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II
THE GIFT OF
= A ~mna Hoppe




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I








Negro Slavery
A Review of Conditions
Preceding the Civil War
BY    ANNA        H O P P E
ST. LOUIS, MO.
Price, 75 Cents
RUDOLPH VOLKENING
Publisher
Holland Bldg., St. Louis




I -.
'o
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I




Dedicated to
her steadfast old friend
HON. GEORGE B. REUSS
son of a late owner and manager of extensive
sugar plantations in Southern Louisiana before
the Civil War, who employed many NEGRO
SLAVES and provided them with a desirable
home. By the issue of this little book a
wreath of honor is placed also on HIS
last resting place by THE AUTHOR




"I,




FOREWORD
It affords me great pleasure to say a few words
of commendation in regard to the treatise "Negro
Slavery," herewith offered to the public.
The writer, Miss Anna Hoppe, was born and
reared in the South, in the city of New Orleans.
She lived there many years and is therefore well
qualified to write such a treatise. She has come into frequent contact with former slaveholders and
their descendants, who were able and in a position
to give her first-hand information regarding the
real condition of the slave. What she says is therefore not fiction nor a fictitious or ideal representation of conditions, but rather a collection of historical facts which cannot be denied.
The treatise is written in a very lucid style, and
since the writer frequently also relates personal
experience, it makes for interesting reading.
From chapter IX, whiikh treats of conditions in
Liberia, it is evident that a great need for that
part of Africa is the preaching of the Gospel. We
pray that our good Lord would speed the day
when also in Liberia the glad tidings of redeeming mercy in Christ Jesus are proclaimed for the
salvation of many blood-bought souls.
H. A. Klein,
President of Concordia Theological
Seminary, Springfield, Ill.
Springfield, Ill., Oct. 28, 1935.




0




CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction         -       -       9
I. The History of Slavery  ---       - 11
II. The Introduction of Slavery into the
United States -       -17
III. Part I. The Slave and His Master - 23
Part II --- 29
IV. Fugitive Slaves -                - - 39
V. Emancipation of Slaves, as Demanded
by Abolitionists-  — 45
VI. Equality of the Negro -              53
VII. Free Negroes before the War - - - 61
VIII. African Colonization ----         - 69
IX. Part I. The Colony of Liberia at the
Present Time -       -75
Part II. American Enterprise in Liberia -            -82




10
I




- INTRODUCTION


This year, the year 1935, marks the seventysecond anniversary of the day on which "Abe
Lincoln set the Niggers free." In the following
account, presented by the writer, a native of the
South, the readers will find some interesting facts
concerning Slavery, that may be more or less unknown to the generation of today, and even to the
small number of surviving "old-timers," who were
living in the "Free States" at the time of the Civil
War. In preparing this article, the accounts of
various authors have been quoted. Some experiences and comments of the writer's father, the
late Rev. Prof. A. F. Hoppe, D.D., who labored
as a clergyman in the slaveholding States, from
the year 1855 on, are also recorded.


9




I I
4, I




NEGRO SLAVERY
A REVIEW OF CONDITIONS PRECEDING
THE CIVIL WAR
by ANNA HOPPE             St. Louis, Missouri
Chapter I
THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY
The intelligent and honest inquirer who seeks
to know when and where slavery had its commencement, will be astonished to learn, that its
origin cannot be pointed to on the page of history,
however ancient. In vain may he search for it in
musty volumes, the remnants of former days, from
which we derive all our authentic accounts of those
who then lived, and gave laws to, and directed the
affairs of man.
It is true, we have the progress of slavery, but
there is nothing certain as to that period in which
it first began to exist. In all probability, it had an
existence already before the flood, and was one of
the institutions of our antediluvian progenitors.
The curse pronounced upon Canaan, by Noah,
was, that he should be "a servant of servants unto
his brothers," the import of which may be that the
history of the world should be but a record of the
fact, that sons of Ham, in the line of Canaan
should, through all times, be the servants of those
11




descended from Shem and Japheth. Whether this
exposition be correct or not, it is certain, that
after the lapse of thousands of years, hundreds of
thousands of those descended from that youngest
son of Ham, were found in every clime, the almost
willing slaves of those, who had the capacity and
chose to provide for and govern them. So remote
at least is the origin of slavery, that it is older
than all tradition. It has been one of the institutions of every country, in every part of the globe.
The civilized nations of antiquity owned slaves.
The Egyptian history shows the existence of slavery. Doubtless there were many slaves in Egypt,
before that Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of
silver by the Israelites, and carried there to be disposed of. And we know, that his brothers were
for four hundred years in that land of bondage.
These Israelites, while in Egypt, were so deeply
imbued with slavery, that their founder - the
founder of both the kingdom of Israel and the
Jewish nation, was the master and purchaser of
slaves, and every Patriarch the absolute owner of
his entire household. The Hebrews left Polytheism in Egypt, "the house of their bondage," but
by their own law, the law of God, they carried
slavery with them into the promised land.
The commercial cities of Greece were markets
where slaves of foreign lands were exposed for
sale. The markets of Rome were filled with men
of every complexion and every clime.-The long
12




wars between the German and Slavonic tribes
filled France with slaves; so that slavery itself
Slavonic became synonymous terms, and our English word Slave is the enduring monument of
that very traffic.
But let it not be supposed that the Christian
white man is the author or originator of African
slavery. Caravans of slave dealers carried on from
time immemorial, a traffic in Negro slaves, among
Negroes themselves. [See chapter IX, part I]
During the middle ages, the channels of slavery
were changed. The Saxon race carried slavery
into England, where the price of a man was only
four times the price of an ox. (In America the
price of a slave was four times that of a mule.)
On the shores of the Baltic, the Germans carried
on the slave trade (or rather: Leibeigene, not
slaves. "Leibeigene" are serfs of the soil and
transferred with it; they were never sold, or
families separated). The merchants of Spain imported slaves until Negro Slavery abounded there,
long before the colonization of the United States.
After the discovery of the New World by Codlumbus, its shores were visited regularly by slavers, in search of slaves. Slavers penetrated the
extensive Mississippi Valley, and from there procured slaves with which to supply the markets
and demands in the West India Islands and in
Europe. Columbus himself sent from there five
hundred slaves, native Americans, to be publicly
13




