Stowe_Uncle_Toms_Cabin.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
of the cross of .
now, men and women of , is this a thing to be trifled with,
apologized for, and passed over in silence? of ,
of , of , of , who read this book by the
blaze of your winter-evening fire,--strong-hearted, generous sailors
and ship-owners of ,--is this a thing for you to countenance and
encourage? and generous men of , farmers of rich and
joyous , and ye of the wide prairie states,--answer, is this a thing
for you to protect and countenance? you, mothers of ,--you
who have learned, by the cradles of your own children, to love and feel
for all mankind,--by the sacred love you bear your child; by your joy
in his beautiful, spotless infancy; by the motherly pity and tenderness
with which you guide his growing years; by the anxieties of his
education; by the prayers you breathe for his soul's eternal good;--
beseech you, pity the mother who has all your affections, and not one
legal right to protect, guide, or educate, the child of her bosom!
the sick hour of your child; by those dying eyes, which you can never
forget; by those last cries, that wrung your heart when you could
neither help nor save; by the desolation of that empty cradle, that
silent nursery,-- beseech you, pity those mothers that are constantly
made childless by the slave-trade! say, mothers of ,
is this a thing to be defended, sympathized with, passed over in
silence?
you say that the people of the free state have nothing to do with it,
and can do nothing? to this were true! it is not true.
people of the free states have defended, encouraged, and participated;
and are more guilty for it, before , than the , in that they
have not the apology of education or custom.
the mothers of the free states had all felt as they should, in times
past, the sons of the free states would not have been the holders, and,
proverbially, the hardest masters of slaves; the sons of the free states
would not have connived at the extension of slavery, in our national
body; the sons of the free states would not, as they do, trade the
souls and bodies of men as an equivalent to money, in their mercantile
dealings. are multitudes of slaves temporarily owned, and sold
again, by merchants in northern cities; and shall the whole guilt or
obloquy of slavery fall only on the ?
men, northern mothers, northern , have something more
to do than denounce their brethren at the ; they have to look to
the evil among themselves.
, what can any individual do? that, every individual can judge.
is one thing that every individual can do,--they can see to it
that _they feel right_. atmosphere of sympathetic influence encircles
every human being; and the man or woman who _feels_ strongly, healthily
and justly, on the great interests of humanity, is a constant benefactor
to the human race. , then, to your sympathies in this matter!
they in harmony with the sympathies of ? or are they swayed and
perverted by the sophistries of worldly policy?
men and women of the ! still further,--you have another
power; you can _pray!_ you believe in prayer? or has it become an
indistinct apostolic tradition? pray for the heathen abroad; pray
also for the heathen at home. pray for those distressed
whose whole chance of religious improvement is an accident of trade and
sale; from whom any adherence to the morals of is, in many
cases, an impossibility, unless they have given them, from above, the
courage and grace of martyrdom.
, still more. the shores of our free states are emerging the poor,
shattered, broken remnants of families,--men and women, escaped, by
miraculous providences from the surges of slavery,--feeble in knowledge,
and, in many cases, infirm in moral constitution, from a system which
confounds and confuses every principle of and morality.
come to seek a refuge among you; they come to seek education,
knowledge, .
do you owe to these poor unfortunates, oh ?
not every owe to the race some effort at
reparation for the wrongs that the nation has brought upon
them? the doors of churches and school-houses be shut upon them?
states arise and shake them out? the church of hear
in silence the taunt that is thrown at them, and shrink away from the
helpless hand that they stretch out; and, by her silence, encourage the
cruelty that would chase them from our borders? it must be so, it
will be a mournful spectacle. it must be so, the country will have
reason to tremble, when it remembers that the fate of nations is in the
hands of who is very pitiful, and of tender compassion.
you say, " don't want them here; let them go to "?
the providence of has provided a refuge in , is, indeed,
a great and noticeable fact; but that is no reason why the church of
should throw off that responsibility to this outcast race which
her profession demands of her.
fill up with an ignorant, inexperienced, half-barbarized
race, just escaped from the chains of slavery, would be only to
prolong, for ages, the period of struggle and conflict which attends the
inception of new enterprises. the church of the north receive these
poor sufferers in the spirit of ; receive them to the educating
advantages of republican society and schools, until they have
attained to somewhat of a moral and intellectual maturity, and then
assist them in their passage to those shores, where they may put in
practice the lessons they have learned in .
is a body of men at the north, comparatively small, who have been
doing this; and, as the result, this country has already seen examples
of men, formerly slaves, who have rapidly acquired property, reputation,
and education. has been developed, which, considering the
circumstances, is certainly remarkable; and, for moral traits of
honesty, kindness, tenderness of feeling,--for heroic efforts and
self-denials, endured for the ransom of brethren and friends yet in
slavery,--they have been remarkable to a degree that, considering the
influence under which they were born, is surprising.
