerners see the wisdom of _this_, if _thou_ canst not; and over -against thy opinion, I will place that of a Louisiana planter, who, whilst -on a visit to his relatives at Uxbridge, Mass. this summer, unhesitatingly -admitted that the _North was the right place to begin Anti-Slavery -efforts_. Had I not been convinced of this before, surely thy book would -have been all-sufficient to satisfy me of it; for a more subtle defence of -the slaveholder’s right to property in his helpless victims, I never saw. -It is just such a defence as the hidden enemies of Liberty will rejoice to -see, because, like thyself, they earnestly desire to ‘avoid the -_appearance of evil_;’ they are as much opposed to slavery as we are, only -they are as much opposed to Anti-Slavery as the slaveholders themselves. -Is there any middle path in this reformation? Or may we not fairly -conclude, that he or _she_ that is not for the slave, in deed and in -truth, is _against_ him, no matter how specious their professions of pity -for his condition? - - In haste, I remain thy friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - [1] And in ‘Laird’s Expedition to Africa, &c.’ a work recently - published in England, this assertion of the slave trader is fully - sustained. Laird relates that ‘there is _proof_ of the horrid fact, - that several of the wretches engaged in this traffic, when hotly - pursued, consigned _whole cargoes_ to the deep.’ He then goes on to - state several such instances, from which I select the following: ‘In - 1833, the Black Joke and Fair Rosamond fell in with the Hercule and - Regule, two slave vessels off the Bonny River. On perceiving the - cruisers, they attempted to regain the port, and pitched overboard - upwards of 500 human beings, chained together, before they were - captured; from the abundance of sharks in the river, their track was - literally a blood-stained one. The slaver not only does this, but - _glories in it_: the first words uttered by the captain of the Maria - Isabelle, seized by captain Rose, were, ‘that if he had seen the man - of war in chase an hour sooner, he would have thrown _every_ slave - in his vessel overboard, as _he was fully insured_.’ - - - - -LETTER IV. - -CONNECTION BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH. - - - DANVERS, Mass., _7th mo., 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND:--I thank thee for having furnished me with just such a simile -as I needed to illustrate the connection which exists between the North -and the South. Thou sayest, ‘Suppose two rival cities, one of which -becomes convinced that certain practices in trade and business in the -other are dishonest, and have an oppressive bearing on certain classes in -that city. Suppose, also, that these are practices, which, by those who -allow them, are considered as honorable and right. Those who are convinced -of this immorality wish to alter the opinions and the practices of the -citizens of their rival city, and to do this they commence the collection -of facts, that exhibit the tendencies of these practices and the evils -they have engendered. But, instead of going among the community in which -the evil exists, and endeavoring to convince them, they proceed to form -voluntary associations among their neighbors at home, and spend their -time, money, and efforts to convince their fellow citizens that the -inhabitants of their rival city are guilty of a great sin.’ Now I will -take up the comparison here, and suppose a few other things about these -two cities. Suppose that the people in one city were _known never_ to pay -the laborer his wages, but to be in the constant habit of keeping back the -hire of those who reaped down their fields; and that, on examination, it -was found that the people in the other city were continually going over to -live with these gentlemen oppressors, and instead of rebuking them, were -joining hands in wickedness with them, and were actually _more_ oppressive -to the poor than the native inhabitants. Suppose, too, it was found that -many of the merchants in the city of Fairdealing, as it was called, were -known to hold mortgages, not only upon the property which ought to belong -to the unpaid laborers, but mortgages, too, on the _laborers themselves_, -ay, and _their wives and children also_, a thing altogether contrary to -the laws of their city, and the customs of their people, and the -principles of fundamental morality. Suppose, too, it was found that the -people in the city of Oppression were in the constant practice of sending -over to the city of Fairdealing, and bribing their citizens to seize the -poorest, most defenceless of their people for them, because they were so -lazy they would not do their own work, and so mean they would not pay -others for doing it, and chose thus to supply themselves with laborers, -who, when they once got into the city, were placed under such severe laws, -that it was almost impossible for them ever to return to their afflicted -wives and children. Suppose, too, that whenever any of these oppressed, -unpaid laborers happened to escape from the city of Oppression, and after -lying out in the woods and fastnesses which lay between the two cities, -for many weeks, ‘in weariness and painfulness, in watchings, in hunger and -thirst, in cold and nakedness,’ that, as soon as they reached the city of -Fairdealing, they were most unmercifully hunted out and sent back to their -cruel oppressors, who it was well known generally treated such laborers -with great cruelty, ‘_stern necessity_’ demanding that they should be -punished and ‘rebuked before all, that others might fear’ the consequences -of such elopement. In short, suppose that the city of Fairdealing was so -completely connected with the city of Oppression, that the golden strands -of their interests were twisted together so as to form a bond of Union -stronger than death, and that by the intermarriages which were constantly -taking place, there was also a silken cord of love tying up and binding -together the tender feelings of their hearts with all the intricacies of -the Gordian knot; and then, again, that the identity of the political -interests of these cities were wound round and round them like bands of -iron and brass, altogether forming an union so complicated and powerful, -that it was impossible even to _speak_ in the most solemn manner, in the -city of Fairdealing, of the enormous crimes which were common in the city -of Oppression, without having brickbats and rotten eggs hurled at the -speaker’s head. Suppose, too, that although it was perfectly manifest to -every reflecting mind, that a most guilty copartnership existed between -these two cities, yet that the ‘gentlemen of property and standing’ of the -city of Fairdealing were continually taunting the people who were trying -to represent _their_ iniquitous league with the city of Oppression in its -true and sinful bearings, with the query of ‘Why don’t you go to the city -of Oppression, and tell the people there, not to rob the poor?’ Might not -these reformers very justly remark, we cannot go there _until_ we have -persuaded _our own_ citizens to cease _their unholy co-operation with -them_, for they will certainly turn upon us in bitter irony and -say--‘Physician, heal thyself;’ go back to your own city, and tell your -own citizens ‘to break off _their_ sins by righteousness, and _their_ -transgressions by showing mercy to the poor,’ who fly from our city into -the gates of theirs for protection, but receive it not. Would not common -sense bear them out in refusing to go there, until they had _first_ -converted _their own_ people from the error of their ways? I will leave -thee and my other readers to make the application of this comparison; and -if thou dost not acknowledge that abolitionists have been governed by the -soundest common sense in the course they have pursued at the North with -regard to slavery, then I am very much disappointed in thy professions of -_candor_. With regard to the parallel thou hast drawn (p. 16,) between -abolitionists, and the ‘men (who) are daily going into the streets, and -calling all bystanders around them’ and pointing out certain men, some as -liars, some as dishonest, some as licentious, and then bringing proofs of -their guilt and rebuking them before all; at the same time exhorting all -around to point at them the finger of scorn; thou sayest, ‘they persevere -in this course till the whole community is thrown into an uproar; and -assaults and even bloodshed ensue.’ But why, I should like to know, if -these people are themselves _guiltless_ of the crimes alleged against the -others? I cannot understand why they should be so angry, unless, like the -Jews of old, they perceived that the parable had been spoken ‘_against -them_.’ To my own mind, the exasperation of the North at the discussion of -slavery is an undeniable proof of _her guilt_, a certain evidence of the -necessity of her plucking the beam out of her own eye, _before_ she goes -to the South to rebuke sin there. To thee, and to all who are continually -crying out, ‘Why don’t you go to the South?’ I retort the question by -asking, why don’t YOU go to the South? _We_ conscientiously believe that -this work must be commenced _here_ at the North; this is an all-sufficient -answer for US; but YOU, who are ‘as much anti-slavery as we are,’ and -differ _only_ as to the modus operandi, believing that the South and _not_ -the North ought to be the field of Anti-Slavery labors--YOU, I say, have -no excuse to offer, and are bound to go there now. - -But there is another view to be taken of this subject. By all our printing -and talking at the North, we _have actually reached the very heart of the -disease at the South_. They acknowledge it themselves. Read the following -confession in the Southern Literary Review. ‘There are _many good men even -among us, who have begun to grow timid_. They think that what the virtuous -and high-minded men of the North look upon as a crime and a plague-spot, -_cannot_ be perfectly innocent or quite harmless in a slaveholding -community.’ James Smylie, of Mississippi, a minister of the gospel, _so -called_, tells us on the very first page of his essay, written to uphold -the doctrines of Governor McDuffie, ‘that the abolition maxim, viz. that -slavery is _in itself sinful_, had gained on and entwined itself among the -_religious_ and _conscientious_ scruples of _many_ in the community, so -far as to render them _unhappy_.’ I could quote other southern testimony -to the same effect, but will pass on to another fact just published in the -New England Spectator; a proposition from a minister in Missouri ‘to have -separate organizations for slavery and anti-slavery professors,’ and -indeed ‘all over the _slaveholding States_.’ Has our labor then been in -vain in the Lord? Have we failed to rouse the slumbering consciences of -the South? - -Thou inquirest--‘Have the northern States power to rectify evils at the -South, as they have to remove their own moral deformities?’ I answer -unhesitatingly, certainly they have, for _moral_ evils can be removed only -by _moral_ power; and the close connection which exists between these two -portions of our country, affords the greatest possible facilities for -exerting a _moral_ influence on it. Only let the North exert as much moral -influence over the South, as the South has exerted demoralizing influence -over the North, and slavery would die amid the flame of Christian -remonstrance, and faithful rebuke, and holy indignation. The South has -told us so. In the report of the committee on federal relations in the -Legislature of South Carolina last winter, we find the following -acknowledgement: ‘Let it be admitted, that by reason of an efficient -police and judicious internal legislation, we may render abortive the -designs of the fanatic and incendiary within our limits, and that the -torrent of pamphlets and tracts which the abolition presses of the North -are pouring forth with an inexhaustible copiousness, is arrested the -moment it reaches our frontier. Are we to wait until our enemies have -built up, by the grossest misrepresentations and falsehoods, a _body of -public opinion, which it would be impossible to resist_, without -separating ourselves from the social system of the rest of the civilized -world?’ Here is the acknowledgement of a southern legislature, that it -will be _impossible for the South to resist the influence_ of that body of -_public opinion_, which abolitionists are building up against them at the -North. If further evidence is needed, that anti-slavery societies are -producing a powerful influence at the South, look at the efforts made -there to vilify and crush them. Why all this turmoil, and passion, and -rage in the slaveholder, if we have indeed rolled back the cause of -emancipation 200 years, as thy father has asserted? Why all this terror at -the distant roar of free discussion, if they feel not the earth quaking -beneath them? Does not the _South_ understand what really will affect her -interests and break down her domestic institution? Has _she_ no subtle -politicians, no far-sighted men in her borders, who can scan the practical -bearings of these troublous times? Believe me, she has; and did they not -know that we are springing a mine beneath the great bastile of slavery, -and laying a train which will soon whelm it in ruin, she would not be -quite so eager ‘to cut out our tongues, and hang us as high as Haman.’ - -I will just add, that as to the committee saying that abolitionists are -building up a body of public opinion at the North ‘by the grossest -misrepresentations and falsehoods,’ I think it was due to _their_ -character for veracity, to have cited and refuted some of these calumnies. -Until they do, we must believe them; and as a Southerner, I can bear the -most decided testimony against slavery as the mother of _all_ -abominations. - -Farewell for the present. - - I remain thy friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER V. - -CHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF ABOLITIONISM. - - - NEWBURYPORT, _7th mo. 8th, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND: As an Abolitionist, I thank thee for the portrait thou hast -drawn of the character of those with whom I am associated. They deserve -all thou hast said in their favor; and I will now endeavor to vindicate -those ‘men of pure morals, of great honesty of purpose, of real -benevolence and piety,’ from some objections thou hast urged against their -measures. - -‘Much evidence,’ thou sayest, ‘can be brought to prove that the character -and measures of the Abolition Society are not either peaceful or christian -in tendency, but that they are in their nature calculated to generate -party spirit, denunciation, recrimination, and angry passion.’ Now I -solemnly ask thee, whether the character and measures of our holy Redeemer -did not produce exactly the same effects? Why did the Jews lead him to the -brow of the hill, that they might cast him down headlong; why did they go -about to kill him; why did they seek to lay hands on him, if the tendency -of _his_ measures was so very _pacific_? Listen, too, to his own -declaration: ‘I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword;’ the effects -of which, he expressly said, would be to set the mother against her -daughter, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. The rebukes -which he uttered against sin were eminently calculated to produce -‘recriminations and angry passions,’ in all who were determined to -_cleave_ to their sins; and they did produce them even against ‘him who -did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.’ He was called a -wine-bibber, and a glutton, and Beelzebub, and was accused of casting out -devils by the prince of the devils. Why, then, protest against our -measures as _unchristian_, because they do not smooth the pillow of the -poor sinner, and lull his conscience into fatal security? The truth is, -the efforts of abolitionists have stirred up the _very same spirit_ which -the efforts of _all thorough-going_ reformers have ever done; we consider -it a certain proof that the truths we utter are sharper than any two edged -sword, and that they are doing the work of conviction in the hearts of our -enemies. If it be not so, I have greatly mistaken the character of -Christianity. I consider it pre-eminently aggressive; it waits not to be -assaulted, but moves on in all the majesty of Truth to _attack_ the strong -holds of the kingdom of darkness, carries the war into the enemy’s camp, -and throws its fiery darts into the midst of its embattled hosts. Thou -seemest to think, on the contrary, that Christianity is just such a weak, -dependent, puerile creature as thou hast described woman to be. In my -opinion, thou hast robbed both the one and the other of all their true -dignity and glory. Thy descriptions may suit the prevailing christianity -of this age, and the general character of woman; and if so, we have great -cause for shame and confusion of face. - -I feel sorry that thy unkind insinuations against the christian character -of Wm. Lloyd Garrison, have rendered it necessary for me to speak of him -individually, because what I shall feel bound to say of him may, to some -like thyself, appear like flattery; but I must do what justice seems so -clearly to call for at my hands. Thou sayest that ‘though he professes a -belief in the christian religion, he is an avowed opponent of most of its -institutions.’ I presume thou art here alluding to his views of the -ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper, and the Sabbath. Permit me to -remind thee, that in _all_ these opinions, he coincides entirely with the -Society of Friends, whose views of the Sabbath never were so ably -vindicated as by his pen: and the insinuations of hypocrisy which thou -hast thrown out against him, may with just as much truth be cast upon -_them_. The Quakers think that these are not _christian_ institutions, but -thou hast assumed it without any proof at all. Thou sayest farther, ‘The -character and spirit of _this man_ have for years been exhibited in the -Liberator.’ I have taken that paper for two years, and therefore -understand its character, and am compelled to acknowledge, that harsh and -severe as is the language often used, I have never seen any expressions -which _truth_ did not warrant. The abominations of slavery _cannot_ be -otherwise described. I think Dr. Channing exactly portrayed the character -of brother Garrison’s writings when he said, ‘That deep feeling of evils, -which is _necessary_ to _effectual_ conflict with them, which marks -_God’s most powerful messengers to mankind, cannot_ breathe itself in soft -and tender accents. The deeply moved soul _will_ speak strongly, and -_ought_ to speak strongly, so as to move and shake nations.’ It is well -for the slave, and well for this country, that such a man was sent to -sound the tocsin of alarm before slavery had completed its work of moral -death in this ‘hypocritical nation.’ Garrison began that discussion of the -subject of slavery, which J. Q. Adams declared in his oration, delivered -in this town on the 4th inst. ‘to be the only safety-valve by which the -high pressure boiler of slavery could be prevented from a most fatal -explosion in this country;’ and as a Southerner, I feel truly grateful for -all his efforts to redeem not the slave only, but the _slaveholder_, from -the polluting influences of such a system of crime. - -In his character as a man and a Christian, I have the highest confidence. -The assertion thou makest, ‘that there is to be found in that paper, or -_any thing else, any_ evidence of his possessing the peculiar traits of -Wilberforce, (benignity, gentleness and kind heartedness, I suppose thou -meanest,) not even his warmest admirers will maintain,’ is altogether new -to me; and I for one feel ready to declare, that I have never met in any -one a more lovely exhibition of these traits of character. I might relate -several anecdotes in proof of this assertion, but let one suffice. A -friend of mine, a member of the Society of Friends, told me that after he -became interested in the Anti-Slavery cause through the Liberator, he -still felt so much prejudice against its editor, that, although he wished -to labor in behalf of the slaves, he still felt as if he could not -identify himself with a society which recognized such a leader as he had -heard Wm. L. Garrison was. He had never seen him, and after many struggles -of feeling, determined to go to Boston on purpose to see ‘this man,’ and -judge of his character for himself. He did so, and when he entered the -office of the Liberator, soon fell into conversation with a person he did -not know, and became very much interested in him. After some time, a third -person came in and called off the attention of the stranger, whose -benevolent countenance and benignant manners he had so much admired. He -soon heard him addressed as Mr. Garrison, which astonished him very much; -for he had expected to see some coarse, uncouth and rugged creature, -instead of the perfect gentleman he now learned was Wm. L. Garrison. He -told me that the effect upon his mind was so great, that he sat down and -wept to think he had allowed himself to be so prejudiced against a person, -who was so entirely different from what his enemies had represented him to -be. He at once felt as if he could most cheerfully labor, heart and hand, -with such a man, and has for the last three or four years been a faithful -co-worker with him, in the holy cause of immediate emancipation. And his -confidence in him as a man of pure, _christian_ principle, has grown -stronger and stronger, as time has advanced, and circumstances have -developed his true character. I think it is impossible thou canst be -personally acquainted with brother Garrison, or thou wouldst not write of -him in the way thou hast. If thou really wishest to have thy erroneous -opinions removed, embrace the first opportunity of being introduced to -him; for I can assure thee, that with the fire of a Paul, he does possess -some of the most lovely traits in the character of Wilberforce. - - In much haste, I remain thy friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER VI. - -COLONIZATION. - - - AMESBURY, _7th mo. 20th, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND: The _aggressive_ spirit of Anti-Slavery papers and pamphlets, -of which thou dost complain, so far from being a repulsive one to me, is -very attractive. I see in it that uncompromising integrity and fearless -rebuke of sin, which will bear the enterprize of emancipation through to -its consummation. And I most heartily desire to see these publications -scattered over our land as abundantly as the leaves of Autumn, believing -as I do that the principles they promulgate will be as leaves for the -healing of this nation. - -I proceed to examine thy objections to ‘one of the first measures of -Abolitionists:’ their attack on a _benevolent_ society. - -That the Colonization Society is a _benevolent_ institution, we deny: -therefore our attack upon it was not a sacrilegious one; it was absolutely -necessary, in order to disabuse the public mind of the false views they -entertained of its character. And it is a perfect mystery to me how men -and women can _conscientiously_ persevere in upholding a society, which -the very objects of its professed benevolence have repeatedly, solemnly, -constantly and universally condemned. To say the least, this is a very -suspicious kind of benevolence, and seems too nearly allied to that, which -induces some southern professors to keep their brethren in bonds _for -their benefit_. Yes, the free colored people are to be exiled, because -public opinion is crushing them into the dust; instead of their friends -protesting against that corrupt and unreasonable prejudice, and living it -down by a practical acknowledgement of their _right_ to _every_ privilege, -social, civil and religious, which is enjoyed by the white man. I have -never yet been able to learn, how our hatred to our colored brother is to -be destroyed by driving him away from us. I am told that when a colored -republic is built up on the coast of Africa, then we shall respect that -republic, and acknowledge that the character of the colored man can be -elevated; we will become connected with it in a commercial point of view, -and welcome it to the sympathies of our hearts. Miserable sophistry! -deceitful apology for present indulgence in sin! What man or woman of -common sense now doubts the intellectual capacity of the colored people? -Who does not know, that with all our efforts as a nation to crush and -‘_annihilate the mind_ of this portion of our race,’ we have never yet -been able to do it? Henry Berry of Virginia, in his speech in the -Legislature of that State, in 1832, expressly acknowledged, that although -slaveholders had ‘as far as possible closed every avenue by which light -might enter their minds,’ yet that they never had found out the process -by which they ‘could extinguish the _capacity_ to see the light.’ No! that -capacity remains--it is indestructible--an integral part of their nature, -as moral and immortal beings. - -If it is true that white Americans only need a demonstration of the -colored man’s capacity for elevation, in order to make them willing to -receive him on the same platform of human rights upon which they stand, -why has not the intelligence of the Haytians convinced them? _Their_ free -republic has grown up under the very eye of the slaveholder, and as a -nation we have for many years been carrying on a lucrative trade with her -merchants; and yet we have never recognized her independence, never sent a -minister there, though we have sent ambassadors to European countries -whose commerce is far less important to us than that of St. Domingo.[2] - -These professions of a wish to plant the tree of Liberty on the shores of -Africa, in order to convince our Republican Despotism of the high moral -and intellectual worth of the colored man, are perfectly absurd. Hayti -has done that long ago. A friend of mine (not an Abolitionist) whose -business called him to that island for several months, told me that in the -society of its citizens, he often felt his own inferiority. He was -astonished at the elegance of their manners, and the intelligence of their -conversation. Instead of going into an examination of Colonization -principles, I refer thee to the Appeal to the Women of the nominally free -States, issued by the Convention of American Women, in which we set forth -our reasons for repudiating them. - -Thou hast given a specimen of the manner in which Abolitionists deal with -their Colonization opponents. Thy friend remarked, after an interview with -an abolitionist, ‘I love truth and sound argument; but when a man comes at -me with a sledge hammer, I cannot help dodging.’ I presume thy friend only -felt the truth of the prophet’s declaration, ‘Is not my word like as a -fire, saith the Lord, and like a _hammer_ that breaketh the rock in -pieces?’ I wonder not that he did _dodge_, when the sledge hammer of truth -was wielded by an abolition army. Many a Colonizationist has been -compelled to dodge, in order to escape the blows of this hammer of the -Lord’s word, for there is no other way to get clear. We must either -_dodge_ the arguments of abolitionists, or like J. G. Birney, Edward C. -Delevan, and many others, be willing to be broken to pieces by them. I -greatly like this specimen of private dealing, and hope it is not the only -instance which has come under thy notice, of Colonizationists -acknowledging the absolute necessity of _dodging_ Anti-Slavery arguments, -when they were unwilling that the _rock of prejudice_ should be broken to -pieces by them. - -Thy next complaint is against the _manner_ in which this benevolent -EXPATRIATION Society was attacked. ‘The style in which the thing was done -was at once offensive, inflammatory and exasperating,’--‘the feelings of -many sincere, upright, and conscientious men were harrowed by a sense of -the injustice, the indecorum and the unchristian treatment they received.’ -But why, if _they_ were entirely innocent of the charges brought against -Colonizationists? I have been in the habit, for several years past, of -watching the workings of my own mind under true and false charges against -myself; and my experience is, that the more clear I am of the charge, the -less I care about it. If I really feel a sweet assurance that ‘my witness -is in heaven--my record is on high,’ I then realize to its fullest extent -that ‘it is a small thing to be judged of _man’s_ judgment,’ and I can -bear _false_ charges unmoved; but true ones always nettle me, if I am -unwilling to confess that ‘I have sinned;’ if I am, and yield to -conviction, O then! how sweet the reward! Now I am very much afraid that -these sincere, upright and conscientious Colonizationists are something -like the _pious professors_ of the South, who are very angry because -abolitionists say that all slaveholders are men-stealers. Both find it -‘hard to kick against the pricks’ of conviction, and both are unwilling to -repent. A northern man remarked to a Virginia slaveholder last winter, -‘that as the South denied the charges brought against her by -abolitionists, he could not understand why she was so enraged; for,’ -continued he, ‘if you were to accuse us at the North of being -sheep-stealers, we should not care about the charge--we should ridicule -it.’ ‘O!’ said the Virginian with an oath, ‘what the abolitionists say -about slaveholders is _too true_, and _that’s the reason_ we are vexed.’ -Is not this the reason why our Colonization brethren and sisters are so -angry? Is not what we say of them also _too true_? Let them examine these -things with the bible and prayer, and settle this question between God and -their own souls. - -Every true friend of the oppressed American has great cause to rejoice, -that the cloak of benevolence has been torn off from the monster -Prejudice, which could love the colored man _after_ he got to Africa, but -seemed to delight to pour contumely upon him whilst he remained in the -land of his birth. I confess it would be very hard for me to believe that -any association of men and women loved me or my family, if, because we had -become obnoxious to them, they were to meet together, and concentrate -their energies and pour out their money for the purpose of transporting us -back to France, whence our Huguenot fathers fled to this country to escape -the storm of persecutions. Why not let us live in America, if you really -_love_ us? Surely you never want to ‘_get rid_’ of people whom you _love_. -_I_ like to have such near me; and it is because I love the colored -Americans, that I want them to stay in this country; and in order to make -it a happy home to them, I am trying to talk down, and write down, and -live down this horrible prejudice. Sending a few to Africa cannot destroy -it. No--we must dig up the weed by the roots out of each of our hearts. -_It is a sin_, and we must repent of it and forsake it--and then we shall -no longer be so anxious to ‘_be clear of them_,’ ‘_to get rid of them_.’ - -Hoping, though against hope, that thou mayest one day know how precious is -the reward of those who can love our oppressed brethren and sisters in -this day of their calamity, and who, despising the shame of being -identified with these peeled and scattered ones, rejoice to stand side by -side with them, in the glorious conflict between Slavery and Freedom, -Prejudice and Love unfeigned, I remain thine in the bonds of universal -love, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - [2] Although there are some who like to discant on the worthless - character of the Haytians, and the miserable condition of the - Island, yet it is an indisputable fact, that a population of nearly - 1,000,000 are supported on its soil, and that in 1833, the value of - its exports to the United States exceeded in value those of Prussia, - Sweden, and Norway--Denmark and the Danish West Indies--Ireland and - Scotland--Holland--Belgium--Dutch East Indies--British West - Indies--Spain--Portugal--all Italy--Turkey and the Levant, or any - one Republic in South America. - - - - -LETTER VII. - -PREJUDICE. - - - HAVERHILL, Mass., _7th mo. 23, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND:--Thou sayest, ‘the _best_ way to make a person like a thing -which is disagreeable, is to try in some way to make it agreeable.’ So, -then, instead of convincing a person by sound argument and pointed rebuke -that sin is _sin_, we are to _disguise_ the opposite virtue in such a way -as to make him like that, in preference to the sin he had so dearly loved. -We are to _cheat_ a sinner out of his sin, rather than to compel him, -under the stings of conviction, to give it up from deep-rooted principle. - -If this is the course pursued by ministers, then I wonder not at the kind -of converts which are brought into the church at the present day. Thy -remarks on the subject of prejudice, show but too plainly how strongly thy -own mind is imbued with it, and how little thy colonization principles -have done to exterminate this feeling from thy own bosom. Thou sayest, ‘if -a certain class of persons is the subject of unreasonable prejudice, the -peaceful and christian way of removing it would be to endeavor to render -the unfortunate persons who compose this class, so useful, so _humble, so -unassuming_, &c. that prejudice would be supplanted by complacency in -their goodness, and _pity_ and sympathy for their disabilities.’ ‘If the -friends of the blacks had quietly set themselves to work to increase their -intelligence, their usefulness, &c. and then had appealed to the _pity_ -and benevolence of their fellow citizens, a very different result would -have appeared.’ Or in other words, if one person is guilty of a sin -against another person, I am to let the sinner go entirely unreproved, but -to persuade the injured party to bear with humility and patience all the -outrages that are inflicted upon him, and thus try to soothe the sinner -‘into complacency with their goodness’ in ‘bearing all things, and -enduring all things.’ Well, suppose I succeed:--is that sinner won from -the evil of his ways by _principle_? No! Has he the principle of love -implanted in his breast? No! Instead of being in love with the virtue -exhibited by the individual, because _it is virtue_, he is delighted with -the personal convenience he experiences from the exercise of that virtue. -He feels kindly toward the individual, _because_ he is an _instrument_ of -his enjoyment, a mere _means_ to promote his wishes. There is _no_ -reformation there at all. And so the colored people are to be taught to be -‘very _humble_’ and ‘_unassuming_,’ ‘_gentle_’ and ‘_meek_,’ and then the -‘_pity_ and generosity’ of their fellow citizens are to be appealed to. -Now, no one who knows anything of the influence of Abolitionists over the -colored people, can deny that it has been _peaceful_ and christian; had it -not been so, they never would have seen those whom they had regarded as -their best friends, mobbed and persecuted, without raising an arm in their -defence. Look, too, at the rapid spread of thorough temperance principles -among them, and their moral reform and other laudable and useful -associations; look at the rising character of this people, the new life -and energy which have been infused into them. Who have done it? Who have -exerted by far the greatest influence on these oppressed Americans? I -leave thee to answer. I will give thee one instance of this salutary -influence. In a letter I received from one of my colored sisters, she -incidentally makes this remark:--‘Until very lately, I have lived and -acted more for _myself_ than for the good of others. I confess that I am -_wholly indebted to the Abolition cause_ for arousing me from apathy and -indifference, and shedding light into a mind which has been too long wrapt -in selfish darkness.’ The Abolition cause has exerted a powerful and -healthful influence over this class of our population, and it has been -done by quietly going into the midst of them, and identifying ourselves -with them. - -But Abolitionists are complained of, because they, at the same time, -fearlessly exposed the _sin_ of the unreasonable and unholy prejudice -which existed against these injured ones. Thou sayest ‘that reproaches, -rebukes and sneers were employed to convince the whites that their -prejudices were sinful, and _without_ any just cause.’ _Without any just -cause!_ Couldst thou think so, if thou really loved thy colored sisters -_as thyself_? The unmeasured abuse which, the Colonization Society was -heaping upon this despised people, was no _just cause_ for pointed -rebuke, I suppose! The manner in which they are thrust into one corner of -our meeting-houses, as if the plague-spot was on their skins; the rudeness -and cruelty with which they are treated in our hotels, and steamboats, -rail road cars and stages, is _no just cause_ of reproach to a professed -christian community, I presume. Well, all that I can say is, that I -believe if Isaiah or James were now alive, they would pour their -reproaches and rebukes upon the heads and _hearts_ of those who are thus -despising the Lord’s poor, and saying to those whose spirits are clothed -by God in the ‘vile raiment’ of a _colored skin_, ‘Stand thou there in -yonder gallery, or sit thou here in ‘the negro-pew.’ ‘Sneers,’ too, are -complained of. Have abolitionists ever made use of greater sarcasm and -irony than did the prophet Elijah? When things are ridiculous as well as -wicked, it is unreasonable to expect that every cast of mind will treat -them with solemnity. And what is more ridiculous than American prejudice; -to proscribe and persecute men and women, because their _complexions_ are -of a darker hue than our own? Why, it is an outrage upon common sense; and -as my brother Thomas S. Grimké remarked only a few weeks before his death, -‘posterity will laugh at our prejudices.’ Where is the harm, then, if -abolitionists should laugh now at the wicked absurdity? - -Thou sayest, ‘this tended to irritate the whites, and to increase their -prejudices against the blacks.’ The _truth always_ irritates the proud, -impenitent sinner. To charge abolitionists with this irritation, is -something like the charge brought against the English government by the -captain of the slaver I told thee of in my second letter, who threw all -his human merchandize overboard, in order to escape detection, and then -charged this horrible wholesale murder upon the government; because, said -he, they had no business to make a law to hang a man if he was found -engaged in the slave trade. So _we_ must bear the guilt of man’s angry -passions, because the _truth_ we preach is like a two-edged sword, cutting -through the bonds of interest on the one side, and the cords of caste on -the other. - -As to our increasing the prejudice against color, this is just like the -North telling us that we have increased the miseries of the slave. Common -sense cries out against the one as well as the other. With regard to -prejudice, I believe the truth of the case to be this: the rights of the -colored man _never_ were advocated by any body of men in their length and -breadth, before the rise of the Anti-Slavery Society in this country. The -propagation of these ultra principles has produced in the northern States -exactly the same effect, which the promulgation of the doctrine of -immediate emancipation has done in the southern States. It has _developed_ -the latent principles of pride and prejudice, not _produced_ them. Hear -John Green, a Judge of the Circuit Court of Kentucky, in reference to -abolition efforts having given birth to the opposition against -emancipation now existing in the South: ‘I would rather say, it has been -the means of _manifesting_ that opposition, which _previously_ existed, -but _laid dormant_ for want of an exciting cause.’ And just so has it -been with regard to prejudice at the North--when there was no effort to -obtain for the colored man his _rights_ as a man, as an American citizen, -there was no opposition exhibited, because it ‘laid dormant for want of an -exciting cause.’ - -I know it is alleged that some individuals, who treated colored people -with the greatest kindness a few years ago, have, since abolition -movements, had their feelings so embittered towards them, that they have -withdrawn that kindness. Now I would ask, could such people have acted -from _principle_? Certainly not; or nothing that others could do or say -would have driven them from the high ground they _appeared_ to occupy. No, -my friend, they acted precisely upon the false principle which thou hast -recommended; their _pity_ was excited, their _sentiments of generosity_ -were called into exercise, because they regarded the colored man as an -_unfortunate inferior_, rather than as an _outraged_ and _insulted equal_. -Therefore, as soon as abolitionists demanded for the oppressed American -the _very same treatment_, upon the high ground of _human rights_, why, -then it was instantly withdrawn, simply because _it never had been -conceded on the right_ ground; and those who had previously granted it -became afraid, lest, during the æra of abolition excitement, persons would -presume _they_ were acting on the fundamental principle of -abolitionism--the principle of _equal rights_, irrespective of color or -condition, instead of on the mere principle of ‘_pity_ and _generosity_.’ - -It is truly surprising to find a professing christian excusing the -unprincipled opposition exhibited in New Haven, to the erection of a -College for young men of color. Are we indeed to succumb to a corrupt -public sentiment at the North, and the abominations of slavery at the -South, by refraining from asserting the _right_ of Americans to plant a -literary institution in New Haven, or New York, or _any where_ on the -American soil? Are we to select ‘some retired place,’ where there would be -the least prejudice and opposition to meet, rather than openly and -fearlessly to face the American monster, who, like the horse-leach, is -continually crying give, give, and whose demands are only increased by -compromise and surrender? No! there is a spirit abroad in this country, -which will not consent to barter principle for an _unholy_ peace; a spirit -which seeks to be ‘pure from the blood of all men,’ by a bold and -christian avowal of truth; a spirit which will not hide God’s eternal -principles of right and wrong, but will stand erect in the storm of human -passion, prejudice and interest, ‘holding forth the light of truth in the -midst of a crooked and perverse generation;’ a spirit which will never -slumber nor sleep, till man ceases to hold dominion over his fellow -creatures, and the trump of universal liberty rings in every forest, and -is re-echoed by every mountain and rock. - -Art thou not aware, my friend, that this College was projected in the year -1831, previous to the formation of the first Anti-Slavery Society, which -was organized in 1832? How, then, canst thou say that the circumstances -relative to it occurred ‘at a time when the public mind was excited on the -subject?’ I feel quite amused at the _presumption_ which thou appearest to -think was exhibited by the projectors of this institution, in wishing it -to be located in New Haven, where was another College ‘embracing a large -proportion of southern students,’ &c. It was a great offence, to be sure, -for colored men to build a College by the walls of the white man’s -‘College, where half the shoe-blacks and waiters were _colored men_.’ But -why so? The other half of the shoe-blacks and waiters were _white_, I -presume; and if these _white_ servants could be satisfied with _their_ -humble occupation _under the roof_ of Yale College, why might not the -colored waiters be contented also, though an institution for the education -of colored Americans might _presume_ to lift its head ‘beside the very -walls of this College?’ Is it possible that any professing christian can -calmly look back at these disgraceful transactions, and tell me that such -opposition was manifested ‘_for the best reasons_?’ And what is still -worse, censure the projectors of a literary institution, in free, -republican, enlightened America, because they did not meekly yield to -‘_such reasonable objections_,’ and refused ‘to soothe the feelings and -apprehensions of those who had been excited’ to opposition and clamor by -the simple fact that some American born citizens wished to give their -children a liberal education in a separate College, only because the white -Americans despised their brethren of a darker complexion, and scorned to -share with them the privileges of Yale College? It was very wrong, to be -sure, for the friends of the oppressed American to consider such -outrageous conduct ‘as a mark of the force of sinful prejudice!’ Vastly -uncharitable! Great complaints are made that ‘the worst motives were -ascribed to some of the most respectable, and venerated, and _pious_ men -who opposed the measure.’ Wonderful indeed, that men should be found so -true to their principles, as to dare in this age of sycophancy to declare -the truth to those who stand in high places, wearing the badges of office -or honor, and fearlessly to rebuke the puerile and unchristian prejudice -which existed against their colored brethren! ‘Pious men!’ Why, I would -ask, how are we to judge of men’s piety--by professions or products? Do -men gather thorns of grapes, or thistles of figs? Certainly not. If, then, -in the lives of men we do not find the fruits of christian principle, we -have no right, according to our Saviour’s criterion, ‘by their fruits ye -shall know them,’ to suppose that men are really pious who can be -perseveringly guilty of despising others, and denying them equal rights, -because they have colored skins. ‘A great deal was said and done that was -calculated to throw the community into an angry ferment.’ Yes, and I -suppose the friends of the colored man were just as guilty as was the -great Apostle, who, by the angry, and excited, and _prejudiced_ Jews, was -accused of being ‘a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition,’ because he -declared himself called to preach the everlasting gospel to the Gentiles, -whom they considered as ‘dogs,’ and utterly unworthy of being placed on -the same platform of human rights and a glorious immortality. - - Thy friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER VIII. - -VINDICATION OF ABOLITIONISTS. - - - GROTON, Mass., _6th month, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND:--In my last, I commented upon the opposition to the -establishment of a College in New Haven, Conn., for the education of -colored young men. The same remarks are applicable to the persecutions of -the Canterbury School. I leave thee and our readers to apply them. I -cannot help thinking how strange and unaccountable thy soft excuses for -the _sins of prejudice_ will appear to the next generation, if thy book -ever reach their eye. - -As to Cincinnati having been chosen as the city in which the -Philanthropist should be published after the retreat of its editor from -Kentucky, thou hast not been ‘sufficiently informed,’ for James G. Birney -pursued exactly the course which _thou_ hast marked out as the most -prudent and least offensive. He edited his paper at New Richmond, in Ohio, -for nearly three months before he went to Cincinnati, and did not go there -until the excitement appeared to have subsided. - -And so, thou thinkest that abolitionists are accountable for the outrages -which have been committed against them; they are the tempters, and are -held responsible by God, as well as the tempted. Wilt thou tell me, who -was responsible for the mob which went with swords and staves to take an -innocent man before the tribunals of Annas and Pilate, some 1800 years -ago? And who was responsible for the uproar at Ephesus, the insurrection -at Athens, and the tumults at Lystra and Iconium? Were I a mobocrat, I -should want no better excuse than thou hast furnished for such outrages. -Wonderful indeed, if, in free America, her citizens cannot _choose_ where -they will erect their literary institutions and presses, to advocate the -self-evident truths of our Declaration of Independence! And still more -wonderful, that a New England woman should, _after years of reflection_, -deliberately write a book to condemn the advocates of liberty, and plead -excuses for a relentless prejudice against her colored brethren and -sisters, and for the persecutors of those, who, according to the opinion -of a _Southern_ member of Congress, are prosecuting ‘the _only plan_ that -can ever overthrow slavery at the South.’ I am glad, _for thy own sake_, -that thou hast exculpated abolitionists from the charge of the ‘deliberate -intention of fomenting illegal acts of violence.’ Would it not have been -still better, if thou hadst spared the remarks which rendered such an -explanation necessary? - -I find that thou wilt not allow of the comparison often drawn between the -effects of christianity on the hearts of those who obstinately rejected -it, and those of abolitionism on the hearts of people of the present day. -Thou sayest, ‘Christianity is a system of _persuasion_, tending by kind -and gentle influences to make men _willing_ to leave their sins.’ Dost -thou suppose the Pharisees and Sadducees deemed it was very _kind_ and -_gentle_ in its influences, when our holy Redeemer called them ‘a -generation of vipers,’ or when he preached that sermon ‘full of harshness, -uncharitableness, rebuke and denunciation,’ recorded in the xxiii. chapter -of Matthew? But I shall be told that Christ knew the hearts of all men, -and therefore it was right for him to use terms which mere human beings -never ought to employ. Read, then, the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and -others, and also the Epistles of the New Testament. They employed the most -offensive terms on many occasions, and the sharpest rebukes, knowing full -well that there are some sinners who can be reached by nothing but -death-thrusts at their consciences. An anecdote of JOHN RICHARDSON, who -was remarkable for his urbanity of manners, occurs to me. He one day -preached a sermon in a country town, in which he made use of some _hard_ -language; a friend reproved him after meeting, and inquired whether he did -not know that hard wood was split by soft knocks. Yes, said Richardson, -but I also know that there is some wood so rotten at the heart, that -nothing but tremendously hard blows will ever split it open. Ah! John, -replied the elder, I see thou understandest _how_ to do thy master’s work. -Now, I believe this nation is _rotten at the heart_, and that nothing but -the most tremendous blows with the sledge-hammer of abolition truth, could -ever have broken the false rest which we had taken up for ourselves on the -very brink of ruin. - -‘Abolitionism, on the contrary, is a system of _coercion_ by public -opinion.’ By this assertion, I presume thou ‘hast not been correctly -informed’ as to the reasons which have induced abolitionists to put forth -all their energies to rectify public opinion. It is _not_ because we wish -to wield this public opinion like a rod of iron over the heads of -slaveholders, to _coerce_ them into an abandonment of the system of -slavery; not at all. We are striving to purify public opinion, first, -because as long as the North is so much involved in the guilt of slavery, -by its political, commercial, religious, and social connexion with the -South, _her own citizens_ need to be converted. Second, because we know -that when public opinion is rectified at the North, it will throw a flood -of light from its million of reflecting surfaces upon the heart and soul -of the South. The South sees full well at what we are aiming, and she is -so unguarded as to acknowledge that ‘if she does not resist the danger in -its inception, it will _soon_ become _irresistible_.’ She exclaims in -terror, ‘the truth is, the _moral_ power of the world is against us; it is -idle to disguise it.’ The fact is, that the slaveholders of the South, and -their northern apologists, have been overtaken by the storm of free -discussion, and are something like those who go down to the sea and do -business in the great waters: ‘they reel to and fro, and stagger like a -drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.’ - -Our view of the doctrine of expediency, thou art pleased to pronounce -‘wrong and very pernicious in its tendency.’ Expediency is emphatically -the doctrine by which the children of this world are wont to guide their -steps, whilst the rejection of it as a rule of action exactly accords with -the divine injunction, to ‘walk by faith, _not_ by sight.’ Thy doctrine -that ‘the wisdom and rectitude of a given course depend entirely on the -_probabilities of success_,’ is not the doctrine of the Bible. According -to this principle, how absurd was the conduct of Moses! What probability -of success was there that he could move the heart of Pharaoh? None at all; -and thus did _he_ reason when he said, ‘Who am _I_, that I should go unto -Pharaoh?’ And again, ‘Behold, they will not believe _me_, nor hearken unto -my voice.’ The _success_ of Moses’s mission in persuading the king of -Egypt to ‘let the people go,’ was not involved in the duty of obedience to -the divine command. Neither was the success of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and -others of the prophets who were singularly _unsuccessful_ in their mission -to the Jews. All who see the path of duty plain before them, are bound to -walk in that path, end where it may. They then can realize the meaning of -the Apostle, when he exhorts Christians to cast all their burden on the -Lord, with the promise that He would sustain them. This is walking by -_faith_, not by sight. In the work in which abolitionists are engaged, -they are compelled to ‘walk by faith;’ they feel called upon to preach the -truth in season and out of season, to lift up their voices like a trumpet, -to show the people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. -The _success_ of this mission, _they_ have no more to do with, than had -Moses and Aaron, Jeremiah or Isaiah, with that of theirs. Whether the -South will be saved by Anti-Slavery efforts, is not a question for us to -settle--and in some of our hearts, the _hope of its salvation has utterly -gone out_. All nations have been punished for oppression, and why should -ours escape? Our light, and high professions, and the age in which we -live, convict us not only of enormous oppression, but of the vilest -hypocrisy. It may be that the rejection of the truth which we are now -pouring in upon the South, may be the final filling up of their -iniquities, just previous to the bursting of God’s exterminating thunders -over the Sodoms and Gomorrahs, the Admahs and Zeboims of America. The -_result_ of our labors is hidden from our eyes; whether the preaching of -Anti-Slavery truth is to be a savor of life unto life, or of death unto -death to this nation, we know not; and we have no more to do with it, than -had the Apostle Paul, when he preached Christ to the people of his day. - -If American Slavery goes down in blood, it will but verify the -declarations of those who uphold it. A committee of the North Carolina -Legislature acknowledged this to an English Friend ten years ago. -Jefferson more than once uttered his gloomy forebodings; and the -Legislators of Virginia, in 1832, declared that if the opportunity of -escape, through the means of emancipation, were rejected, ‘though they -might _save themselves_, they would rear their posterity to the business -of the dagger and the torch.’ I have myself known several families to -leave the South, solely from a fear of insurrection; and this twelve and -fourteen years ago, long before any Anti-Slavery efforts were made in this -country. And yet, I presume, _if_ through the cold-hearted apathy and -obstinate opposition of the North, the South should become strengthened in -her desperate determination to hold on to her outraged victims, until they -are goaded to despair, and if the Lord in his wrath pours out the vials of -his vengeance upon the slave States, why then, Abolitionists will have to -bear all the blame. Thou hast drawn a frightful picture of the final issue -of Anti-Slavery efforts, as thou art pleased to call it; but none of these -things move me, for with just as much truth mayest thou point to the land -of Egypt, blackened by God’s avenging fires, and exclaim, ‘Behold the -issue of Moses’s mission.’ Nay, verily! See in that smoking, and -blood-drenched house of bondage, the consequences of oppression, -disobedience, and an obstinate rejection of truth, and light, and love. -What had Moses to do with those judgment plagues, except to lift his rod? -And if the South soon finds her winding sheet in garments rolled in blood, -it will _not_ be because of what the North has told her, but because, like -impenitent Egypt, she hardened her heart against it, whilst the voices of -some of her own children were crying in agony, ‘O! that thou hadst known, -even thou, in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace; but now -they are hid from thine eyes.’ - - Thy friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER IX. - -EFFECT ON THE SOUTH. - - - BROOKLINE, Mass., _8th month, 17th, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND:--Thou sayest ‘There are cases also, where differences in age, -and station, and character, forbid all interference to modify the conduct -and character of others.’ Let us bring this to the only touchstone by -which Christians should try their principles of action. - -How was it when God designed to rid his people out of the hands of the -Egyptian monarch? Was _his_ station so exalted ‘as to forbid all -interference to modify his character and conduct?’ And _who_ was sent to -interfere with his conduct towards a stricken people? Was it some brother -monarch of exalted station, whose elevated rank might serve to excuse such -interference ‘to modify his conduct and character?’ No. It was an obscure -shepherd of Midian’s desert; for let us remember, that Moses, in pleading -the cause of the Israelites, identified himself with the _lowest_ and -_meanest_ of the King’s subjects. Ah! he was _one of that despised caste_; -for, although brought up as the son of the princess, yet he had left Egypt -as an outlaw. He had committed the crime of murder, and fled because the -monarch ‘sought to slay him.’ This exiled outlaw is the instrument chosen -by God to vindicate the cause of his oppressed people. Moses was in the -sight of Pharaoh as much an object of scorn, as Garrison now is to the -tyrants of America. Some seem to think, that great moral enterprises can -be made honorable only by Doctors of Divinity, and Presidents of Colleges, -engaging in them: when all powerful Truth cannot be dignified by _any_ -man, but _it_ dignifies and ennobles all who embrace it. _It_ lifts the -beggar from the dunghill, and sets him among princes. Whilst it needs no -great names to bear it onward to its glorious consummation, it is -continually making great characters out of apparently mean and unpromising -materials; and in the intensity of its piercing rays, revealing to the -amazement of many, the insignificance and _moral_ littleness of those who -fill the highest stations in Church and State. - -But take a few more examples from the bible, of those in high stations -being reproved by men of inferior rank. Look at David rebuked by Nathan, -Ahab and Jezebel by Elijah and Micaiah. What, too, was the conduct of -Daniel and Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, but a _practical_ rebuke of -Darius and Nebuchadnezzar? And _who_ were these men, apart from these acts -of daring interference? They were the Lord’s prophets, I shall be told; -but what cared those monarchs for _this fact_? How much credit did they -give them for holding this holy office? None. And why? Because all but -David were impenitent sinners, and rejected with scorn all ‘interference -to modify their conduct or characters.’ Reformers are rarely estimated in -the age in which they live, whether they be called prophets or apostles, -or abolitionists, or what not. They stand on the rock of Truth, and calmly -look down upon the careering thunder-clouds, the tempest, and the roaring -waves, because they well know that where the atmosphere is surcharged with -pestilential vapors, a conflict of the elements _must_ take place, before -it can be purified by that moral electricity, beautifully typified by the -cloven tongues that sat upon _each_ of the heads of the 120 disciples who -were convened on the day of Pentecost. Such men and women expect to be -‘blamed and opposed, because their measures are deemed inexpedient, and -calculated to increase rather than diminish the evil to be cured.’ They -know full well, that _intellectual_ greatness cannot give _moral_ -perception--therefore, _those who have no clear views of the -irresistibleness of moral power, cannot see the efficacy of moral means_. -They say with the apostle, ‘The natural man receiveth not the things of -the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know -them, because they are spiritually discerned.’ We know full well, that -northern men and women laugh at the inefficacy of Anti-Slavery measures; -_but slaveholders never have ridiculed them_: not that their moral -perceptions are any clearer than those of our northern opponents, but -where men’s _interests_ and _lust of power_ are immediately affected by -moral effort, they instinctively feel that it is so, and tremble for the -result. - -But suppose even that our measures were calculated to _increase_ the -evils of slavery. _The measures adopted by Moses, and sanctioned by God, -increased the burdens of the Israelites._ Were they, therefore, -_inexpedient_? And yet, if _our_ measures produce a similar effect, O -then! they are very inexpedient indeed. The truth is, when we look at -Moses and his measures, we look at them in connection with the -emancipation of the Israelites. The _ultimate_ and glorious success of the -measures proves their wisdom and expediency. But when Anti-Slavery -measures are looked at _now_, we see them long _before the end is -accomplished_. We see, according to thy account, the burdens increased; -but we do not yet see the triumphant march through the Red Sea, nor do we -hear the song of joy and thanksgiving which ascended from Israel’s -redeemed host. But canst thou not give us twenty years to complete our -work? Clarkson, thy much admired model, worked twenty years; and the -benevolent Colonization Society has been in operation twenty years. Just -give us as long a time, or half that time, and then thou wilt be a far -better judge of the expediency or inexpediency of our measures. Then thou -wilt be able to look at them in connection with their success or their -failure, and instead of writing a book on thy opinions and my opinions, -thou canst write a _history_. - -I cannot agree with thee in the sentiment, that the station of a nursery -maid makes it inexpedient for her to turn reprover of the master who -employs her. This is the doctrine of _modern aristocracy_, not of -primitive christianity; for ecclesiastical history informs us that, in the -first ages of christianity, kings were converted through the faithful and -solemn rebukes of their slaves and captives. I have myself been reproved -by a _slave_, and I thanked her, and still thank her for it. Think how -this doctrine robs the nursery maid of her responsibility, and shields the -master from reproof; for it may be that she alone has seen him ill-treat -his wife. Now it appears to me, so far from her station forbidding all -interference to modify the character and conduct of her employer, that -that station peculiarly qualifies her for the difficult and delicate task, -because nursery maids often know secrets of oppression, which no other -persons are fully acquainted with. For my part, I believe it is _now the -duty of the slaves of the South to rebuke their masters_ for their -robbery, oppression and crime; and so far from believing that such -‘reproof would do no good, but only evil,’ I think it would be attended by -the happiest results in the main, though I doubt not it would occasion -some instances of severe personal suffering. No station or character can -destroy individual responsibility, in the matter of reproving sin. I feel -that a slave has a right to rebuke me, and so has the vilest sinner; and -the sincere, humble christian will be thankful for rebuke, let it come -from whom it may. Such, I am confident, never would think it inexpedient -for their chamber maids to administer it, but would endeavor to profit by -it. - -Thou askest very gravely, why James G. Birney did not go quietly into the -southern States, and collect facts? Indeed! Why should he go to the South -to collect facts, when he had lived there forty years? Thou mayest with -just as much propriety ask me, why I do not go to the South to collect -facts. The answer to both questions is obvious:--We have lived at the -South, as _integral_ parts of the system of slavery, and therefore we know -from practical observation and sad experience, quite enough about it -already. I think it would be absurd for either of us to spend our time in -such a way. And even if J. G. Birney had not lived at the South, why -should he go there to collect facts, when the Anti-Slavery presses are -continually throwing them out before the public? Look, too, at the Slave -Laws! What more do we need to show us the bloody hands and iron heart of -Slavery? - -Thou sayest on the 89th page of thy book, ‘Every avenue of approach to the -South is shut. No paper, pamphlet, or preacher, that touches on that -topic, is admitted in their bounds.’ Thou art greatly mistaken; every -avenue of approach to the South is _not_ shut. The American Anti-Slavery -Society sends between four and five hundred of its publications to the -South by mail, _to subscribers_, or as exchange papers. One slaveholder in -North Carolina, not long since, bought $60 worth of our pamphlets, &c. -which he distributed in the slave States. Another slaveholder from -Louisiana, made a large purchase of our publications last fall, which he -designed to distribute among professors of religion who held slaves. To -these I may add another from South Carolina, another from Richmond, -Virginia, numbers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, and others from -New Orleans, besides persons connected with at least three Colleges and -Theological Seminaries in slave States, have applied for our publications -for their own use, and for distribution. Within a few weeks, the South -Carolina Delegation in Congress have sent on an order to the publishing -Agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society, for all the principal bound -volumes, pamphlets, and periodicals of the Society. At the same time, they -addressed a very courteous letter to J. G. Birney, the Corresponding -Secretary, propounding nearly a score of queries, embracing the -principles, designs, plans of operation, progress and results of the -Society. I know in the large cities, such as Charleston and Richmond, that -Anti-Slavery papers are not suffered to reach their destination through -the mail; but _it is not so_ in the smaller towns. But even in the cities, -I doubt not they are read by the postmasters and others. The South may -pretend that she will not read our papers, but it is all pretence; the -fact is, she is very anxious to see what we are doing, so that when the -mail-bags were robbed in Charleston in 1835, _I know_ that the robbers -were very careful to select a few copies of each of the publications -_before_ they made the bonfire, and that these were handed round in a -private way through the city, so that they were _extensively read_. This -fact I had from a friend of mine who was in Charleston at the time, and -_read_ the publications himself. My relations also wrote me word, that -they had seen and read them. - -In order to show that our discussions and publications have already -produced a great effect upon many individuals in the slave States, I -subjoin the following detail of facts and testimony now in my possession. - -My sister, S. M. Grimké, has just received a letter from a Southerner -residing in the far South, in which he says, ‘On the 4th of July, the -friends of the oppressed met and contributed six or eight dollars, to -obtain some copies of Gerrit Smith’s letter, and some other pamphlets for -our own benefit and that of the vicinity. The leaven, we think, is -beginning to work, and we hope that it will ere long purify the whole mass -of corruption.’ - -An intelligent member of the Methodist Church, who resides in North -Carolina, was recently in the city of New York, and told the editor of -Zion’s Watchman, that ‘our publications were read with great interest at -the South--that there was great curiosity there to see them.’ A bookseller -also in one of the most southern States, only a few months ago, ordered a -package of our publications. And within a very short time, an influential -slaveholder from the far South, who called at the Anti-Slavery Office in -New York, said he had had misgivings on the subject ever since the -formation of the American Society--that he saw some of our publications -_at the South_ three years ago, and is now convinced and has emancipated -his slaves. - -A correspondent of the Union Herald, a clergyman, and a graduate of one of -the colleges of Kentucky, says, ‘I find in this State _many_ who are -decidedly opposed to slavery--but few indeed take the ground that it is -right. I trust the cause of human rights is onward--_weekly, I receive two -copies of the Emancipator_, which I send out as battering rams, to beat -down the citadel of oppression.’ In a letter to James G. Birney, from a -gentleman in a slave State, we find this declaration: ‘Your paper, the -Philanthropist, is regularly distributed here, and as yet works no -incendiary results; and indeed, so far as I can learn, general -satisfaction is here expressed, both as to the temper and spirit of the -paper, and no disapprobation as to the results.’ At an Anti-Slavery -meeting last fall in Philadelphia, a gentleman from Delaware was present, -who rose and encouraged Abolitionists to go on, and said that he could -assure them the influence of their measures was felt there, and their -principles were gaining ground secretly and silently. The subject, he -informed them, was discussed there, and he believed Anti-Slavery lectures -could be delivered there with safety, and would produce important results. -Since that time, a lecturer has been into that State, and a State Society -has been formed, the secretary of which was the first editor of the -Emancipator, and is now pastor of the Baptist church in the capital of the -State. The North Carolina Watchman, published at Salisbury, in an article -on the subject of Abolition, has the following remarks of the editor: ‘It -[the abolition party] is the growing party at the North: we are inclined -to believe, that there is even _more of it at the South_, than prudence -will permit to be openly avowed.’ It rejoices our hearts to find that -there are some southerners who feel and acknowledge the infatuation of the -politicians of the South, and the philanthropy of abolitionists. The -Maryville Intelligencer of 1836, exclaims, ‘What sort of madness, produced -by a jaundiced and distorted conception of the feelings and motives by -which northern abolitionists are actuated, can induce the southern -political press to urge a severance of the tie that binds our Union -together? To offer rewards for those very individuals who stand as -_mediators_ between masters and slaves, urging the one to be obedient, and -the other to do justice?’ - -A southern Minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the session of -the New York Annual Conference, in June of 1836, said: ‘Don’t give up -Abolitionism--don’t bow down to slavery. You have thousands at the South -who are secretly praying for you.’ In a subsequent conversation with the -same individual, he stated, that the South is not that unit of which the -pro-slavery party boast--there is a diversity of opinion among them in -reference to slavery, and the REIGN OF TERROR alone suppresses the free -expression of sentiment. That there are thousands who believe slaveholding -to be sinful, who secretly wish the abolitionists success, and believe God -will bless their efforts. That the ministers of the gospel and -ecclesiastical bodies who indiscriminately denounce the abolitionists, -without doing any thing themselves to remove slavery, have _not_ the -thanks of thousands at the South, but on the contrary are viewed as -_taking sides with slaveholders_, and _recreant to the principles of their -own profession_.--_Zion’s Watchman, November, 1836._ - -The Christian Mirror, published in Portland, Maine, has the following -letter from a minister who has lately taken up his abode in Kentucky, to a -friend in Maine:--‘Several ministers have recently left the State, I -believe, on account of slavery; and many of the members of churches, as I -have understood, have sold their property, and removed to the free States. -Many are becoming more and more convinced of the evil and _sin_ of -slavery, and would gladly rid themselves and the community of this -scourge; and I feel confident that influences are already in operation, -which, if properly directed and regulated by the principles of the gospel, -may ‘break every yoke and let the oppressed go free’ in Kentucky. - -In 1st month, 1835, when Theodore D. Weld was lecturing in Pittsburgh, -Pennsylvania, at the close of one of his evening lectures, a man sought -him through the crowd, and extending his hand to him through his friends, -by whom he was surrounded, solicited him to step aside with him for a -moment. After they had retired by themselves, the gentleman said to him -with great earnestness, ‘I am a slaveholder from Maryland--_you are -right--the doctrine you advocate is truth_.’ Why, then, said the lecturer, -do you not emancipate your slaves? ‘Because,’ said the Marylander, ‘I have -not religion enough’--He was a professing christian--‘I dare not subject -myself to the torrent of opposition which, from the present state of -public sentiment, would be poured upon me; but do you abolitionists go on, -and you will effect a change in public sentiment, which will render it -possible and easy for us to emancipate our slaves. I know,’ continued he, -‘a great many slaveholders in my State, who stand on precisely the same -ground that I do in relation to this matter. _Only produce a correct -public sentiment at the North and the work is done; for all that keeps the -South in countenance while continuing this system, is the apology and -argument afforded so generally by the North; only produce a right feeling -in the North generally, and the South cannot stand before it; let the -North be thoroughly converted, and the work is at once accomplished at the -South._’ Another fact which may be adduced to prove that the South is -looking to the North for help, is the following: At an Anti-Slavery -concert of prayer for the oppressed, held in New York city, in 1836, a -gentleman arose in the course of the meeting, declaring himself a -Virginian and a slaveholder. He said he came to that city filled with the -deepest prejudice against the abolitionists, by the reports given of their -character in papers published at the North. But he determined to -investigate their character and designs for himself. He even boarded in -the family of an abolitionist, and attended the monthly concert of prayer -for the slaves and the slaveholders. And now, as the result of his -investigations and observations, he was convinced that _not only the -spirit but the principles and measures of the abolitionists_ ARE -RIGHTEOUS. He was now ready to emancipate his own slaves, and had -commenced advocating the doctrine of immediate emancipation--‘and -here,’ said he, pointing to two men sitting near him, ‘are the first -fruits of my labors--these two fellow Virginians and slaveholders, are -converts with myself to abolitionism. And I know a thousand Virginians, -who need only to be made acquainted with the true spirit and principles -of abolitionists, in order to their becoming converts as we are. _Let -the abolitionists go on in the dissemination of their doctrines, and -let the Northern papers cease to misrepresent them at the South--let -the true light of abolitionism be fully shed upon the Southern mind, -and the work of immediate and general emancipation will be speedily -accomplished._‘--_Morning Star, N. Y._ - -A letter from a gentleman in Kentucky to Gerrit Smith, dated August, 1836, -contains the following expressions:-- - - ‘I am fully persuaded, that the voice of the free States, lifted up - in a proper manner against the evil, [Slavery] will awaken them - [slaveholders] from their midnight slumbers, and produce a happy - change. I rejoice, dear brother in Christ, to hear that you are with - us, and feel deeply to plead the cause of the oppressed, and undo - the heavy burdens. May God bless you, and the cause which you - pursue.’ - -In the summer of 1835, William R. Buford, of Virginia, who had then -recently emancipated his slaves, wrote a letter which was published in the -Hampshire Gazette, North Hampton, Mass. from which I give thee some -extracts. - - DEAR SIR:--As you are ardently engaged in the discussion of Slavery, - I think it likely I may be of service to you, and through you to the - cause which you are advocating. … I was born and brought up at the - South in the midst of slavery, as you know. My father inherited - slaves from his father, and I from him. So far from thinking slavery - a sin, or that I had no right to own the slaves inherited from my - father, I thought no one could venture to dispute that right, any - more than he could my right to his land or his stock. I advocated - Colonization, as I thought it on many accounts a good plan to get - rid of such colored persons as wished to go to Africa; but my - conscience as a slaveholder was not much troubled by it. Of course, - I had no tendency to make me disclaim my right to my slaves. - Abolition--immediate abolition, began afterwards to be discussed in - various parts of the country. My right to the slaves I owned began - to be disputed. I had to defend myself. In vain did I say I - inherited my slaves from a pious father, who seemed to be governed - in his dealings by a sense of duty to his slaves. In vain did I say - that nearly all my property consisted in slaves, and to free them - would make me a poor man. My duty to emancipate was still urged. At - length my eyes were opened--partly by the arguments used by the - abolitionists: but mainly, by long being compelled _by them_ to - examine the subject for myself. No longer could I close my eyes to - the evils of slavery, nor could I any longer despise the - abolitionists, ‘the only true friends of their country and kind.’ I - now think, I know, I have no more right to own slaves, whether I - inherited them or not, than I have to encourage the African slave - trade. By declaring this sentiment, I expect and design to abet the - cause of Abolition at the North, and through the North the - emancipation of the slaves at the South. I know that in doing this, - I condemn the South. No one can suppose, however, that I have any - unkind feelings towards the South. All my relatives live in the - slaveholding States, and are almost all slaveholders. - - I think the abolitionists have done, and are doing a great deal of - good, by holding slavery up to the public gaze. Sentiment at the - North on the subject of slavery must have the same effect on the - South, that their opinions have on any other matter.’ - -The writer of the foregoing is, as I am told, still a resident of -Virginia, where he has long been known, and is highly respected. - -In the 11th month, 1835, the United States Telegraph, published at -Washington city, contains the following remarks by the Editor, Duff -Green. - - ‘We are of those who believe the South has nothing to fear from a - servile war. We do not believe that the abolitionists intend, nor - could they if they would, excite the slaves to insurrection. The - danger of this is remote. We believe that we have most to fear from - the _organised action upon the consciences_ and fears of the - slaveholders themselves; _from the insinuations of their dangerous - heresies into our schools, our pulpits, and our domestic circles. It - is only by alarming the consciences of the weak and feeble, and - diffusing among our own people a morbid sensibility on the question - of slavery, that the abolitionists can accomplish their object._ - PREPARATORY TO THIS, they are now laboring to saturate the - non-slaveholding States with the belief that slavery is a ‘sin - against God.’ We must meet the question in all its bearings. We must - SATISFY THE CONSCIENCES, we must allay the fears of our own people. - We must satisfy them that slavery is of itself right--that it is not - a sin against God--that it is not an evil, moral or political. To do - this, we must discuss the subject of slavery itself. We must examine - its bearing upon the moral, political, and religious institutions of - the country. In this way, and this way only, can we prepare our own - people to _defend their own institutions_.’ - -In another number of the same paper, the Editor says, - - ‘We hold that our sole reliance is on ourselves; that we have _most - to fear from the gradual operation on public opinion among - ourselves_; and that those are the most insidious and dangerous - invaders of our rights and interests, who, coming to us in the guise - of friendship, endeavor to _persuade_ us that slavery is a sin, a - curse, an evil. It is not true that the South sleeps on a - volcano--that we are afraid to go to bed at night--that we are - fearful of murder and pillage. _Our greatest cause of apprehension - is from the operation of the morbid sensibility which appeals to - the consciences of our own people_, and would make them the - voluntary instruments of their own ruin.’ - -In 1835, I think about the close of the year, a series of articles on -Slavery appeared in the Lexington (Kentucky) Intelligencer. In one of the -numbers, the writer says:-- - - ‘Much of the preceding matter was inserted (May, 1833) in the - Louisville Herald. A _great change_ has since taken place in public - sentiment. Colonization, then a favorite measure, is now rejected - for instant emancipation. Were this last feasible, I would gladly - join its advocates,’ &c. - -In a letter to the publisher of the Emancipator, dated ‘April 1, 1837,’ -from a Southerner, I find the following language:-- - - ‘Though a ---- born and bred, I now consider the Anti-Slavery cause - as a just and holy one. Deep reflection, the reading of your - excellent publications, and--years of travel in Europe, have made - me, what I am now proud to call myself, an abolitionist. - - ‘For the present, accept the assurances of my unswerving devotion to - the cause of liberty and justice. Any letter from yourself will - always give me sincere pleasure, and whenever I go to New York, I - shall call upon you, _sans ceremonie_, as I would upon an old - friend.’ - -A short time since, J. G. Birney received a donation of $20 for the -Anti-Slavery Society, from an individual residing in a slave State, -accompanied with a request that his name might not be mentioned. - -About the time of the robbery of the U. S. Mail, and the burning of -Abolition papers by the infatuated citizens of my own city, the Editor of -the Charleston Courier made the following remarks in his paper, which -plainly reveal the cowering of the spirit of slavery, under the searching -scrutiny occasioned by the Anti-Slavery discussions in the free States. - - ‘_Mart for Negroes._--We understand that a proposition is before the - city council, relative to the establishment of a mart for the sale - of negroes in this city, in a place _more remote from observation_, - and less offensive to the public eye, than the one now used for that - purpose. We doubt not that the proposition before the council will - be acceptable to the community, and that it may be so matured as to - promote public decency, without prejudice to the interest of - individuals.’ - -Hear, too, the acknowledgement of the Southern Literary Review, published -at Charleston, South Carolina, which was got up in 1837, to sustain the -system of Slavery. - - ‘There are _many_ good men even among us, who have begun to grow - _timid_. They think that what the virtuous and high-minded men of - the North look upon as a crime and a plague-spot, cannot be - perfectly innocent or quite harmless in a slaveholding community. … - Some timid men among us, whose ears have been long assailed with - outcries of tyranny and oppression, wafted over the ocean and land - from North to South, begin to look _fearfully_ around them.’ - -A correspondent of the Pittsburgh Witness, detailing the particulars of an -Anti-Slavery meeting in Washington co. Pennsylvania, says:-- - - ‘After Dr. Lemoyne, the President of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery - Society, had finished his address, in which the principles and - measures of the Anti-Slavery Society were fully exhibited, the Rev. - Charles Stewart, of Kentucky, a slaveholding clergyman of the - Presbyterian church, who was casually present, rose and addressed - the audience, and instead of opposing our principles as might have - been expected, fully endorsed every thing that had been said, - declaring his conviction that such a speech would have been well - received by the truly religious part of the community in which he - resided, and would have been opposed only by those who were actuated - by party politics alone, or those who ‘neither feared God nor - regarded man.’ - -I give thee now a letter from a gentleman in a South Western slaveholding -State, to J. G. BIRNEY. - - ‘_Very Dear Sir_:--I knew you in the days of your prosperity at the - South, though you will not recognize me. Ever since you first took - your stand in defence of _natural rights_, I have been looking upon - you with intense interest. I _was_ violently opposed to - Abolitionists, and verily thought I was doing service to both church - and State, in decrying them as _incendiaries_ and _fanatics_. What - blindness and infatuation! Yet I was _sincere_. Ah! my dear sir, God - in mercy has taught me that something more than _sincerity_, in the - common acceptation of the term, is necessary to preserve our - understandings from idiocy, and our hearts from utter ruin. How - could I have been such a _madman_, as coolly and composedly to place - my foot upon the necks of immortal beings, and from that horrid - point of elevation, hurl the deep curses of church and State at the - heads of----whom? Fanatics? No, sir!--_but of the only persons on - the face of the earth, who had HEART enough to FEEL, and SOUL - enough to ACT, in behalf of the RIGHTS OF MAN_! Yet I was just - such a madman! Yes, sir, I was a _fanatic_, and an _incendiary_ - too--setting on fire the worst passions of our fallen nature. But I - have repented. I have become a convert to political, and I trust, - also, to _Christian Freedom_. The spectacle exhibited by yourself, - and your compatriots and fellow-christians, has completely overcome - me. Your reasonings convince my judgment, and your ACTIONS win my - heart. God speed you in your work of love! The hopes of the world - depend, under God, upon the success of your cause. - - Very respectfully and with undying affection, - - Your friend and brother, - - A SOUTHERNER.’ - -Another of J. G. Birney’s southern correspondents says, in 1836, - - ‘That portion of the Church with which I am connected, seem to have - no sympathy with the indignation against the abolitionists, which - prevails so extensively North and South; but, on the other hand, - consider the _South_ as _infatuated_ to the highest degree. - - There is more credit for philanthropy given those who manumit their - slaves, without _expatriation_, than formerly. - - The thirst for information is increasing, while the ‘_non - liquetism_’ [voting on neither side] of brethren in church courts is - becoming less and less satisfactory; and such of them as advocate - the perpetuity of the system, are looked upon with surprise and - regret. - - Those who view with horror the traffic in slaves by ministers of the - gospel, express more freely their pain at its indulgence, _than I - have ever known_. I am acquainted with several such cases. In no - instances have they left the brother’s standing where it was, before - it took place. Of such cases--even those, too, where the usual - allowances might be called for--I have heard professors of religion - remark, ‘Mr. A. could not get an audience to hear him preach’--‘Mr. - B. has more assurance than I could have, to preach, after selling my - slaves as he has done’--‘He can never make me believe he has any - religion’--‘This is the first time you have done so, but repeat it, - and I think I shall never hear you preach again.’ - -These remarks were made by slaveholding professors of religion themselves, -and under circumstances neither calculated nor intended to deceive. - -The following letter was written by an intelligent gentleman in the -interior of Alabama, to Arthur Tappan, of New York, who had sent him some -Anti-Slavery publications. The date is March 21, 1834. - - ‘Dear Sir--Your letter of Dec. last, I read with much interest. The - numbers of the Anti-Slavery Reporter, also, which you were so kind - as to send me, I carefully examined, and put them in circulation. - - Your operations have produced considerable excitement in some - sections of this country, but humanity has lost nothing. The more - the subject of slavery is agitated, the better. A distinguished - gentleman remarked to me a day or two since, that ‘there was a great - change going on in public sentiment.’ Few would acknowledge that it - was to be ascribed to the influence of your Society. There can be no - doubt, however, that this is directly and indirectly the principal - cause.’ - -During the same year, the Editor of the New York Evangelist received a -letter from a christian friend in North Carolina, from which I give thee -an extract. - - _To the Editor of the Evangelist_-- - - ‘The subject of slavery, recently brought up and discussed in your - paper, is the one which elicits the following remarks. - - In the first place I will state, that I entertain very different - views _now_, to what I did six months ago. I was among those who - thought (and honestly too) that there was no more moral guilt - attached to the holding our fellow beings in bondage, regarding them - as property, than to the holding of a mule or an ox. It was natural - enough for me to think so, for I had been trained from my very - infancy to view the subject in no other light. I shall never forget - my feelings when the subject was first hit upon in the Evangelist. I - became angry, and was disposed to attribute sinister motives to all - who were concerned in the matter. With some others, I determined to - stop the paper forthwith. - - Though I made every effort to turn my mind away from the subject, my - conscience in spite of me began to awake, and to be troubled. The - word of God was resorted to, with the hope of finding something to - bring peace and quietude, but all in vain. It was but adding fuel to - the flame. I determined, let others do as they would, to meet the - subject, to examine it in all its bearings, and to abide the result; - and if it should be found that God regards slavery as an evil, and - incompatible with the gospel, I would give it up. If not, I should - be made wiser without incurring any harm by the investigation. - - In the very nature of God’s dealings with men, this subject must and - will be agitated, until conviction shall be brought home to the - heart and conscience of every man, and _slavery shall be banished - from our land_. And woe be to him who wilfully closes his eyes, and - stops his ears against the light of God’s truth.’ - -In 8th month of the same year, the same paper contained the following -extract from another correspondent in North Carolina. - - ---- N. C. JULY 9, 1834. - - ‘Rev. and dear Sir--If I owe an apology for intruding on you, and - introducing myself, I must find it in the fact, that I wish to bid - you God speed in the good cause in which you are so heartily - engaged. While so many at the North are opposing, I wish to cheer - you by one voice from the South. If it is unpopular to plead the - cause of the oppressed negro in New York, how dangerous to be known - as his friend in the far South, where, as a correspondent in the - Evangelist justly observes, a minister cannot enforce the law of - love, without being suspected of favoring emancipation. I am glad - the people with you are beginning to feel and to act. I pray God - that you may go on with all the light and love of the gospel, and - that the cry of ‘Let us alone,’ will not frighten you from your - labor of love.’ - -James A. Thome, a Presbyterian clergyman, a native, and still a resident -of Kentucky, said in a speech at New York, at the Anniversary of the -American Anti-Slavery Society in 1834: - - ‘Under all these disadvantages, you are doing much. The very little - leaven which you have been enabled to introduce, is now working with - tremendous power. One instance has lately occurred within my - acquaintance, of an heir to slave property--a young man of growing - influence, who was first awakened by reading a single number of the - Anti-Slavery Reporter, sent to him by some unknown hand. He is now a - whole-hearted abolitionist. I have facts to show that cases of this - kind are by no means rare. A family of slaves in Arkansas Territory, - another in Tennessee, and a third, consisting of 88, in Virginia, - were successively emancipated through the influence of one abolition - periodical. Then do not hesitate as to duty. Do not pause to - consider the propriety of interference. It is as unquestionably the - province of the North to labor in this cause, as it is the duty of - the church to convert the world. The call is urgent--it is - imperative. We want light. The ungodly are saying, ‘the church will - not enlighten us.’ The church is saying, ‘the ministry will not - enlighten us.’ The ministry is crying, ‘Peace--take care.’ We are - altogether covered in gross darkness. We appeal to you for light. - Send us facts--send us kind remonstrance and manly reasoning. We are - perishing for lack of truth. We have been lulled to sleep by the - guilty apologist.’ - -A letter from a Post Master in Virginia, to the editor of ‘Human Rights,’ -dated August 15, 1835, contains the following:-- - - ‘I have received two numbers of Human Rights, and one of The - Emancipator. I have read and loaned them, had them returned, and - loaned again. I can see no unsoundness in the arguments there - advanced--and until I can see some evil in your publications, I - shall distribute all you send to this office. It is certainly high - time this subject was examined, and viewed in its proper light. I - know these publications will displease those who hold their fellow - men in bondage: but reason, truth and justice are on your side--and - why should you seek the good will of any who do evil? - - I would be pleased to have a copy of the last Report of the Am. - Anti-Slavery Society, if convenient, and some of your other - pamphlets, which you have to distribute gratis. I will read and use - them to the best advantage.’ - -A gentleman of Middlesex County, Mass. whose house is one of my New -England homes, told me that he had very recently met with a slaveholder -from the South, who, during a warm discussion on the subject of slavery, -made the following acknowledgment: ‘The worst of it is, _we have fanatics -among ourselves_, and we don’t know what to do with them, for they are -_increasing fast_, and are sustained in their opposition to slavery by the -Abolitionists of the North.’ - -A Baptist clergyman whom I met in Worcester County, Mass., a few months -since, told me that his brother-in-law, a lawyer of New Orleans, who had -recently paid him a visit, took up the Report of the Massachusetts -Anti-Slavery Society, and read it with great interest. He then inquired, -whether the principles set forth in that document were Anti-Slavery -principles. Upon being informed that they were, he expressed his entire -approbation of them, and full conviction that they would prevail as soon -as the South understood them; for, said he, they are the principles of -truth and justice, and must finally triumph. This gentleman requested to -be furnished with some of our publications, and carried them to the South -with him. - -There certainly can be no doubt to a reflecting and candid mind, as to -what will and _must_ be the result of Anti-Slavery operations. Hear now -the opinion of one of the leading political papers in Charleston, South -Carolina, the Southern Patriot. - - ‘While agitation is _permitted_ in Congress, there is _no security - for the South_. While discussion is _allowed_ in that body, year - after year, in relation to slavery and its incidents, the rights of - property at the South _must, in the lapse of a short period, be - undermined_. It is the weapon of all who expect to work out _great - changes in public opinion_. It was the instrument by which O’CONNELL - gradually shook the fabric of popular prejudice in England on the - Catholic question. His sole instrument was agitation, both in - Parliament and out of it. His constant counsel to his followers was, - agitate! agitate! They did agitate. They happily carried the - question of Catholic rights. - - Agitation may be successfully employed for a bad as well as good - cause. What was the weapon of the English abolitionists?--Agitation. - Regard the question of the abolition of the slave trade when first - brought into Parliament--behold the influence of PITT and the tory - party beating down its advocates by an overwhelming majority! Look - at the question of abolition itself, twenty years after, and you see - WILBERFORCE and his adherents carrying the question itself of - _abolition of slavery_, by a majority as triumphant! How was all - this accomplished?--By agitation in Parliament! It was on this ample - theatre that the abolitionists worked their fatal spells. It was on - this wide stage of discussion that they spoke to the people of - England in that voice of fanaticism, which, at length, found an echo - that suited their purposes. It was through the debates, which - circulated by means of the press throughout every corner of the - realm, that they carried that question to its extremest borders, to - the hamlet of every peasant in the empire. Can it then be expected, - if we give the American abolitionists the same advantage of that - wide field of debate which Congress affords, that the _same results_ - will not follow? The local legislatures are limited theatres of - action. Their debates are comparatively obscure. These are not read - by the people at large. Allow the agitators a great political - centre, like that of Washington--_permit_ them to address their - voice of fanatical violence to the whole American people, through - their diffusive press, and they want no greater advantage. They have - a MORAL LEVER BY WHICH THEY CAN MOVE A WORLD OF OPINION. - - The course of the southern States is therefore marked out by a - pencil of light. They should obtain additional guarantees against - _the discussion of slavery in Congress, in any manner, or in any of - its forms, as it exists in the United States_. This is the only - means that promises success in removing agitation. We have said that - this is the accepted time. When we look at the spread of opinion on - this subject in some of the eastern States--in Vermont, - Massachusetts and Connecticut--what are we to expect in a few years, - in the middle States, should discussion proceed in Congress? These - States are yet uninfected, in any considerable degree, by the - fanatical spirit. _They may not remain so after a lapse of five - years._ If they are animated by a true spirit of patriotism--by a - genuine love for the Union, they should, and could with effect, - interpose to stay this _moral_ pestilence. Their voice in this - matter would be influential. New York and Pennsylvania are - intermediate between the South and East in position and in physical - strength.’ - -Samuel L. Gould, a minister of the Baptist denomination, writing to the -Secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, from Fayette County, -Pennsylvania, in 4th month, 1836, says:-- - - ‘The Smithfield Anti-Slavery Society, [on the border of Virginia] - has among its members, several residents of Virginia. Its President - has been a slaveholder, and until recently, was a distinguished - citizen of Virginia, the High Sheriff of Rockingham County. Having - become convinced of the wickedness of slaveholding, a little more - than a year ago he purchased an estate in Pennsylvania, and removed - to it, his colored men accompanying him. He now employs them as - hired laborers.’ - -I may mention, in this connection, an Alabama slaveholder, a lawyer named -Smith, who emancipated his slaves, I think about twenty in number, a few -months since. He was the brother-in-law of William Allan of Huntsville, -who was in 1834, president of the Lane Seminary Anti-Slavery Society, and -subsequently an agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and who had -for years previous been in kind and faithful correspondence with him on -the subject of slavery. - -Henry P. Thompson, a student of Lane Seminary, and a slaveholder at the -time of the Anti-Slavery discussion in that Institution, was convinced by -it, went to Kentucky, and emancipated his slaves. - -Arthur Thome, an elder in the Presbyterian Church, Augusta, Kentucky, -emancipated his slaves, fourteen in number, about two years since. J. G. -Birney, speaking of him in the Philanthropist, says:-- - - ‘For a long time he had been a professor of religion, but had not, - till the doctrines of abolition were embraced by his son on the - discussion of the subject at Lane Seminary, given to the subject - more attention than was usual among slaveholding professors at the - time. At first he thought his son was deranged--and that his - intended trip to New York, to speak at the anniversary of the - American Anti-Slavery Society, was evidence of it. He sought him (as - we have heard,) on the steamboat, which was to convey him up the - Ohio river, that he might stop him from going. Something, however, - prevented his seeing his son before his departure, and there was no - detention. - - The truth bore on the mind of Mr. T. till it produced its proper - fruit--and he now says, that he is confident no other doctrine but - that of the SIN of slaveholding, connected with an _immediate_ - breaking off from it, will influence the slaveholder to do justice.’ - -I see by the late Washington papers, that one of my South Carolina -cousins, Robert Barnwell Rhett, the late Attorney General of the State, -has come up to my help on this point, with his characteristic chivalry; -[howbeit ‘he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so.’] In his -late address to his Congressional Constituents, he says:-- - - ‘Who that knows anything of human affairs, but must be sensible that - the subject of abolition may be approached in a thousand ways, - without direct legislation? By perpetual discussion, agitation and - threats, accompanied with the real or imaginary power to perform, - _there will be need of no other action than words to shake the - confidence of men in the safety and continuance of the institution - of slavery, and its value and existence will be destroyed_. These - are all the weapons the abolitionist desires to be allowed to use to - accomplish his purpose. When Congress moves, it will be the last act - in the drama; and it will be prepared to enforce its legislation. To - acknowledge the right, or to tolerate the act of interference at all - with this institution, is to give it up--to abandon it entirely; - and, as this must be the consummation of any interference, the - sooner it is reached the better. The South must hold this - institution, not amidst alarm and molestation, but in peace--perfect - peace, from the interference or agitation of others; or, I repeat - it, she _will_--she _can_--hold it not at all. … There is no one so - weak, but he must perceive that, whilst the spirit of abolition in - the North is increasing, slavery in the South, in all the frontier - States, is decreasing.’ - -Farther, I may add the names of J. G. Birney of Alabama, John Thompson and -a person named Meux, Jassamine County, Kentucky, J. M. Buchanan, Professor -in Center College, Kentucky, Andrew Shannon, a Presbyterian minister in -Shelbyville, Kentucky, Samuel Taylor, a Presbyterian minister of -Nicholasville, Kentucky, Peter Dunn of Mercer County, Kentucky, a person -named Doake in Tennessee, another named Carr in North Carolina, another -named Harndon in Virginia--with a number of others, the particulars of -whose cases I have not now by me, all of whom were slaveholders four years -since, and were induced to emancipate their slaves through the influence -of Anti-Slavery discussions and periodicals. - -The Democrat, a political paper published at Rochester, New York, -contained the following in the summer of 1835. - - ‘On Saturday last, many of our citizens had an opportunity of - witnessing a noble scene. On board the boat William Henry, then - lying at the Exchange street wharf, were TEN SLAVES, or those who - had recently been such, and several free persons of color. The - master, a gentleman of more than seventy years of age, accompanied - them. His residence was in Powhattan County, seventy miles below - Richmond, Virginia. He was on his way to Buffalo, near which place - he intends purchasing a large farm, where his ‘people,’ as he calls - them, are to be settled. The above named gentleman was led to - sacrifice much of this world’s lucre, besides some $5000 of _human - ‘property,’_ by becoming convinced of the sinfulness of his practice - while reading _Anti-Slavery publications_.’ - -A letter now lies before me from an elder of a religious denomination in -the far South-West, who was converted to Abolition sentiments by -Anti-Slavery publications sent to him from the city of New York, and who -has already emancipated his slaves, ten in number. The writer says, ‘my -hopes are revived when I read of the progress of the cause in the Eastern -States, and of the increase of Anti-Slavery Societies. My soul glows with -gratitude to God for his mercy to the down-trodden slaves, in raising up -for them in these days of savage cruelty, hundreds who, fearless of -consequences, are standing up for the entire abolition of slavery, whom, -though unseen, I dearly love. O! how it would delight me to listen to the -public addresses of some of these dear friends.’ - -Hear, too, the reason assigned by James Smylie, a Presbyterian minister of -the Amite Presbytery, Mississippi, for writing a book in 1836, to prove -that slavery is a divine institution. - - ‘From his intercourse with religious societies of _all_ - denominations in Mississippi and Louisiana, he was aware that the - Abolition maxim, viz: that _Slavery is in itself sinful, had gained - on and entwined itself among the religious and conscientious - scruples of many_ in the community, so far as to render them - _unhappy_. The eye of the mind, resting on Slavery itself as a - _corrupt fountain_, from which, of necessity, _nothing but corrupt_ - streams could flow, was _incessantly_ employed in search of some - plan by which, with safety, the fountain could, in some future time, - be _entirely_ dried up.’ An illustration of this important - acknowledgement, will be found in the following fact, extracted from - the Herald of Freedom: ‘A young gentleman who has been residing in - South Carolina, says our movements (Abolitionists) are producing the - best effects upon the South, _rousing the consciences of - Slaveholders_, while the slaves seem to be impressed as a body with - the idea, that help is coming--that an interest is felt for them, - and plans devising for their relief somewhere--which keeps them - quiet. He says it is not uncommon for ministers and good people to - make confession like this. One, riding with him, broke forth, ‘O, I - fear that the groans and wails from our slaves enter into the ear of - the Lord of Sabaoth. I am distressed on this subject: my - _conscience_ will let me have no peace. I go to bed, but not to - sleep. I walk my room in agony, and resolve that I will never hold - slaves another day; but in the morning, my heart, like Pharaoh’s, is - hardened.’ - -In the autumn of 1835, an influential minister in one of the most southern -States, (who only one year before had stoutly defended slavery, and -vehemently insisted that northern abolitionists were producing unmixed and -irremediable evil at the South,) wrote to the Corresponding Secretary of -one of our State Anti-Slavery Societies who had furnished him with -Anti-Slavery publications, avowing his conversion to Abolition sentiments, -and praying that Anti-Slavery Societies might persevere in their efforts, -and increase them. Among other expressions of strong feeling the letter -contained the following: - - ‘I am greatly surprised that I should in any form have been the - apologist of a system so full of deadly poison to all holiness and - benevolence as slavery, the concocted essence of fraud, selfishness, - and cold-hearted tyranny, and the fruitful parent of unnumbered - evils, both to the oppressor and the oppressed, THE ONE THOUSANDTH - PART OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN BROUGHT TO LIGHT. - - ‘Do you ask why this change, after residing in a slave country for - twenty years? You remember the lines of Pope, beginning: - - ‘Vice is a monster, of so frightful mien - As to be hated, needs but to be seen, - But seen too oft, _familiar_ with her face; - We first endure, then pity, then _embrace_.’ - - ‘I had become so familiar with the loathsome features of slavery, - that they _ceased to offend_--besides, I had become a _southern man_ - in all my feelings, and it is a part of our _creed_ to defend - slavery.’ - -About two years since, Arthur and Lewis Tappan received a letter from a -Virginian slaveholder, who held nearly one hundred slaves, and whose -conscience had been greatly roused to the sin of slavery. In the letter, -he avowed his determination to absolve himself from the guilt of -slaveholding, declaring that he ‘had rather be a wood cutter or a coal -heaver, than to _remain in the midst of slavery_.’ - -An intelligent gentleman, a lawyer and a citizen of the District of -Columbia, has just written a letter to a gentleman of New York city, from -which I give thee the following extract: - - ‘The proceedings in Congress at this session have had the effect, I - think, to rouse the attention of the public in all quarters, to the - subject of slavery; and that, of itself, I think is a good: and it - is in my opinion the chief present good that is to grow out of it. - Discussion of some sort takes place, and the real foundation on - which the system rests, cannot but be brought more or less into - view. My hope is, that men who _denounce_ now, will at length - _reason_. That is what is wanted--reasoning, reflection, and a true - perception of the basis on which slavery is founded.’ - -The foregoing are but a few of the facts and testimonies in the possession -of Abolitionists, showing that their discussions, periodicals, petitions, -arguments, appeals and societies, have extensively moved, and are still -mightily moving the slaveholding States--_for good_. Did time and space -permit, I might, by a little painstaking, procure many more. Before -passing from this part of the subject, I must record my amazement at the -clamors of many of the opponents of Abolitionists, from whom better things -might indeed be hoped. What slaveholders have you convinced? they demand. -Whom have you made Abolitionists? Give us their names and places of abode. -Now, those who incessantly stun us with such unreasonable clamor, know -full well, that to give the public the names and residences of such -persons, would be in most instances to surrender them to butchery. But be -it known to the North and to the South, we have names of scores of -citizens of the slaveholding states, many of them slaveholders, who are in -constant correspondence with us, persons who feel so deeply on the subject -as to implore us to persevere in our efforts, and not to be dismayed by -Southern threats nor disheartened by Northern cavils and heartlessness. -Yea more, these persons have committed to us the custody even of their -lives, thus encountering imminent peril that they might cheer us onward in -our work. Shall we betray their trust, or put them in jeopardy? Judge -thou. - -Now let me ask, when in former years Anti-Slavery tracts, with our -doctrines, could be circulated at the South? The fact is, there were -_none_ to be circulated there; our principle of repentance is quite new. -But I can tell thee of two facts, which it is probable thou ‘hast not been -informed of.’ In the year 1809, the steward of a vessel, a colored man, -carried some Abolition pamphlets to Charleston. Immediately on his -arrival, he was informed against, and would have been tried for his life, -had he not promised to leave the State, never to return. Was South -Carolina willing to receive abolition pamphlets _then_? Again, in 1820, my -sister carried some pamphlets there--‘Thoughts on Slavery,’ issued by the -Society of Friends, and therefore _not_ very incendiary, thou mayest be -assured; and yet she was informed some time afterwards, that had it not -been for the influence of our family, she would have been imprisoned; for -she, too, was accused of giving one of them to a slave; just as -Abolitionists have been falsely charged with sending their papers to the -enslaved. What she did give away, she was _obliged_ to give _privately_. -Was Charleston ready to receive Abolition pamphlets _then_? Or when? -please to tell me. I say that _more_, far more Anti-Slavery tracts, &c. -are _now_ read in the South, than ever were at any former period. As to -Colonization tracts, I know they have circulated at the South; but what of -that, when Southerners believed that Colonization had _no_ connection with -the overthrow of Slavery? Colonization papers, &c. are not Abolition -papers. - -As to preachers, let me assure thee, that they _never_ have dared to -preach on the subject of slavery in my native city, so far as my knowledge -extends. Ah! I for some years sat under two _northern_ ministers, but -never did I hear them preach in public, or speak in private, on the _sin_ -of slavery. O! the _deep_, DEEP injury which such unfaithful ministers -have inflicted on the South! It is well known that our young men have, to -a great extent, been educated in Northern Theological Seminaries. With -what principles were _their_ minds imbued? What kind of religion did the -_North_ prepare them to preach? A slaveholding religion. What kind of -religion did _northern men_ come down and preach to us? A slaveholding -religion--and multitudes of them became slaveholders. Such was one of my -_northern_ pastors. And yet thou tellest me, the North has nothing to do -with slavery at the South--is _not_ guilty, &c. &c. ‘Their own clergy,’ -thou sayest, ‘either entirely hold their peace, or become the defenders -of a system they once lamented, and attempted to bring to an end.’ Do name -to me one of those valiant defenders of slavery, who formerly lamented -over the system, and attempted to bring it to an end. ‘What is his name, -or what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?’ Strange indeed, if, -because _we_ advocate the truth, others should begin to hate it; or -because we expose sin, they should turn round and defend what once they -lamented over! Is this in accordance with ‘the known laws of mind,’ where -principle is deeply rooted in the heart? - -And then thou closest these assertions _without proof_, with the -triumphant exclamation, ‘This is the record of experience, as to the -tendencies of abolitionism, as thus far developed. The South is just now -in that state of high exasperation, at the sense of wanton injury and -_impertinent interference_, which makes the influence of truth and reason -most useless and powerless.’ Hadst thou been better informed as to the -real tendencies of abolitionism on the South, this assertion also might -have been spared. Again I repeat, the _South_ does not tell us so. Read -the subjoined extract of a letter now lying before me from a correspondent -in a _Southern_ State. ‘12 or 15 at this place believe that _all_ men are -born free and equal, that _prejudice against color is a disgrace to the -man who feels it_, that such a feeling is without foundation in reason or -scripture, and ought to be abandoned _immediately_, that slavery is a -_malum in se_, yea, a _heinous crime_ in the sight of God, to be repented -of _without delay_.’ Read also the following, extracted from the Marietta -Gazette: ‘A citizen of one of the free states, not many months ago, -observed to a distinguished southerner, that the operations of the -abolitionists were impeding the cause of emancipation--or to that effect. -‘Sir,’ said the Southerner, ‘You are mistaken. Depend upon it, these -agitations have put the slaveholders to very serious thinking.’ These, -then, are the effects which Abolitionism is producing on some at the -South. That others are exasperated, I do not deny. Hear what Bolling of -Virginia said in 1832, in the Legislature of that State: ‘It has long been -the pleasure of those who are wedded to the system of slavery, to brand -_all_ its opponents with opprobrious epithets; to represent them as -enemies to order, as persons desirous of tearing up the foundation of -society thereby endeavoring to brand them with infamy in order to avert -from them the public ear.’ Here then we find a Southern Legislator -acknowledging that _all_ the opponents of Slavery have ever excited the -same exasperation in those who are ‘wedded to the system.’ Who is to be -blamed? Is _this_ any cause of discouragement? That we have succeeded in -rousing the North to reflection, thou art thyself a living proof; for let -me ask, what it was that set _thee_ to such serious thinking, as to induce -_thee_ to write a _book_ on the Slave Question? - - Thy friend in haste, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER X. - -‘THE TENDENCY OF THE AGE TOWARDS EMANCIPATION’ PRODUCED BY ABOLITION -DOCTRINES. - - -DEAR FRIEND: Thou sayest, ‘that this evil (Slavery,) is at no distant -period to come to an end, is the unanimous opinion of all who either -notice the tendencies of the age, or believe in the prophecies of the -Bible.’ But how can this be true, if Abolitionists have indeed rolled back -the car of Emancipation? If our measures really tend to this result, how -can this evil come to an end at no distant period? Colonizationists tell -us, if it had not been for our interference, they could have done a vast -deal better than they have done; and the American Unionists say, that we -have paralyzed their efforts, so that they can do nothing; and yet ‘the -tendencies of the age’ are crowding forward Emancipation. Now, what has -produced this tendency? Surely every reflecting person must acknowledge, -that Colonization cannot effect the work of Abolition. The American Union -is doing nothing; and Abolitionists are pursuing a course which ‘will tend -to bring slavery to an end, _if at all_, at the _most distant_ -period,’--then do tell me, how the tendencies of the age can possibly lean -towards Emancipation! Perhaps I shall be told, that the movements of Great -Britain in the West Indies created this tendency. Ah! but this is a -_foreign influence_, more so even than Northern influence; and if the -North is ‘a foreign community,’ as thou expressly stylest it, and can on -_that account_ produce _no_ influence on the South, how can the doings of -England affect her? - -Now I believe with thee, that the tendencies of the age are toward -Emancipation; but I contend that nothing but free discussion has produced -this tendency--‘the present agitation of the subject’ is in fact _the -thing_ which is producing this happy tendency. Now let us turn to the -South, and ask her eagle-eyed politicians what _they_ are most afraid of. -Read their answer in their desperate struggles to fetter the press and gag -the mouths of--_whom?_--Colonizationists? Why no--_they_ talk colonization -_themselves_, and are not at all afraid that the expatriation of a few -hundreds or thousands in 20 years will ever drain the country of its -millions of slaves, where they are now increasing at the rate of 70,000 -every year. The American Unionists? O no! the South has not deemed them -worthy of any notice! Pray, then, _whose_ mouths are slaveholders so -fiercely striving to seal in silence? Why, the mouths of Abolitionists, to -be sure--even our infant school children know this. Strange indeed, when -the labors of these men are actually rolling back the car of Emancipation -for one or two centuries! Why, the South ought to pour out her treasure, -to support Anti-Slavery agents, and print Anti-Slavery papers and -pamphlets, and do all she can to aid us in _rolling back_ Emancipation. -Pray, write _her a book_, and tell her she has been very needlessly -alarmed at our doings, and advise her to send us a few thousand dollars: -her money would be very acceptable in these hard times, and we would take -it as the wages due to the unpaid laborers, though we would never admit -the donors to membership with us. How dost thou think _she_ would receive -_such a book_? Just try it, I entreat thee. - -Thou seemest to think that the North has _no right_ to rebuke the South, -and assumest the ground that Abolitionists are the enemies of the South. -We say, we have the right, and mean to exercise it. I believe that every -northern Legislature has a right, and ought to use the right, to send a -solemn remonstrance to every southern Legislature on the subject of -slavery. Just as much right as the South has to send up a remonstrance -against our free presses, free pens, and free tongues. Let the North -follow her example; but, instead of asking her to enslave her subjects, -entreat her to _free_ them. The South may pretend _now_, that we have no -right to interfere, because it suits her convenience to say so; but a few -years ago, (1820,) we find that our Vice President, R. M. Johnson, in his -speech on the Missouri question, was amazed at the ‘cold insensibility, -the eternal apathy towards the slaves in the District of Columbia,’ which -was exhibited by _northern_ men, ‘though they had occular demonstration -continually’ before them of the abominations of slavery. _Then_ the South -wondered _we did not interfere with slavery_--and _now_ she says we have -no right to interfere. - -I find, on the 57th p. a false assertion with regard to Abolitionists. -After showing the folly of our rejecting the worldly doctrine of -expediency, so excellent in thy view, thou then sayest that we say, the -reason why we do not go to the South is, that we should be murdered. Now, -if there are any half-hearted Abolitionists, who are thus recreant to the -high and holy principle of ‘Duty is ours, and events are God’s,’ then I -must leave such to explain their own inconsistencies; but that this is the -reason assigned by the Society, as a body, I never have seen nor believed. -So far from it, that I have invariably heard those who understood the -principles of the Anti-Slavery Society best, _deny_ that it was a duty to -go to the South, _not_ because they would be killed, but because the -_North was guilty_, and therefore ought to be labored with _first_. They -took exactly the same view of the subject, which was taken by the southern -friend of mine to whom I have already alluded. ‘Until northern women, -(said she,) do their duty on the subject of slavery, _southern_ women -cannot be expected to do theirs.’ I therefore utterly deny this charge. -Such may be the opinion of a few, but it is not and cannot be proved to be -a principle of action in the Anti-Slavery Society. The fact is, we need no -excuse for not going to the South, so long as the North is as deeply -involved in the guilt of slavery as she is, and as blind to her duty. - -One word with regard to these remarks: ‘Before the Abolition movements -commenced, both northern and southern men expressed their views freely at -the South.’ This, also, I deny, because, as a southerner, _I know_ that -_I_ never could express my views freely on the abominations of slavery, -without exciting anger, even in professors of religion. It is true, ‘the -_dangers_, _evils_ and _mischiefs_ of slavery’ could be, and were -discussed at the South and the North. Yes, we might talk as much as we -pleased about _these_, as long as we viewed slavery as a _misfortune_ to -the _slaveholder_, and talked of ‘the dangers, evils and mischiefs of -slavery’ to _him_, and pitied _him_ for having had such a ‘sad inheritance -entailed upon him.’ But could any man or woman ever ‘express their views -freely’ on the SIN of slavery at the South? I say, never! Could they -express their views freely as to the dangers, mischiefs and evils of -slavery to the _poor suffering slave_? No, never! It was only whilst the -_slaveholder_ was regarded as _an unfortunate sufferer_, and sympathized -with _as such_, that he was willing to talk, and be talked to, on this -‘delicate subject.’ Hence we find, that as soon as _he_ is addressed as a -_guilty oppressor_, why then he is in a phrenzy of passion. As soon as we -set before him the dangers, and evils, and mischiefs of slavery to _the -down-trodden victims of his oppression_, O then! the slaveholder storms -and raves like a maniac. Now look at this view of the subject: as a -southerner, I know it is the only correct one. - -With regard to the discussion of ‘the subject of slavery, in the -legislative halls of the South,’ if thou hast read these debates, thou -certainly must know that they did not touch on the SIN of slavery at all; -they were wholly confined to ‘the dangers, evils and mischiefs of slavery’ -to the _unfortunate slaveholder_. What did the discussion in the Virginia -legislature result in? In the _rejection of every_ plan of emancipation, -and in the passage of an act which they believed would give additional -permanency to the institution, whilst it divested it of its dangers, by -removing the free people of color to Liberia; for which purpose they voted -$20,000, but took very good care to provide, ‘that no slave to be -thereafter emancipated should have the benefit of the appropriation,’ so -fearful were they, lest masters might avail themselves of this scheme of -expatriation to manumit their slaves. The Maryland scheme is altogether -based on the principle of banishment and oppression. The colored people -were to be ‘got rid of,’ for the benefit of their lordly oppressors--_not_ -set free from the noble principles of justice and mercy to _them_. If -Abolitionists have put a stop to all _such_ discussions of slavery, I, for -one, do most heartily rejoice at it. The fact is, the South is enraged, -because we have exposed her horrible hypocrisy to the world. We have torn -off the mask, and brought to light the hidden things of darkness. - -To prove to thee that the South, as a body, never was prepared for -emancipation, I might detail historical facts, which are stubborn things; -but I have not the time to go into this subject that would be necessary. I -will, therefore, give a few extracts from documents published by the old -Abolition Societies, whose principle was gradualism. In 1803, in the -report of the Delaware Society, I find the following statement:--‘The -general temper and opinion of the opulent in this state, is either -_opposed_ to the generous principles of emancipation to the people of -color, or indifferent to the success of the work.’ In 1804, when a -Committee was appointed to draft a memorial to the Legislature of North -Carolina, we find the following sentiment expressed in their -Report:--‘They believe that public opinion in that state is _exceedingly -hostile to the abolition of slavery_; and _every_ attempt towards -emancipation is regarded with an indignant and jealous eye; that at -present, the inhabitants of that State consider the preservation of their -lives, and all they hold dear on earth, as depending on the continuance of -slavery, and are even riveting _more firmly_ the fetters of oppression.’ -‘They believe that great difficulty would attend the presentation of an -address to the public, and that, if presented, it would not be read.’ The -address was, however, issued, and in it we find this complaint--‘Many -_aspersions_ have been cast upon the advocates of the freedom of the -blacks, by malicious and interested men.’ In 1805, in the Report of the -Alexandria Society, District of Columbia, they say--‘There is rather a -disposition to _increase_ the measure of affliction already appointed to -the poor deserted African:’ and complain of the decline of the Society, -for which they assign several reasons, one of which is, ‘the admission of -slaveholders into fellowship at its formation.’ Several of the Reports -state, that they fully learned the impolicy of _this_ measure, by the -violent opposition which these slaveholding members made to their efforts -for emancipation. Just as well might a Temperance Society admit a -practical drunkard into their ranks, as for an Abolition Society to admit -a slaveholder to membership. - -In 1806, the Report of the Pennsylvania Society says--‘We believe the true -reason, why ostensible and public measures are not pursued by the -advocates of abolition in the southern states, will be found in the pretty -general impression, that it would not, _under existing circumstances_, and -in the _present temper of the public mind_, be expedient and useful.’ The -Wilmington Report ‘laments that the people of South Carolina _continue -opposed_ to our cause’--and in 1809, the Report of this same Society says, -‘We regret most sincerely the difficulty we labor under in establishing -corresponding agents in the southern states, on whose fidelity and -integrity we can firmly rely.’ In 1816, the Delaware Society makes the -following confession--‘When we look back at the bright prospects which -opened on this cause within the last 20 years, and recur to the joyful -feelings excited by the just anticipations of speedy success in this -conflict with cruelty and wrong, we cannot but feel the pressure of that -gloom which is the consequence of _disappointment and defeat_.’ In 1826, -we find the North Carolina Report acknowledging that ‘the _gentlest_ -attempt to agitate the subject, or the _slightest hint_ at the work of -emancipation, is sufficient to call forth their _indignant resentment_, as -if their dearest rights were invaded.’ - -How, then, can our opponents say, that the cause of emancipation has been -_rolled back_ by _us_? We ask, when was it ever _forward_? As a -southerner, I repeat my solemn conviction, from _my own experience_, and -from all I can learn from historical facts, and the reports of the Gradual -Emancipation Societies of this country, and the scope of the debates -which took place in the Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland Legislatures, that -it _never was_ forward. If the tendencies of the age are towards -emancipation, they are tendencies peculiar to this age in the United -States, and have been brought about by free discussion, and in accordance, -too, with the _known laws of mind_; for collision of mind as naturally -produces light, as the striking of the flint and the steel produces fire. -_Free discussion is this collision_, and the results are visible in the -light which is breaking forth in every city, town and village, and -spreading over the hills and valleys, through the whole length and breadth -of our land. Yes! it has already reached ‘the dark valley of the shadow of -death’ in the South; and in a few brief years, He who said, ‘Let there be -light,’ will gather this moral effulgence into a focal point, and beneath -its burning rays, the heart of the slaveholder, and the chains of the -slave, will melt like wax before the orb of day. - -Let us, then, take heed lest we be found fighting against God while -standing idle in the market place, or endeavoring to keep other laborers -out of the field now already white to the harvest. - - Thy Friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER XI. - -THE SPHERE OF WOMAN AND MAN AS MORAL BEINGS THE SAME. - - - BROOKLINE, Mass., _8th month, 28th, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND: I come now to that part of thy book, which is, of all others, -the most important to the women of this country; thy ‘general views in -relation to the place woman is appointed to fill by the dispensations of -heaven.’ I shall quote paragraphs from thy book, offer my objections to -them, and then throw before thee my own views. - -Thou sayest, ‘Heaven has appointed to one sex the _superior_, and to the -other the _subordinate_ station, and this without any reference to the -character or conduct of either.’ This is an assertion without proof. Thou -further sayest, that ‘it was designed that the mode of gaining influence -and exercising power should be _altogether different and peculiar_.’ Does -the Bible teach this? ‘Peace on earth, and good will to men, is the -character of all the rights and privileges, the influence and the power of -_woman_.’ Indeed! Did our Holy Redeemer preach the doctrines of _peace to -our sex_ only? ‘A _man_ may act on Society by the collision of intellect, -in public debate; _he_ may urge his measures by a sense of shame, by fear -and by personal interest; _he_ may coerce by the combination of public -sentiment; _he_ may drive by physical force, and _he_ does _not_ overstep -the boundaries of his sphere.’ Did Jesus, then, give a different rule of -action to men and women? Did he tell his disciples, when he sent them out -to preach the gospel, that man might appeal to the fear, and shame, and -interest of those he addressed, and coerce by public sentiment, and drive -by physical force? ‘But (that) all the power and all the conquests that -are lawful to _woman_ are those only which appeal to the kindly, generous, -peaceful and benevolent principles?’ If so, I should come to a very -different conclusion from the one at which thou hast arrived: I should -suppose that _woman was the superior_, and _man the subordinate being_, -inasmuch as moral power is immeasurably superior to ‘physical force.’ - -‘Woman is to win every thing by peace and love; by making _herself_ so -much respected, &c. that to yield to _her_ opinions, and to gratify _her_ -wishes, will be the free-will offering of the heart.’ This principle may -do as the rule of action to the fashionable belle, whose idol is -_herself_; whose every attitude and smile are designed to win the -admiration of others to _herself_; and who enjoys, with exquisite delight, -the double-refined incense of flattery which is offered to _her_ vanity, -by yielding to _her_ opinions, and gratifying _her_ wishes, because they -are _hers_. But to the humble Christian, who feels that it is _truth_ -which she seeks to recommend to others, _truth_ which she wants them to -esteem and love, and not herself, this subtle principle must be rejected -with holy indignation. Suppose she could win thousands to her opinions, -and govern them by her wishes, how much nearer would they be to Jesus -Christ, if she presents no higher motive, and points to no higher leader? - -‘But this is all to be accomplished in the domestic circle.’ Indeed! ‘Who -made thee a ruler and a judge over all?’ I read in the Bible, that Miriam, -and Deborah, and Huldah, were called to fill _public stations_ in Church -and State. I find Anna, the prophetess, speaking in the temple ‘unto all -them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.’ During his ministry on -earth, I see women following him from town to town, in the most public -manner; I hear the woman of Samaria, on her return to the city, telling -the _men_ to come and see a man who had told her all things that ever she -did. I see them even standing on Mount Calvary, around his cross, in the -most exposed situation; but He never _rebuked_ them; He never told them it -was unbecoming _their sphere in life_ to mingle in the crowds which -followed his footsteps. Then, again, I see the cloven tongues of fire -resting on each of the heads of the one hundred and twenty disciples, some -of whom were _women_; yea, I hear _them preaching_ on the day of Pentecost -to the multitudes who witnessed the outpouring of the spirit on that -glorious occasion; for, unless _women_ as well as men received the Holy -Ghost, and _prophesied_, what did Peter mean by telling them, ‘This is -_that_ which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in -the last days, said _God_, I will pour out my spirit upon _all_ flesh: and -your sons and your _daughters shall prophesy_. … And on my servants and on -my _handmaidens_, I will pour out in those days of my spirit; and _they -shall prophesy_.’ This is the plain matter of fact, as Clark and Scott, -Stratton and Locke, all allow. Mine is no ‘private interpretation,’ no -mere sectarian view. - -I find, too, that Philip had four daughters which did _prophesy_; and what -is still more convincing, I read in the xi. of I. Corinthians, some -particular directions from the Apostle Paul, as to _how_ women were to -pray and prophesy in the assemblies of the people--_not_ in the domestic -circle. On examination, too, it appears that the very same word, -_Diakonos_, which, when applied to Phœbe, Romans xvi. 1, is translated -_servant_, when applied to Tychicus, Ephesians vi. 21, is rendered -_minister_. Ecclesiastical History informs us, that this same Phœbe was -pre-eminently useful, as a minister in the Church, and that female -ministers suffered martyrdom in the first ages of Christianity. And what, -I ask, does the Apostle mean when he says in Phillipians iv. 3.--‘Help -those women who labored with me in the gospel’? Did these holy women of -old perform all their gospel labors in ‘the domestic and social circle’? I -trow not. - -Thou sayest, ‘the moment woman begins to feel the promptings of ambition, -or the thirst for power, her ægis of defence is gone.’ Can man, then, -retain his ægis when he indulges these guilty passions? Is it woman only -who suffers this loss? - -‘All the generous promptings of chivalry, all the poetry of romantic -gallantry, depend upon woman’s retaining her place as _dependent_ and -_defenceless_, and making no claims, and maintaining no rights, but what -are the gifts of honor, rectitude and love.’ - -I cannot refrain from pronouncing this sentiment as beneath the dignity of -any woman who names the name of Christ. No woman, who understands her -dignity as a moral, intellectual, and accountable being, cares aught for -any attention or any protection, vouchsafed by ‘the promptings of -chivalry, and the poetry of romantic gallantry’? Such a one loathes such -littleness, and turns with disgust from all such silly insipidities. Her -noble nature is insulted by such paltry, sickening adulation, and she will -not stoop to drink the foul waters of so turbid a stream. If all this -sinful foolery is to be withdrawn from our sex, with all my heart I say, -_the sooner the better_. Yea, I say more, no woman who lives up to the -true glory of her womanhood, will ever be treated with such _practical -contempt_. Every man, when in the presence of true moral greatness, ‘will -find an influence thrown around him,’ which will utterly forbid the -exercise of ‘the poetry of romantic gallantry.’ - -What dost thou mean by woman’s retaining her place as defenceless and -dependent? Did our Heavenly Father furnish man with any offensive or -defensive weapons? Was _he_ created any less defenceless than _she_ was? -Are they not equally defenceless, equally dependent on Him? What did Jesus -say to his disciples, when he commissioned them to preach the -gospel?--‘Behold, I send you forth as SHEEP in the midst of wolves; be ye -wise as serpents, and _harmless_ as _doves_. What more could he have said -to women? - -Again, she must ‘make no claims, and maintain no rights, but what are the -gifts of honor, rectitude and love.’ From whom does woman receive her -_rights_? From God, or from man? What dost thou mean by saying, her rights -are the _gifts_ of honor, rectitude and love? One would really suppose -that man, as her lord and master, was the gracious giver of her rights, -and that these rights were bestowed upon her by ‘the promptings of -chivalry, and the poetry of romantic gallantry,’--out of the abundance of -his honor, rectitude and love. Now, if I understand the real state of the -case, woman’s rights are not the gifts of man--no! nor the _gifts_ of God. -His gifts to her may be recalled at his good pleasure--but her _rights_ -are an integral part of her moral being; they cannot be withdrawn; they -must live with her forever. Her rights lie at the foundation of all her -duties; and, so long as the divine commands are binding upon her, so long -must her rights continue. - -‘A woman may seek the aid of co-operation and combination among her own -sex, to assist her in her appropriate offices of piety, charity,’ &c. -_Appropriate_ offices! Ah! here is the great difficulty. What are they? -Who can point them out? Who has ever attempted to draw a line of -separation between the duties of men and women, as _moral_ beings, without -committing the grossest inconsistencies on the one hand, or running into -the most arrant absurdities on the other? - -‘Whatever, in any measure, throws a woman into the attitude of a -combatant, either for herself or others--whatever binds her in a party -conflict--whatever obliges her in any way to exert coercive influences, -throws her out of her appropriate sphere.’ If, by a _combatant_, thou -meanest one who ‘drives by _physical force_,’ then I say, _man_ has no -more right to appear as _such_ a combatant than woman; for all the pacific -precepts of the gospel were given to _him_, as well as to her. If, by a -_party conflict_, thou meanest a struggle for power, either civil or -ecclesiastical, a thirst for the praise and the honor of man, why, then I -would ask, is this the proper sphere of _any_ moral, accountable being, -man or woman? If, by _coercive influences_, thou meanest the use of force -or of fear, such as slaveholders and warriors employ, then, I repeat, that -_man_ has no more right to exert these than _woman_. All such influences -are repudiated by the precepts and examples of Christ, and his apostles; -so that, after all, this appropriate sphere of woman is _just as -appropriate to man_. These ‘general principles are correct,’ if thou wilt -only permit them to be of _general application_. - -Thou sayest that the propriety of woman’s coming forward as a suppliant -for a portion of her sex who are bound in cruel bondage, depends entirely -on its _probable results_. I thought the disciples of Jesus were to walk -by _faith_, _not_ by sight. Did Abraham reason as to the _probable -results_ of his offering up Isaac? No! or he could not have raised his -hand against the life of his son; because in Isaac, he had been told, his -seed should be called,--that seed in whom all the nations of the earth -were to be blessed. O! when shall we learn that God is wiser than -man--that his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts than our -thoughts--and that ‘obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken -than the fat of rams?’ If we are always to _reason_ on the _probable -results_ of performing our duty, I wonder what our Master meant by telling -his disciples, that they must become like _little children_. I used to -think he designed to inculcate the necessity of walking by faith, in -childlike simplicity, docility and humility. But if we are to _reason_ as -to the _probable results_ of obeying the injunctions to plead for the -widow and the fatherless, and to deliver the spoiled out of the hand of -the oppressor, &c., then I do not know what he meant to teach. - -According to what thou sayest, the women of this country are not to be -governed by principles of duty, but by the effect their petitions produce -on the members of Congress, and by the opinions of these men. If they deem -them ‘obtrusive, indecorous, and unwise,’ they must not be sent. If _thou_ -canst consent to exchange the precepts of the Bible for the opinions of -_such a body of men_ as now sit on the destinies of this nation, I cannot. -What is this but _obeying man_ rather than God, and seeking the _praise of -man_ rather than of God? As to our petitions increasing the evils of -slavery, this is merely an opinion, the correctness or incorrectness of -which remains to be proved. When I hear Senator Preston of South Carolina, -saying, that ‘he regarded the concerted movement upon the District of -Columbia as an attempt to storm the gates of the citadel--as throwing the -bridge over the moat’--and declaring that ‘the South must resist the -_danger_ in its inception, or it would _soon become irresistible_‘--I feel -confident that petitions will effect the work of emancipation, _thy_ -opinion to the contrary notwithstanding. And when I hear Francis W. -Pickens, from the same State, saying in a speech delivered in -Congress--‘Mr. Speaker, we cannot mistake all these things. The truth is, -the moral power of the world is against us. It is idle to disguise it. We -must, sooner or later, meet the great issue that is to be made on this -subject. Deeply connected with this, is the movement to be made on the -District of Columbia. If the power be asserted in Congress to interfere -here, or any approach be made toward that end, _it will give a shock to -our institutions_ and the country, the consequences of which no man can -foretell. Sir, as well might you grapple with iron grasp into the very -heart and vitals of South Carolina, as to touch this subject here.’ When I -hear these things from the lips of keen-eyed politicians of the South, -northern apologies for not interfering with the subject of slavery, ‘lest -it should increase, rather than diminish the evils it is wished to remove’ -affect me little. - -Another objection to woman’s petitions is, that they may ‘tend to bring -females, as petitioners and partisans, into every political measure that -may tend to injure and oppress their sex.’ As to their ever becoming -partisans, i.e. sacrificing principles to power or interest, I reprobate -this under all circumstances, and in _both_ sexes. But I trust my sisters -may always be permitted to _petition_ for a redress of grievances. Why -not? The right of petition is the only political right that women have: -why not let them exercise it whenever they are aggrieved? Our fathers -waged a bloody conflict with England, because _they_ were taxed without -being represented. This is just what unmarried women of property now are. -_They_ were not willing to be governed by laws which _they_ had no voice -in making; but this is the way in which women are governed in this -Republic. If, then, _we_ are taxed without being represented, and governed -by laws _we_ have no voice in framing, then, surely, we ought to be -permitted at least to remonstrate against ‘every political measure that -may tend to injure and oppress our sex in various parts of the nation, and -under the various public measures that may hereafter be enforced.’ Why -not? Art thou afraid to trust the women of this country with discretionary -power as to petitioning? Is there not sound principle and common sense -enough among them, to regulate the exercise of this right? I believe they -will always use it wisely. I am not afraid to trust my sisters--not I. - -Thou sayest, ‘In this country, petitions to Congress, in reference to -official duties of legislators, seem, IN ALL CASES, to fall entirely -without the sphere of female duty. Men are the proper persons to make -appeals to the rulers whom they appoint,’ &c. Here I entirely dissent from -thee. The fact that women are denied the right of voting for members of -Congress, is but a poor reason why they should also be deprived of the -right of petition. If their numbers are counted to swell the number of -Representatives in our State and National Legislatures, the _very least_ -that can be done is to give them the right of petition in all cases -whatsoever; and without any abridgement. If not, they are mere slaves, -known only through their masters. - -In my next, I shall throw out my own views with regard to ‘the appropriate -sphere of woman’--and for the present, subscribe myself, - - Thy Friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER XII. - -HUMAN RIGHTS NOT FOUNDED ON SEX. - - - EAST BOYLSTON, Mass., _10th mo. 2d, 1837_. - -DEAR FRIEND: In my last, I made a sort of running commentary upon thy -views of the appropriate sphere of woman, with something like a promise, -that in my next, I would give thee my own. - -The investigation of the rights of the slave has led me to a better -understanding of my own. I have found the Anti-Slavery cause to be the -high school of morals in our land--the school in which _human rights_ are -more fully investigated, and better understood and taught, than in any -other. Here a great fundamental principle is uplifted and illuminated, and -from this central light, rays innumerable stream all around. Human beings -have _rights_, because they are _moral_ beings: the rights of _all_ men -grow out of their moral nature; and as all men have the same moral nature, -they have essentially the same rights. These rights may be wrested from -the slave, but they cannot be alienated: his title to himself is as -perfect _now_, as is that of Lyman Beecher: it is stamped on his moral -being, and is, like it, imperishable. Now if rights are founded in the -nature of our moral being, then the _mere circumstance of sex_ does not -give to man higher rights and responsibilities, than to woman. To suppose -that it does, would be to deny the self-evident truth, that the ‘physical -constitution is the mere instrument of the moral nature.’ To suppose that -it does, would be to break up utterly the relations, of the two natures, -and to reverse their functions, exalting the animal nature into a monarch, -and humbling the moral into a slave; making the former a proprietor, and -the latter its property. When human beings are regarded as _moral_ beings, -_sex_, instead of being enthroned upon the summit, administering upon -rights and responsibilities, sinks into insignificance and nothingness. My -doctrine then is, that whatever it is morally right for man to do, it is -morally right for woman to do. Our duties originate, not from difference -of sex, but from the diversity of our relations in life, the various gifts -and talents committed to our care, and the different eras in which we -live. - -This regulation of duty by the mere circumstance of sex, rather than by -the fundamental principle of moral being, has led to all that multifarious -train of evils flowing out of the anti-christian doctrine of masculine and -feminine virtues. By this doctrine, man has been converted into the -warrior, and clothed with sternness, and those other kindred qualities, -which in common estimation belong to his character as a _man_; whilst -woman has been taught to lean upon an arm of flesh, to sit as a doll -arrayed in ‘gold, and pearls, and costly array,’ to be admired for her -personal charms, and caressed and humored like a spoiled child, or -converted into a mere drudge to suit the convenience of her lord and -master. Thus have all the diversified relations of life been filled with -‘confusion and every evil work.’ This principle has given to man a charter -for the exercise of tyranny and selfishness, pride and arrogance, lust and -brutal violence. It has robbed woman of essential rights, the right to -think and speak and act on all great moral questions, just as men think -and speak and act; the right to share their responsibilities, perils and -toils; the right to fulfil the great end of her being, as a moral, -intellectual and immortal creature, and of glorifying God in her body and -her spirit which are His. Hitherto, instead of being a help meet to man, -in the highest, noblest sense of the term, as a companion, a co-worker, an -equal; she has been a mere appendage of his being, an instrument of his -convenience and pleasure, the pretty toy with which he wiled away his -leisure moments, or the pet animal whom he humored into playfulness and -submission. Woman, instead of being regarded as the equal of man, has -uniformly been looked down upon as his inferior, a mere gift to fill up -the measure of his happiness. In ‘the poetry of romantic gallantry,’ it is -true, she has been called ‘the last _best_ gift of God to man;’ but I -believe I speak forth the words of truth and soberness when I affirm, that -woman never was given to man. She was created, like him, in the image of -God, and crowned with glory and honor; created only a little lower than -the angels,--not, as is almost universally assumed, a little lower than -man; on her brow, as well as on his, was placed the ‘diadem of beauty,’ -and in her hand the sceptre of universal dominion. Gen: i. 27, 28. ‘The -last _best gift_ of God to man!’ Where is the scripture warrant for this -‘rhetorical flourish, this splendid absurdity?’ Let us examine the account -of her creation. ‘And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made -he a woman, and brought her unto the man.’ Not as a gift--for Adam -immediately recognized her _as a part of himself_--(‘this is now bone of -my bone, and flesh of my flesh’)--a companion and equal, not one hair’s -breadth beneath him in the majesty and glory of her moral being; not -placed under his authority as a _subject_, but by his side, on the same -platform of human rights, under the government of God only. This idea of -woman’s being ‘the last best gift of God to man,’ however pretty it may -sound to the ears of those who love to discourse upon ‘the poetry of -romantic gallantry, and the generous promptings of chivalry,’ has -nevertheless been the means of sinking her from an _end_ into a mere -_means_--of turning her into an _appendage_ to man, instead of recognizing -her as _a part of man_--of destroying her individuality, and rights, and -responsibilities, and merging her moral being in that of man. Instead of -_Jehovah_ being _her_ king, _her_ lawgiver, and _her_ judge, she has been -taken out of the exalted scale of existence in which He placed her, and -subjected to the despotic control of man. - -I have often been amused at the vain efforts made to define the rights and -responsibilities of immortal beings as _men_ and _women_. No one has yet -found out just _where_ the line of separation between them should be -drawn, and for this simple reason, that no one knows just how far below -man woman is, whether she be a head shorter in her moral responsibilities, -or head and shoulders, or the full length of his noble stature, below him, -i.e. under his feet. Confusion, uncertainty, and great inconsistencies, -must exist on this point, so long as woman is regarded in the least degree -inferior to man; but place her where her Maker placed her, on the same -high level of human rights with man, side by side with him, and -difficulties vanish, the mountains of perplexity flow down at the presence -of this grand equalizing principle. Measure her rights and duties by the -unerring standard of _moral being_, not by the false weights and measures -of a mere circumstance of her human existence, and then the truth will be -self-evident, that whatever it is _morally_ right for a man to do, it is -_morally_ right for a woman to do. I recognize no rights but _human_ -rights--I know nothing of men’s rights and women’s rights; for in Christ -Jesus, there is neither male nor female. It is my solemn conviction, that, -until this principle of equality is recognised and embodied in practice, -the church can do nothing effectual for the permanent reformation of the -world. Woman was the first transgressor, and the first victim of power. In -all heathen nations, she has been the slave of man, and Christian nations -have never acknowledged her rights. Nay more, no Christian denomination or -Society has ever acknowledged them on the broad basis of humanity. I know -that in some denominations, she is permitted to preach the gospel; not -from a conviction of her rights, nor upon the ground of her equality as a -_human being_, but of her equality in spiritual gifts--for we find that -woman, even in these Societies, is allowed no voice in framing the -Discipline by which she is to be governed. Now, I believe it is woman’s -right to have a voice in all the laws and regulations by which she is to -be _governed_, whether in Church or State; and that the present -arrangements of society, on these points, are _a violation of human -rights_, _a rank usurpation of power_, a violent seizure and confiscation -of what is sacredly and inalienably hers--thus inflicting upon woman -outrageous wrongs, working mischief incalculable in the social circle, and -in its influence on the world producing only evil, and that continually. -_If_ Ecclesiastical and Civil governments are ordained of God, _then_ I -contend that woman has just as much right to sit in solemn counsel in -Conventions, Conferences, Associations and General Assemblies, as -man--just as much right to sit upon the throne of England, or in the -Presidential chair of the United States. - -Dost thou ask me, if I would wish to see woman engaged in the contention -and strife of sectarian controversy, or in the intrigues of political -partizans? I say no! never--never. I rejoice that she does not stand on -the same platform which man now occupies in these respects; but I mourn, -also, that he should thus prostitute his higher nature, and vilely cast -away his birthright. I prize the purity of _his_ character as highly as I -do that of hers. As a moral being, _whatever it is morally wrong for her -to do, it is morally wrong for him to do_. The fallacious doctrine of -male and female virtues has well nigh ruined all that is morally great and -lovely in his character: he has been quite as deep a sufferer by it as -woman, though mostly in different respects and by other processes. As my -time is engrossed by the pressing responsibilities of daily public duty, I -have no leisure for that minute detail which would be required for the -illustration and defence of these principles. Thou wilt find a wide field -opened before thee, in the investigation of which, I doubt not, thou wilt -be instructed. Enter this field, and explore it: thou wilt find in it a -hid treasure, more precious than rubies--a fund, a mine of principles, as -new as they are great and glorious. - -Thou sayest, ‘an ignorant, a narrow-minded, or a stupid woman, cannot feel -nor understand the rationality, the propriety, or the beauty of this -relation’--i.e. subordination to man. Now, verily, it does appear to me, -that nothing but a narrow-minded view of the subject of human rights and -responsibilities can induce any one to believe in _this subordination to a -fallible_ being. Sure I am, that the signs of the times clearly indicate a -vast and rapid change in public sentiment, on this subject. Sure I am that -she 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. Not that ‘she will carry her measures by -tormenting when she cannot please, or by petulant complaints or obtrusive -interference, in matters which are out of her sphere, and which she cannot -comprehend.’ But just in proportion as her moral and intellectual -capacities become enlarged, she will rise higher and higher in the scale -of creation, until she reaches that elevation prepared for her by her -Maker, and upon whose summit she was originally stationed, only ‘a little -lower than the angels.’ Then will it be seen that nothing which concerns -the well-being of mankind is either beyond her sphere, or above her -comprehension: _Then_ will it be seen ‘that America will be distinguished -above all other nations for well educated women, and for the influence -they will exert on the general interests of society.’ - -But I must close with recommending to thy perusal, my sister’s Letters on -the Province of Woman, published in the New England Spectator, and -republished by Isaac Knapp of Boston. As she has taken up this subject so -fully, I have only glanced at it. That thou and all my country-women may -better understand the true dignity of woman, is the sincere desire of - - Thy Friend, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - - - - -LETTER XIII. - -MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS,--CONCLUSION. - - - HOLLISTON, Mass., _10th month, 23d, 1837_. - -MY DEAR FRIEND: I resume my pen, to gather up a few fragments of thy -Essay, that have not yet been noticed, and in love to bid thee farewell. - -Thou appearest to think, that it is peculiarly the duty of _women_ to -educate the little children of this nation. But why, I would ask--why are -they any more bound to engage in this sacred employment, than men? I -believe, that as soon as the rights of women are understood, our brethren -will see and feel that it is their duty to co-operate with us, in this -high and holy vocation, of training up little children in the way they -should go. And the very fact of their mingling in intercourse with such -guileless and gentle spirits, will tend to soften down the asperities of -their characters, and clothe them with the noblest and sublimest Christian -virtues. I know that this work is deemed beneath the dignity of man; but -how great the error! I once heard a man, who had labored extensively among -children, say, ‘I never feel so near heaven, as when I am teaching these -little ones.’ He was right; and I trust the time is coming, when the -occupation of an instructer to children will be deemed the most honorable -of human employment. If it is drudgery to teach these little ones, then it -is the duty of men to bear a part of that burthen; if it is a privilege -and an honor, then we generously invite them to share that honor and -privilege with us. - -I know some noble instances of this union of principles and employment, -and am fully settled in the belief, that abolition doctrines are -pre-eminently calculated to qualify men and women to become faithful and -efficient teachers. _They alone_ teach fully the doctrine of human rights; -and to know and appreciate these, is an indispensable prerequisite to the -wisely successful performance of the duties of a teacher. The right -understanding of these will qualify her to teach the fundamental, but -unfashionable doctrine, that ‘God is no respecter of persons,’ and that he -that despiseth the colored man, because he is ‘guilty of a skin not -colored like our own,’ reproacheth his Maker for having given him that -ebon hue. I consider it absolutely indispensable, that this truth should -be sedulously instilled into the mind of every child in our republic. I -know of _no_ moral truth of greater importance at the present crisis. -Those teachers, who are not prepared to teach _this in all its fullness_, -are deficient in one of the most sterling elements of moral character, and -are false to the holy trust committed to them, and utterly unfit to train -up the children of _this_ generation. So far from urging the deficiency of -teachers in this country, as a reason why women should keep out of the -anti-slavery excitement, I would say to my sisters, if you wish to become -pre-eminently qualified for the discharge of your arduous duties, come -into the abolition ranks, enter this high school of morals, and drink from -the deep fountains of philanthropy and Christian equality, whence the -waters of healing are welling forth over wide desert wastes, and making -glad the city of our God. Intellectual endowments are _good_, but a high -standard of moral principle is _better_, is _essential_. As a nation, we -have too long educated the _mind_, and left the _heart_ a moral waste. We -have fully and fearfully illustrated the truth of the Apostle’s -declaration: ‘Knowledge puffeth up.’ We have indeed been puffed up, -vaunting ourselves in our mental endowments and national greatness. But we -are beginning to realize, that it is ‘Righteousness which exalteth a -nation.’ - -Thou sayest, when a woman is asked to sign a petition, or join an -Anti-Slavery Society, it is ‘for the purpose of contributing her measure -of influence to keep up agitation in Congress, to promote the excitement -of the North against the iniquities of the South, to coerce the South by -fear, shame, anger, and a sense of odium, to do what she is determined not -to do.’ Indeed! Are these the only motives presented to the daughters of -America, for laboring in the glorious cause of Human Rights? Let us -examine them. 1. ‘To keep up agitation in Congress.’ Yes--for I can adopt -this language of Moore of Virginia, in the Legislature of that State, in -1832: ‘I should regret at all times the existence of any unnecessary -excitement in the country on any subject; but I confess, I see no reason -to lament that which may have arisen on the present occasion. It is often -necessary that there should be some excitement among the people, to induce -them to turn their attention to questions deeply affecting the welfare of -the Commonwealth; and _there never can arise any subject more worthy their -attention, than that of the abolition of slavery_.’ 2. ‘To promote the -excitement of the North against the iniquities of the South.’ Yes, and -against her own sinful copartnership in those iniquities. I believe the -discussion of Human Rights at the North has already been of incalculable -advantage to this country. It is producing the happiest influence upon the -minds and hearts of those who are engaged in it; just such results as -Thomas Clarkson tells us, were produced in England by the agitation of the -subject there. Says he, ‘Of the immense advantages of this contest, I know -not how to speak. Indeed, the very agitation of the question, which it -involved, has been highly important. Never was the heart of man so -expanded; never were its generous sympathies so generally and so -perseveringly excited. These sympathies, thus called into existence, have -been useful preservatives of national virtue.’ I, therefore, wish very -much to promote the Anti-Slavery excitement at the North, because I -believe it will prove a useful preservative of national virtue. 3. ‘To -coerce the South by fear, shame, anger, and a sense of odium.’ It is true, -that I feel the imminent danger of the South so much, that I would fain -‘save them with fear, pulling them out of the fire;’ for, if they ever are -saved, they will indeed be ‘as a brand plucked out of the burning.’ Nor -do I see any thing wrong in influencing slaveholders by a feeling of shame -and odium, as well as by a sense of guilt. Why may not abolitionists speak -some things _to their shame_, as the Apostle did to the Corinthians? As to -anger, it is no design of ours to excite so wicked a passion. We cannot -help it, if, in rejecting the truth, they become angry. Could Stephen help -the anger of the Jews, when ‘they gnashed upon him with their teeth’? - -But I had thought the principal motives urged by abolitionists were not -these; but that they endeavored to excite men and women to active -exertion,--first, to cleanse _their own_ hands of the sin of slavery, and -secondly, to save the South, if possible, and the North, at any rate, from -the impending judgments of heaven. The result of their mission in this -country, cannot in the least affect the validity of that mission. Like -Noah, they may preach in vain; if so, the destruction of the South can no -more be attributed to them, than the destruction of the antediluvian world -to him. ‘In vain,’ did I say? Oh no! The discussion of the rights of the -slave has opened the way for the discussion of _other rights_, and the -ultimate result will most certainly be, ‘the breaking of _every_ yoke,’ -the letting the oppressed of _every_ grade and description go free,--an -emancipation far more glorious than any the world has ever yet seen,--an -introduction into that ‘liberty wherewith Christ hath made his people -free.’ - -I will now say a few words on thy remarks about Esther. Thou sayest, ‘When -a woman is placed in similar circumstances, where death to herself and -all her nation is one alternative, and there is nothing worse to fear, but -something to hope as the other alternative, then she may safely follow -such an example.’ In this sentence, thou hast conceded every thing I could -wish, and proved beyond dispute just what I adduced this text to prove in -my Appeal. I will explain myself. Look at the condition of our -country--Church and State deeply involved in the enormous crime of -slavery: ah! more--claiming the sacred volume, as our charter for the -collar and chain. What then can we expect, but that the vials of divine -wrath will be poured out upon a nation of oppressors and hypocrites? for -we are loud in our professions of civil and ecclesiastical liberty. Now, -as a Southerner, I know that reflecting slaveholders expect their peculiar -institution to be overthrown in blood. Read the opinion of Moore of -Virginia, as expressed by him in the House of Delegates in 1832:--‘What -must be the ultimate consequence of retaining the slaves amongst us? The -answer to this enquiry is both obvious and appalling. It is, that _the -time will come, and at no distant day, when we shall be involved in all -the horrors of a servile war_, which will not end until both sides have -suffered much, until the land shall everywhere be red with blood, and -until the slaves or the whites are totally exterminated. If there be any -truth in history, and if the time has not arrived when causes have ceased -to produce their legitimate results, the dreadful catastrophe in which I -have predicted that our slave system must result, if persisted in, _is as -inevitable as any event which has already transpired_.’ - -Here, then, is one alternative, and just as tremendous an alternative as -that which was presented to the Queen of Persia. ‘There is _nothing worse_ -to fear’ for the South, let the results of abolition efforts be what they -may, whilst ‘there is something to hope as the other alternative;’ because -if she will receive the truth in the love of it, she may repent and be -saved. So that, after all, according to thy own reasoning, the women of -America ‘may safely follow such an example.’ - -After endeavoring to show that woman has no moral right to exercise the -right of petition for the dumb and stricken slave; no business to join, in -any way, in the excitement which anti-slavery principles are producing in -our country; no business to join abolition societies, &c. &c.; thou -professest to tell our sisters what they are to do, in order to bring the -system of slavery to an end. And now, my dear friend, what does all that -thou hast said in many pages, amount to? Why, that women are to exert -their influence in private life, to allay the excitement which exists on -this subject, and to quench the flame of sympathy in the hearts of their -fathers, husbands, brothers and sons. Fatal delusion! Will Christian women -heed such advice? - -Hast thou ever asked thyself, what the slave would think of thy book, if -he could read it? Dost thou know that, from the beginning to the end, not -a word of compassion for _him_ has fallen from thy pen? Recall, I pray, -the memory of the hours which thou spent in writing it! Was the paper once -moistened by the tear of pity? Did thy heart once swell with deep -sympathy for thy sister _in bonds_? Did it once ascend to God in broken -accents for the deliverance of the captive? Didst thou ever ask thyself, -what the free man of color would think of it? Is it such an exhibition of -slavery and prejudice, as will call down _his_ blessing upon thy head? -Hast thou thought of _these_ things? or carest thou not for the blessings -and the prayers of these our suffering brethren? Consider, I entreat, the -reception given to thy book by the apologists of slavery. What meaneth -that loud acclaim with which they hail it? Oh, listen and weep, and let -thy repentings be kindled together, and speedily bring forth, I beseech -thee, fruits meet for repentance, and henceforth show thyself faithful to -Christ and his bleeding representative the slave. - -I greatly fear that thy book might have been written just as well, hadst -thou not had the heart of a woman. It bespeaks a superior intellect, but -paralyzed and spell-bound by the sorcery of a worldly-minded expediency. -Where, oh where, in its pages, are the outpourings of a soul overwhelmed -with a sense of the heinous crimes of our nation, and the necessity of -immediate repentance? Farewell! Perhaps on a dying bed thou mayest vainly -wish that ‘_Miss Beecher on the Slave Question_’ might perish with the -mouldering hand which penned its cold and heartless pages. But I forbear, -and in deep sadness of heart, but in tender love though I thus speak, I -bid thee again, Farewell. Forgive me, if I have wronged thee, and pray for -her who still feels like - - Thy sister in the bonds of a common sisterhood, - - A. E. GRIMKÉ. - -P. S. Since preparing the foregoing letters for the press, I have been -informed by a Bookseller in Providence, that some of thy books had been -sent to him to sell last summer, and that one afternoon a number of -southerners entered his store whilst they were lying on the counter. An -elderly lady took up one of them and after turning over the pages for some -time, she threw it down and remarked, here is a book written by the -daughter of a northern dough face, to apologize for our southern -institutions--but for my part, I have a thousand times more respect for -the Abolitionists, who openly denounce the system of slavery, than for -those people, who in order to please us, cloak their real sentiments under -such a garb as this. This southern lady, I have no doubt, expressed the -sentiments of thousands of the most respectable slaveholders in our -country--and thus, they will tell the North in bitter reproach for their -sinful subserviency, after the lapse of a few brief years, when interest -no longer padlocks their lips. At present the South feels that she must at -least _appear_ to thank her northern apologists. - - A. E. G. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Letters to Catherine E. Beecher, by -Angelina E. Grimké - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS TO CATHERINE E. 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