sold at Seville. The practice of selling North
American Indians continued nearly two centuries.
The history of slavery is but the history of
Europe, and especially is it the history of England.
To augment her own income was the great moving
principle. Queen Elisabeth not only protected the
slave trade, but engaged in it personally. To accomplish her ends and carry out her policy, Great
Britain did an act, which Capt. John Smith relates in the remarkable words: "She emptied all
at once her prisons of its prisoners; she made the
colonies of Botany Bay, and sent there as slaves
and servants, as many as one hundred at a time,
of idle, dissolute persons who were in custody for
various misdemeanors in London, so that the
felons and vagabonds transported brought such
evil report upon the place that some did choose
to be hanged ere they would go there, and were."
This act prepared the way for the introduction of
Negro Slavery, by a Dutch ship, which sailed up
the James river without any previous knowledge
or purpose on the part of the Colonists. When it
was afterwards found by Great Britain, that these
hardy sons of Africa, accustomed to the endurance
of heat under a vertical sun, could better cultivate
the fields of the Colonists and extend them, she
engaged in that work herself, monopolizing the
entire African Slave trade of the whole earth.


14




CHAPTER II








Chapter II


THE INTRODUCTION OF SLAVERY INTO THE
UNITED STATES
The people in the North of the United States
engaged heartily in the work of importing and
exporting slaves. This was continued by foreign
and domestic traders, until New York, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas,
and ultimately Georgia were amply supplied with
them as well as many parts of New England. It
is surprising, that religionists of every denomination participated therein, not excepting the Quakers, so that the "humane Penn" himself died a
slaveholder. - George Washington also owned
slaves.
When Massachusetts, standing for her liberty
and life, was alone breasting the whole power of
Britain, the ancestors of the present Southerners
came to her aid, pledging their all for the liberty
and defence of their country, and the Northerners
did not refuse to hold communion with slaveholders. With slaveholders they formed the Confederation, neither asking nor receiving any right to
interfere in their domestic relations: with them,
they made the Declaration of Independence.
Notwithstanding the repeated protests of the
Carolinas, Georgia and especially Virginia, thousands upon thousands of slaves were literally
17




forced on them, by a law which made it obligatory
for every man, to cultivate land and to buy at
least four slaves for every hundred acres.
Many north of the Potomac river delighted in
depicting the horrors of slavery, and in decrying
southern slaveholders, when by their deeds, slavery had been entailed on the Southern country as
one of its institutions. To England, not to the
United States, belongs whatever odium may be
attached to the introduction of slavery into our
country. It will appear plainly to all who read
the history of slavery, that the cupidity of the
Dutch, the English, and New Englanders, was in
fact the true cause of the commencement and continuance of slavery in the Southern States on such
an extensive scale.
It is a well known fact, that but for the German
emigration to Pennsylvania and New York both
those States would have been large slaveholding
States. The great hazard of losing African slaves
on account of the coldness of the climate when
first brought there, the increasing number of
slaves, together with the diversity of character
among the Colonists, rendered the emancipation
of them increasingly improbable. Amsterdam
(New York) had as many, if not more slaves than
Virginia. The sale there was always to the highest bidder, the average price being rather less
than one hundred and forty dollars. However, it
was found when Negroes were landed there and
18




in New England, being imported directly from a
hot climate to a cold one, if they lived at all, they
were comparatively of little service, and almost
immediately and ever after, subject to scrofulous
diseases, induced by low diet and but little clothing, in a cold climate. Accordingly, as soon as it
was ascertained by the Dutch, who had settled on
the Hudson, that the climate of the South was
more suitable for the Negroes, they removed them
to South Carolina, that climate being of a mild
temperature.
At the commencement of the War of the Independence, the Colony of Virginia, as she had constantly previously done, protested against the introduction of the African race. Nor was she alone
in her opposition to this traffic. Other Colonies of
the South, the Carolinas and Maryland alarmed
with her, at the heavy debts they were forced to
incur for slaves. They believed the slave trade to
be wrong in its origin, and morally wrong to be
forced to receive slaves and have them quartered
on them at their own expense.
The political and domestic evils were foreseen
as early as 1772. In an address to the King of
Great Britain we read: "The importation of slaves
into the Colony, from the coast of Africa, has long
been considered a trade of great inhumanity, and
its encouragement, we have too much reason to
fear, will endanger the very existence of your
majesty's American dominions. When we con

19




sider that it greatly retards the settlement of the
Colonies with more white inhabitants, and may in
time have the most destructive influence, we presume to hope that the interest of a few will be
disregarded when placed in competition with the
security and happiness of such numbers of your
majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects."
In about four years after the passage of this
address, the War of the Revolution commenced.
In 1777, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the
American Independence, turning his attention to
the colored population of his country, and bringing his mind to act upon the question: "What shall
be done with our colored population? How shall
we dispose of them, and of such of our slaves, as
may hereafter, from time to time, become free?"
He came to the conclusion that Colonization alone
could meet, and successfully dispose of all the difficulties growing out of the presence and increase
of the Negro population in the United States.
Mr. Jefferson never dreamed of an amalgamation, as avowedly did the Abolitionists; he never
admitted the possibility of incorporating them as
a part and portion of the free citizens of the country in the body politic of the Union.
The question of Mr. Jefferson: "What shall be
done with our colored population?" was finally
settled by the CIVIL WAR.