writer has lived, for many years, on the frontier-line of slave
states, and has had great opportunities of observation among those who
formerly were slaves. have been in her family as servants; and, in
default of any other school to receive them, she has, in many cases, had
them instructed in a family school, with her own children. has
also the testimony of missionaries, among the fugitives in , in
coincidence with her own experience; and her deductions, with regard to
the capabilities of the race, are encouraging in the highest degree.
first desire of the emancipated slave, generally, is for
_education_. is nothing that they are not willing to give or do to
have their children instructed, and, so far as the writer has observed
herself, or taken the testimony of teachers among them, they are
remarkably intelligent and quick to learn. results of schools,
founded for them by benevolent individuals in , fully
establish this.
author gives the following statement of facts, on the authority
of . . , then of , , with regard
to emancipated slaves, now resident in ; given to show the
capability of the race, even without any very particular assistance or
encouragement.
initial letters alone are given. are all residents of
.
"----. maker; twenty years in the city; worth ten thousand
dollars, all his own earnings; a .
"----. black; stolen from ; sold in ; been free
fifteen years; paid for himself six hundred dollars; a farmer; owns
several farms in ; ; probably worth fifteen or twenty
thousand dollars, all earned by himself.
"----. black; dealer in real estate; worth thirty thousand
dollars; about forty years old; free six years; paid eighteen hundred
dollars for his family; member of the church; received a legacy
from his master, which he has taken good care of, and increased.
"----. black; coal dealer; about thirty years old; worth eighteen
thousand dollars; paid for himself twice, being once defrauded to
the amount of sixteen hundred dollars; made all his money by his own
efforts--much of it while a slave, hiring his time of his master, and
doing business for himself; a fine, gentlemanly fellow.
"----. -fourths black; barber and waiter; from ; nineteen
years free; paid for self and family over three thousand dollars; deacon
in the church.
". ----. -fourths black; white-washer; from ; nine years
free; paid fifteen hundred dollars for self and family; recently died,
aged sixty; worth six thousand dollars."
says, " all these, except ----, have been, for
some years, personally acquainted, and make my statements from my own
knowledge."
writer well remembers an aged colored woman, who was employed as a
washerwoman in her father's family. daughter of this woman married a
slave. was a remarkably active and capable young woman, and, by her
industry and thrift, and the most persevering self-denial, raised nine
hundred dollars for her husband's freedom, which she paid, as she raised
it, into the hands of his master. yet wanted a hundred dollars of
the price, when he died. never recovered any of the money.
are but few facts, among multitudes which might be adduced, to
show the self-denial, energy, patience, and honesty, which the slave has
exhibited in a state of freedom.
let it be remembered that these individuals have thus bravely
succeeded in conquering for themselves comparative wealth and social
position, in the face of every disadvantage and discouragement.
colored man, by the law of , cannot be a voter, and, till within a
few years, was even denied the right of testimony in legal suits with
the white. are these instances confined to the of . all
states of the we see men, but yesterday burst from the shackles
of slavery, who, by a self-educating force, which cannot be too
much admired, have risen to highly respectable stations in society.
, among clergymen, and , among editors, are well
known instances.
this persecuted race, with every discouragement and disadvantage,
have done thus much, how much more they might do if the church
would act towards them in the spirit of her !
is an age of the world when nations are trembling and convulsed.
mighty influence is abroad, surging and heaving the world, as with an
earthquake. is safe? nation that carries in its bosom
great and unredressed injustice has in it the elements of this last
convulsion.
what is this mighty influence thus rousing in all nations and
languages those groanings that cannot be uttered, for man's freedom and
equality?
, of , read the signs of the times! not this power the
spirit of whose kingdom is yet to come, and whose will to be done on
earth as it is in heaven?
who may abide the day of his appearing? "for that day shall burn
as an oven: and he shall appear as a swift witness against those that
oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and
that _turn aside the stranger in his right_: and he shall break in
pieces the oppressor."
not these dread words for a nation bearing in her bosom so mighty
an injustice? ! every time that you pray that the kingdom
of may come, can you forget that prophecy associates, in dread
fellowship, the _day of vengeance_ with the year of his redeemed?
day of grace is yet held out to us. and have been
guilty before ; and the _ church_ has a heavy account to
answer. by combining together, to protect injustice and cruelty,
and making a common capital of sin, is this to be saved,--but
by repentance, justice and mercy; for, not surer is the eternal law by
which the millstone sinks in the ocean, than that stronger law, by which
injustice and cruelty shall bring on nations the wrath of !