20




CHAPTER 111








Chapter III - Part I


THE SLAVE AND His MASTER
Slaves were a trust, placed by the providence
of God in the hand of Southerners, and every master was called to discharge his duties, with forbearance, patience and fidelity. As far as we know
the heart of the Southerners, they, on the whole,
never felt disposed to waver respecting their duty,
but openly and publicly proclaimed the obligations
of those owning slaves to train and govern them
so as to better their conditions. However, the
Negro will always occupy an inferior position.
Even the best of them, with a few exceptions, do
not do their duty without constant supervision.
This holds true to this very day.
The right of the slave was secured by law, as
to humane and proper treatment, to comfortable
lodging, food and clothing, and to proper care in
infancy, sickness and old age.
The writer can testify to the fact, that the
Negroes on the plantations in Louisiana, all along
the Mississippi coast (some years after the war),
who had been slaves as long as they lived, were
apparently well nurtured, vigorous men, with
glistening white teeth, which had been kept in
order by a dentist, at the expense of their masters,
while they were yet in slavery. How different is
the appearance of our average colored fellow-citi23




zens of today, who are now scattered all over the
land, compared with that of the bondmen of old!
The laws of the slaveholding States protected
the colored race from the master's abuse of his
power over them. It must be admitted, that
there were cases in which that power was abused.
However, the man that injured his slave, could
not have his service. But because some men did
abuse them, is it therefore to be charged on all?
Scenes of horror, heretofore unheard of, were pictured to the world at large during the "war propaganda":-the poor Negroes were hung up and
whipped to death; they were set up for the dogs
to tear; they were scalded, cut into inch pieces;
were burned alive- (tied to a tree, with a slow
fire lit under them), etc.
Some people are so philanthropic, that they cannot tolerate the idea of corporal punishment. They
even denounce parents who use the rod in correcting their own children!
Among white men, in England, severe punishments were inflicted on those selling liquor, disturbing the peace, having shows without license,
etc. But the slaves in America were only punished
with stripes for these offences. And many crimes,
which were punished by death in England, were
punished in America, among slaves, by stripes.
In New York, the law was to whip white men for
minor offences, at the discretion of a justice of
the peace. (Indeed, we believe that occasionally a
24




little whipping would mend the manner of some
abandoned men whose wives and children are
thrown on the public for a support, while they
are well fed, and clothed, and attended to in a
good room in prison, at the expense of others.
The lazy, whether Negroes or white men, would
like a little indulgence and rest of this kind in a
comfortable jail, when a little flogging for their
crimes would at once set them to rights!)
At the time of slavery, there were some States
in the Union, where the power of the husband
over his wife was such, that he could flog her if
he should choose to do so, and was protected therein, "in his rights." Yes! rights over womasn, the
weaker vessel, so that "whipping be but moderate."
But there was an indemnity for such in the laws of
the land, by which the women were protected. So
there was in the laws of the slaveholding States,
by which the colored race was also protected from
the master's abuse of his power over them. But
nevertheless there were cases when that power
was abused. It must be remembered, that many
parents and husbands everywhere abused their
power over their children and wives, notwithstanding the laws to protect them. However, they
were not disposed, except in isolated cases, to injure their own property by an abuse of power.
The man who starved, or maimed, or injured his
slave, could not have his services. The man who
thus treated his wife and children, could not re

25




tain their society and affections; but because some
men did it, in either instance, it cannot therefore
be charged on all.
On the whole, slaves in the South were carefree, happy beings. The slaves in the United
States were in a better condition than thousands
of England's own subjects in England itself. The/
power of the "East India Company" was far mort
unlimited and despotic than that of any Southern
planter over his slaves, exciting more and leaving
ess of their labor to the subject race, than under
our own system. It cannot be denied, that British
abolition of slavery was an act of unadulterated
fanaticism.
There are two sides to everything: To tell the
truth, I must say, that my parents now and then
heard the pitiful screams of slaves, owned by a
slave-trader in the neighborhood of the parsonage
in New Orleans, but, of course, they could not tell,
for what reason the whipping was done, and to
what extent the victim was abused. I can only
relate, that another neighbor had a rascal of a son,
about sixteen years old, who could not be ruled
by his father in any other way than by giving him
a good beating. This fellow, although he was not
at all seriously hurt, screamed in such a manner
as to be heard a block away-simply in order to
call the attention of tenderhearted people to his
"cruel" father!
We had acquaintances among sugar planters in


26




Louisiana, who very seldom had their Negroes
whipped while they were still in bondage. Instead
of this, they inflicted a punishment upon them,
that was considered by the darkies much more
severe than a whipping, and that was: they deprived them of-salt! To abandon corporal punishment altogether, was deemed to be almost impossible, even by Christian masters.
Not only before the war, but also after the war,
planters had trouble enough with the laziness of
their former slaves - and their descendants.
Breaking bricks out of the chimneys of their
cabins, tearing out the logs and using them as
kindling wood, in order to sneak away from the
work of catching some of the drifting wood in the
river, and the like, were everyday occurrences.
Had not the overseer handled their usual slaverations, consisting of cornmeal and pork, and subtracted part of their wages in payment of the
same, the Niggers would have spent every cent of
their money in the nearest country-store for whiskey. Every cabin had a yard in which they could
plant vegetables, the seed of which was furnished
by their masters, but very few of them made use
of this advantage-"it's too much trouble!"
On my father's arrival in New Orleans in the
year 1856, the first couple that called on him
to be married, were slaves, bringing with them
the permit of their master. Like all those that
came from Germany at the time, my father had
27




a heart glowing with sympathy for the poor
abused slaves. He took a great interest in this
young pair, and questioned them diligently about
their circumstances. The man told him that his
master was a cotton broker, who gave all his cotton samples to him. By selling these samples he
realized about $800 per year. On my father's inquiry: "Since you make so much money, why don't
you buy yourself free?" he was amazed, when he
received the answer:-"I wouldn't be such a
fool!" Asking him, if he did not dread the time,
when his children, should any be born to him,
would be sold, and he separated from them, he
replied: "That isn't so bad, sir; my massa has two
boys at college in the North, and he is separated
from them too!"
About the year 1852 a number of slaves were
manumitted at the South,-in one instance more
than one-half preferred to remain in slavery in
New Orleans, to going to the North.


28




Chapter III - Part II
In New Orleans no slave was allowed on the
street at night any later than nine o'clock, when
a signal (the shot of a cannon) was given at the
old "Place d' armes," unless he had a pass from
his master or mistress.
For a long time after the war no colored person was permitted to enter a street car, except
when there was a star painted on it. In these
marked cars hardly ever a white passenger was
found, because of the rude behavior of the Blacks.
The slaves in the country, who were provided
for by their masters, had to work out their moderate task, and were then at liberty to sport or play
-at the cross-roads, the village, the town, the city
or where and as they pleased, provided that they
performed their domestic duties.
From personal observation I can testify that
after the war the same amount of housework was
done by two white servants in the homes of
French aristocracy, in New Orleans, that had been
required of half a dozen or more Negroes during
the time of slavery.
The Negro wants but little. I can very well recall scenes of more than half a century ago in
New Orleans, when I saw, every day, the Blacks
wandering early in the morning from one garbage
pail to the other, looking for stale bread, biscuits,
29




dead chickens, etc. This suited them much better than to work for their food! I never did see
a Negro begging.-On the other hand, when they
just couldn't get out of working for their living,
and had earned a few cents of money, I saw them
time and again going to a bakery near by, buying
a loaf of bread, then sitting down on the curbstone, tearing the loaf apart, picking out the
crumb and eating it, and throwing the fine, crisp
crust in the gutter! "I should worry about tomorrow!"-The Negro is not at all inclined to
save. If he has more than he needs he wastes it,
or, as he is kindhearted, gives it away.
The slaves on the plantations usually expressed
approval or disapproval of the master's conduct
in their wild songs, sometimes ringing out his
praises, and at other times in the spirit of revenge, when they felt abused, the cause often being only a trivial one. At the corn huskings and
picking matches these songs were often made as
they went along. The leader sang his part and
all hands joined in the chorus, so that they sometimes could be heard miles away. I give one of
their happy musical sentiments:
Leader: We all live in Mississippi.
Chorus: So ho, boys, so ho!
Leader: The land for making cotton. Chorus.
Leader: I love to shuck corn. Chorus.
Leader: Now's cotton picking time. Chorus.
Leader: We'll make the money, boys. Chorus.
30




Leader: My master is a gentleman. Chorus.
Leader: My mistress is a lady. Chorus.
Leader: They used to tell of cotton seed. Chorus.
Leader: As dinner for the Negro man. Chorus.
Leader: But, boy and girls, it's all a lie. Chorus.
Leader: We live in a fat land. Chorus.
Leader: Hog meat and hominy. Chorus.
Leader: Sweet potatoes and molasses. Chorus.
Leader: I gwine home to Africa. Chorus.
Leader: My overseer says so. Chorus.
Leader: He scold only bad Negroes. Chorus.
Leader: Here goes the corn, boys, etc. Chorus.
No master had a right to make his slave work
on Sunday, except in the ordinary household offices. However, we know of a minister, who also
planted tobacco. It had not rained until late in
the year, and the tobacco plants could not be set
out. During the service on Sunday there came a
fine rain. After the service was over, having
thanked God for his blessing, the minister called
on his Negroes to be off home and go to planting
at once. This the Negroes considered such a flagrant violation of morality and such a bad example, that they put him into their corn songs. We
were told, that he was actually sung out of the
neighborhood:Leader: 'Twas on a blessed Sabbath day.
Chorus: It rain, boys, it rain.
Leader: The parson say his prayers in church.
Chorus.


31




Leader: He cut the matter short, my friends.
Chorus.
Leader: Now's the time for planting 'bacco.
Chorus.
Leader: Come my Negroes get you home. Chorus.
Leader: Go draw your plants and set them out.
Chorus.
Leader: 'Twas on a blessed Sabbath day. Chorus.
Leader: Here's a pretty preacher for you, etc.
In the city of New Orleans, I know that the
slaves, or ex-slaves, followed in a way this same
custom, even if there was only one servant in the
house. The kindest master had to suffer for what
in the estimation of the Negro had been an injustice to his servant. The Nigger, in his or her
fury, ran out on the street and cried out at the
top of the voice, everything that could possibly
injure the honor and reputation of their master
or mistress, forgetting altogether the many deeds
of kindness that they had received from them.
This is the old-time Negro as I have known him
to be.
It is not only the color of the skin that draws
the line of distinction between the white and
black race, but the disposition and lack of intellect
as well. If you want to retain the respect of a
Negro, you have to avoid placing yourself on the
same level with him; as the overseers in Louisiana
put it: "The Negro must always feel that you are
white and he is black, or else he becomes so im

32




pudent that you can't get along with him." Today,
as far as I know, there has been no radical change
in the character of the average Negro, notwithstanding that his race has now enjoyed freedom
for almost three quarters of a century.
Of course, I do not mean to say that there were
no conscientious, faithful servants to be found
among the colored people. To illustrate: While
buying groceries in a store near our home in New
Orleans, there was also an old Negro present. An
elegantly dressed young gentleman passed by. He
noticed the old darkie, stopped and greeted him:
"hallo, uncle Ned, what are you doing here?" The
old man, with a broad smile, walked up to the
door, and after talking for a few minutes, the
gentleman passed on. The storekeeper made a remark as to the fancy friend of the Negro, who
then explained his connections with him: "I was
the slave of this gentleman's father. He commanded me to report to him whenever his children
did anything that was not right. I promised to
do so, and I did it many a time. The young man
you saw just now was the oldest boy. He just
hated me for always telling on him. Once he shook
his fist at me and said: 'after I get big, I'll kill
you'! He did get big, yet he didn't kill me, but
thanked me over and over again for having been
so obedient to his father in telling on him, thereby keeping him from becoming a bad boy. Whenever I am in trouble, he is always ready to help
me along."
33




Unfortunately there were but few Christian
masters, and but few Christian slaves. Nevertheless, there were some to be found. Some of the
slaveholders had extensive farms. At a small expenditure two or three neighbors erected a neat
church, in which their families and servants regularly worshiped. A few hundred dollars provided
a minister, preferably one who had been raised
among them, and knew the character of the colored man. Many did this in some of the Southern
States; and while the moral character of their servants changed for the better, they in most instances by their attention, industry and faithfulness, amply remunerated their owner. Some of
the most interesting colored congregations of the
South, thus provided for, were under the care of
self-mortifying, self-denying ministers, chosen
with special reference to the benefit of the colored
people. The masters did not only give their servants permission to go to church, but saw to it,
that they did go. - They permitted no hard
liquor to be used. The use of this had done the
Negroes and Indians more harm than an age could
repair, and it ruined many a master, for time and
eternity.
The owner of a plantation near the city of New
Orleans, with whom my father was personally acquainted, suggested to build a church for him on
his place, and offered him a salary much higher
than he was then receiving. (His congregation


34




was small and poor, and his salary amounted to
only thirty dollars per month.) Although he
would have been much better situated, and would
have had a comparatively very large church attendance, my father decided not to leave his little
German flock, since they, as well as their sistercongregation, had lost their pastor during a yellow fever epidemic shortly before, and it had been
no easy task to find a successor.
The Southerners abolished the slave trade, but
permitted the continuation of domestic slavery.
Slavery had its evil consequences, and in many
instances these consequences were only evil.
Every effort was used by the Southern States to
prevent this evil. We must not forget, that the old
States resisted the introduction of slaves into
their borders constantly before the Revolutionary
War. Their fathers could not be charged with
folly respecting this matter. They resisted, they
strove, they fought against it, as long as resistance
was of any avail. When they had it in their power
to resist successfully, by prohibiting the slave
trade, and refusing to participate in it, it was too
late, the deed was done, the foundation laid, the
colored man was there, and his posterity was
springing up apace in the land of his master.


35








CHAPTER IV








Chapter IV


FUGITIVE SLAVES
Slavery was introduced into this country soon
after the first settlement and was tolerated in the
Northern States until the ratification of the present Constitution. The slave was the property of
his master, subject to his orders, and to reasonable correction for misbehavior-was transferable like a chattel by gift or sale and was numbered among the assets in the hands of his executor or administrator. If the master was guilty of
a cruel or unreasonable castigation of his slave,
he was liable to be punished for the breach of the
peace; and the slave was allowed to demand sureties of the peace against a violent and barbarous
master, which generally caused a sale to another
master. And the issue of the female slave, according to the maxim of the civil law, was the property
of her master. Under these regulations the treatment of slaves was in general mild and humane,
and they suffered hardships not greater than hired
servants. Slaves were sometimes permitted to enjoy some privileges with the profits of which they
were enabled to purchase their manumission, and
liberty was frequently granted to a faithful slave
by the bounty of his master, sometimes in his life,
but more commonly by his will.
It was a very serious question when they came
39




to make the Constitution, what should be done
with their slaves.
The federal convention made provision for the
security of the South. The articles of Confederation contained the following words: "If any person bound to service or labor in any of the United
States shall escape into another State, he or she
shall not be discharged from such service or labor,
in consequence of any regulation subsisting in the
State to which they escape, but shall be delivered
up to the person justly claiming their service
or labor." This proposition was unanimously
adopted. Every one knew that slaves were held
to service or labor.
In some of the Northern States they had emancipated all their slaves. If any slaves from the
South would have gone there, and remained there
a certain time, they would have been entitled to
their freedom, so that their masters could not
have got them again. This would have been extremely prejudicial to the inhabitants of the
Southern States, and to prevent it the above clause
was inserted in the Constitution. The Southern
States were known to be more deeply interested
in slave labor than those of the North. It was
natural for this portion of the Union to fear that
the latter States might, under the influence of this
unhappy and exciting subject, be tempted to adopt
a course of legislation that would embarrass the
owners pursuing their fugitive slaves, if not dis40




charge them from service, and invite escape by affording a place of refuge. They already had some
experience of the perplexities in this respect.
If the slave came from one State into another,
in any other way than by the consent of his owner,
whether he came in as a fugitive or runaway, or
was brought in by those who had no authority so
to do, he could not be discharged under any law
of the latter State, but had to be delivered up on
claim of the party to whom his service or labor
might have been due.
No matter how much they may have deplored
the existence of slavery in any part of the Union,
as a national as well as a local evil, yet the right
of the master to reclaim his fugitive slave was secured to him by the federal Constitution.
All executive officers of the States were bound
by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution.
The President of the United States was solemnly
sworn to keep the Constitution of its inviolable.
This Constitution did most positively acknowledge
slavery, and the President himself was a slaveholder.
The Abolitionists triumphed in England about
1830. After the success of Abolition in England
it gave a powerful impulse to it in this country.
Before that t~ime the subject had been but little
agitated here. But few of the people of the Northern States claimed the privilege of regulating the
domestic concerns of the Southerners. But after
41




the success of Abolition in England, petitions began to pour into Congress.
The writer repeatedly heard old Anti-SlaveryMen in the North relate that the kind-hearted exslaves helped to support their former oppressors,
who had fought in the war for the purpose of keeping them in bondage. I do know of many freed
Negroes who deserted their place of birth after
the war, while under the impression that freedom
meant exemption from toil. After they had found
out that they could not make their living without
working for it, and often even could not find employment in the war-ruined land, they returned
to their old homes, offering to serve their former
masters under similar conditions as before, that
is: in place of wages in cash money, to furnish
them with food, lodging and clothing, for themselves and their children, and to provide for them
in sickness and old age, the same as their owners
did during the time of slavery.-Can this agreement be called "supporting" their former masters?


42




CHAPTER V








Chapter V


EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES, AS DEMANDED BY
ABOLITIONISTS
The whole Nation sanctioned slavery by adopting the Constitution of the United States, which
provided for the slaves, and for their restoration
(when fugitive) to their owners. The Constitution secured to the South its right of property in
their slaves, and that as one of the reserved rights
of the slaveholding States. Consequently the Free
States had no right to interfere in it at all, not
even the Congress of the United States.
The Southern States were not disposed to encourage the trade in slaves. They, with but few
exceptions, were averse to it. In their collective
as well as their individual capacity they resisted
it to the utmost. But now the slaves were there,
they were in their midst, they were forced on the
South. The right of slave property was the result
of purchase. As this purchase was forced on them,
the Southerners were convinced that their posterity ought not therefore, in justice, to be constrained to yield the same, procured as it was for
an equivalent, and permitted to their injury to
remain among them. They were not willing to
sacrifice it in any way to the demands of those
who had no right to dictate to them on this subject. A portion of those born in slavery, or per

45




haps innocently enslaved, were brought to the
South originally against the will of the Colonies
by the express law of the "mother country."
Therefore, the New States were convinced that
they could not be expected and ought not to be
required to turn loose in their midst, to their own
injury, that population which was comparatively
but in the commencement of civilized and political,
as well as mental and moral training.
The act of the legislature of Pennsylvania, for
the gradual Abolition of Slavery passed in 1780.
By this act every person, who was a slave, remained a slave. Children born were born free,
subject however to a temporary servitude till the
age of 28.
One class of well meaning persons in the North,
believing that much injustice had been done
towards the colored people by holding them in
slavery, were in a hurry to recompense them.
They did not remember that the blacks who were
brought to this country were slaves before, (see
Chapter IX, Part I) slaves to barbarous savages
of their own color; that far from suffering loss,
they were indeed gainers by the exchange, and
were perhaps saved from death. While the slaveholding States did not plead for slavery, or justify
it, they had no doubt that the condition of the
veriest slave in this country was so far superior,
both in comforts and attainments, to any African
Chief living on the coast of Africa, as day is supe

46




rior to night.-That America would ultimately
benefit Africa, was always the apology for the
slave trade.
Why did not the Abolitionists buy the slaves
and send them to Africa? Slave owners were willing to sell them at half of the price they could
get from a trader. Northerners might have gone
South, and bought a great many of the Negroes
and manumitted them. They did go South and
buy them, but they kept them, and worked them
as slaves too.
The Southerners admitted that slavery was attended by many and sore evils, to the slave, to the
owner, and to the country in which they resided.
But under the circumstances which attended the
introduction of slavery into the United States, and
those attendant on its existence as an institution
of the country made by violence, they believed
it not to be an actual sin to hold or own slaves.
They believed it would be a sin for them or any
man to visit the shores of Africa and kidnap persons and sell them into slavery. And, therefore,
that the English, who were accustomed to steal
them or cause them to be stolen, and to sell
African slaves and Indians into American and
other Colonies, committed a crime, for which God
would judge them. But as these slaves were forced
by positive enactment on the South, and notwithstanding Southern resistance, were quartered on
it, the Southern people did not believe it a sin,
47




although there may have been many and sore evils,
to retain them in bondage, until they could have
them removed with safety and with convenience
to themselves and the slaves, to some situation
adapted to the true nature and condition of the
African race.
The direct and immediate emancipation of all
slaves in the slaveholding States, unconditionally,
was demanded by the "Anti-Slavery- Association"
of New York, and of the Abolitionists in general,
already as early as 1841, twenty years before the
Civil War. There was no time allowed to prepare
for the mighty change, but it was to be the work
of an instant. A tract dealing with this subject
was addressed to the Hon. Henry Clay, and the
Southerners publicly committed the examination
of the same to the Rev. T. B. Thornton, President
of the Centenary College in Clinton, Mississippi,
who was not a slaveholder, nor had ever been
one. In an extensive volume, well worth to be
read, this gentleman presented to the public his
own views on the subject of slavery, and the historical facts given in this article are based mainly
on this work.
Such an Abolition of slavery in the South, being
fraught with consequences so repulsive to the feelings of the Whites, and evidently so dangerous
and subversive of the safety of both the white and
colored population, was not considered the proper
remedy against the evil of slavery. The South was
48




not willing to give up the fairest and most preferable portion of their happy country to thousands
of slaves, so distinctly marked, and raise them to
all the rights and immunities, political and social,
enjoyed by themselves, as free citizens. (This was
done in 1863.)
The declaration of the Abolitionists was:-"We
are for Union, not for Slavery. We will give up
the Union for the Abolition of Slavery, if nothing
else will gain it, but if we cannot gain it at all,
then the South is welcome to a dissolution-the
sooner the better."-We quote from the reply of
Rev. Thornton:-"Brethren, what say you? At
one fell stroke will you sever us forever from you?
Ah, dark will be the day when these things come
to pass!"
(By force of arms the Confederacy was brought
back to the Union.)








CHAPTER VI








Chapter VI


EQUALITY OF THE NEGRO
The plan set forth by Anti-Slavery-Men was,
that the next generation be "disenthralled from
narrow and despicable prejudices, which have
trammelled the present," and that the Negroes
should become one with the Whites. Physical incongruities were to be overcome. White and black
children were to be educated together, and then
their bloods to be mingled, and of it one blood be
formed. The white man was to be brought down
to a level with the Negro.
The Southerners were forced to the conclusion,
that this remedy suggested as a cure for the evil
of slavery, by the Abolitionists, was not the proper
one. That to turn loose thousands, indeed millions
of slaves, and raise them, so soon as "they can
feed or take care of themselves and their children, to all our rights and privileges, social, moral
and political," would have been to effect their destruction, if not that of their masters. The plain
truth was, Amalgamation being the only certain
bond by which any two races of people could possibly be bound together, and it being so repulsive in
itself to the Whites, it never could have taken place
to any extent. The Abolitionists saw and knew,
that intermarriage was the only possible way, in
which the two distinct races could become one Na

53




tion. Dr. Reese of New York suggested in reply
to this very point, "we will have potent, yea, omnipotent reasons for being 'disenthralled'; for we
should then be a Nation of Mulattoes and Mongrels."-There is no execration too great for such
vile enthusiasts! Equality, in this country, was
neither practicable nor desirable-nor is it so today. There is a line of demarcation, broad, deep
and impassable. Fanaticism may call this "unchristian prejudice," and suppose that the power
of religion will overcome it as it overcomes infidelity. But while we admit, that God "made all
men of one flesh," we deny that he did design all
men to mix and incorporate. (The offspring of
Whites and Negroes are never without a bodily
vice.) Although a Negro may become enlightened
by education, and be saved from sin by gospel
grace, God has drawn the line of distinction, and
beyond it nature cannot consent to pass and make
such a one (whose very smell is repulsive!) a
partner for life.
Should such a requisition ever be pressed upon
the South, the Southerners considered resistance,
though it be to the extermination of the colored
race, a solemn duty. (In the war there was no
pardon given to the Negroes who had taken up
arms against the South, on Island No. 10.) Rev.
Thornton:-"The waters of the old Potomac and
those of the Chesapeake, have never yet been
stained with the blood of our brothers. This coun

54




try has never yet been disgraced by a Civil War.
We pray God it never may!" (1861!)
Notwithstanding the depraved state of the
Negro, there were exceptional cases, even before
the war, where they were raised to social equality
with the Whites; Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, for
instance, with her tender feeling toward fugitive
slaves, raised Negro children with her own,despite of their offensive natural odor! We also
know of a wealthy Abolitionist in the North, who
proved his sympathy with the Blacks by giving
his own, beautiful young daughter, eighteen years
old, to a Negro in marriage. Even in the South
such things occurred. My father knew the English woman in New Orleans, who had married the
coal-black Negro, Ira Aldridge, and also their two
ugly Mulatto children.
It is not surprising, that a race naturally indolent, having few inducements to exertion, should
sit down in repose after being released from extorted toil. (So they did after the war in the
United States.) They are not a people who can
appreciate freedom, except as it affords exemption
from labor. They have little of that inward ardor
which springs from a consciousness of intellectual
or moral power; which prompts to enterprise;
which delights in activity; which pants after independence. Negroes are not fitted for self-government, neither morally nor Intellectually; and
therefore, even for their own benefit, must be con55




trolled by others. This remains true up to the
present day. (See Chapter IX, Part I.)
| Before the war, the question was often asked
in anxiety: "Will the Negroes, not admitted to
social equality, but possessed with full political
privileges, remain quiet and peaceable? Will they
submit to that social superiority, and rest contented with their political rights?" (It was a
great hazard, that the right of suffrage was given
to the Negroes; this mistake, in the course of time,
might possibly have led to the consequence above
indicated: a complete overthrow of existing institutions, the subversion of all order, the violation
of all rights.) 'Let the ignorant Negro be indoctrinated with notions of the rights of man; let
him be taught that all men are equal; that they
who once held them in bondage, are their oppressors, proud aristocrats, who live upon other men's
earnings; above all, let them be instructed to
know, that by union and concentration of their
strength, they might enjoy the plunder of the
whole land; that this will be nothing more than
the reclaiming of their rightful property, and the
restoring of things to their proper equality; let
these doctrines be infused into depraved mindsthe issue will be a thing not to be spoken of
prophetically, but to be gazed upon with horror."
After the right of suffrage was given to the
Negro, some so-called "legislature Niggers" often
visited with a Senator living next door to us.


56




They distinguished themselves not only by the
dark color of their skin, but also by the way they
dressed up in costly, loud-colored clothing, which
was invariably adorned with ripped seams, ragged
edges, missing buttons, dirty collars and cuffs,
etc., accompanied by an unmannerly conduct, that
was in harmony with their outward appearance.
We could not help sympathizing with the highborn and high-bred lady of the houseI often wondered about the keen observation of
the Southern Whites in regard to the "pure blood"
of their fellow-citizens, and their wonderful ability to distinguish it. I have never been fully able
to ascertain how it is possible to detect, at a single
glance, that there is Negro blood in a fair-skinned
Quadroon or Octoroon. (Even an Octoroon, when
married to a white man, may give birth to a coalblack baby.) I have been told that there is an
indescribable "something" about the eyes, and
others judge them by their nose, that is said to
have no split in it, as long as there is a trace of
Negro blood in the person.
To excite suspicion as to the pure blood of a
white man, is in the South considered a deadly
insult. A case of this kind occurred in our immediate neighborhood in New Orleans. The highly
educated young man who was concerned (blueeyed and light-haired), shot and killed on the spot
the one who had thus abused him.
No social connection is tolerated between the
57




black and the white race. The stockholders of the
French Opera reserved the right of refusing admittance to anyone they pleased without further
explanation. If tickets had been bought, the
money was returned. This may have seemed
strange to Northerners, and the Southern people
blamed for going too far in their prejudice. However, looking at it from another angle, it must be
admitted that social equality would sometimes
have resulted in marriage, and the possible consequences of such an alliance (as above indicated)
were certainly to be dreaded.
Gradually there may arise a better class among
the Blacks, who will possess property, and along
with it a sense of self-respect, and a consciousness
of new rights. Amalgamation of colors, may go on
to such a degree, that the individuality of the
European stock may be diffused throughout a hundred different complexions and shades, in such a
manner as to be well-nigh lost. (?)


58




CHAPTER VII








Chapter VII
FREE NEGROES BEFORE THE WAR
Direct, immediate (unconditional as it concerns
the master-not remunerating him for the loss of
his servants), unconditional and universal Emancipation, was the plan of Anti-Slavery-Men.
We quote from Rev. Thornton's writings:"Let us turn for a moment to the freed Negroes
of the United States. Not only those of the South,
but to those of the North also. The emancipation
of the slaves of the Middle States was gradual and
progressive. What is the condition of the free
colored people of these States? Here and there
you find industrious individuals, such as you sometimes see in the South. But as a whole, are they
not improvident, or lazy, or licentious, or profligate, or vile and villainous, perhaps all? We appeal now to facts, because, having lived a long
while where there are no Negroes in slavery at all,
we are prepared to judge in this matter. What is
the condition of the free Negroes in the District
of Columbia? Most of them live in wretchedness
and die in disgrace. The wretchedness of the
Negro population in Philadelphia, where there are
about 25,000 free Negroes, is beyond all human
calculation. It is indeed unparalleled in this country. Some of the most miserable creatures we ever
beheld, monuments of profligacy, laziness and
61




crime. Read for yourself, the statistics of the
Pennsylvania penitentiaries. If this is the condition of the colored people of the Free States,
what must be their situation in Slave States?
There the freed Negroes induce the slaves to steal
-there most of them are accustomed to spend
their all for drink. Their every effort to induce
industry and care is abortive, and because others
provide for them, idleness and profligacy ensue.
In a residence of several years in the midst of at
least five hundred free Negroes, where the land
was good, and several colored persons owners of
it, by the kindness of the Whites, in no one year
out of five years, if brought to testify to it on
oath, could we say that we believe the five hundred
made five hundred bushels of grain. Why then are
such persons permitted to live and depredate on
society? What would be their state, if two or three
millions were turned loose? Let the Abolitionists
who reside in New York consult their own eyes
and ears in seeing the laziness, the dirt, the debauchery and the crime of the free Blacks of that
city. Their want of prudence, their improvidence
of the future, and their restlessness of character,
have made them the prey of want, of every vice,
and almost every disease." (See Chapter IX, Part
I.)
A distinguished Virginia orator says:-"The
rapid increase of the free Negroes, by which their
number was extended in the last ten years from


62




fifteen to thirty thousand, if it has not endangered
our peace, has impaired the value of private property in a large section of our Country. Upon our
low lands," said Dr. Mercer, "it seems as if some
malediction had been shed-the habitations of our
fathers have sunk into ruins; the fields which they
tilled have become a wilderness. Such is the table
land between the valleys of our great rivers.
Those newly grown and almost impenetrable
thickets which have succeeded a wretched cultivation, shelter and conceal a wretched banditti,
consisting of the degraded, idle and vicious population who sally forth from their coverts, beneath
the obscurity of the night, and plunder the rich
proprietors of the valleys. They infest the suburbs of the towns and cities, where they become
the depositors of stolen goods, and schooled by
necessity, elude the vigilance of our defective
police." (See Chapter IX, Part I.)
Everyone living in the South before the war
knew the demoralizing effects of hundreds of free
Negroes being gathered together in neighborhoods. Quote:-"With us the Negroes greatly
preponderate in numbers, and it is simply a question whether they shall govern us or we shall
govern them; whether there shall be an African
or Anglo-American Government in the State; or
whether there shall be a Government of intelligent white men or of ignorant Negroes. To emancipate all of our Negroes would not be to endow


63




them with the moral and intellectual power to
govern themselves or others, but to sink into the
same debasement and misery which marks their
truly unhappy condition in the crowded and pestilent alleys of the great cities of the North, where
they are called free, but they are in fact a degraded caste, subjected to the worst of servitude,
the bondage of vice, of ignorance, of want and
misery." (See Chapter IX, Part I.)
To remedy all these evils, the Abolitionists
pointed out Amalgamnation. A mixture of blood, a
communion of civil and social rights-this was to
be the cure!
We will not descend to the low, ungenerous attacks on the entire South, winking at all the
crimes of cruelty, which by the misrepresentations
of others, were poured on the inhabitants thereof.
The Southerners did not neglect the untaught savage. Many of the American Negroes could read
and write, many of them were first rate business
men, farmers, merchants, clerks. Some of them
were scientific men, even a score of years before
the Civil War. Slaves they were, it is true, but
men of sound common sense and extensive reading. We are informed that some of them were
ordained preachers, good divines, regarded and
respected by all who knew them. Their wives and
daughters were equal in cleanliness, domestic qualities, qualifications and intelligence, with the
laboring white population of some States in the


64




North. Who instructed, who taught them all these
things but the Southerners? The declaration of
Abolitionists, respecting the Negroes' being "reduced to the condition of a brute" by slave-holders, was a gross slander.
To give a conscientious, truthful account of conditions prevailing before the Abolition of Slavery
in the year 1863, regarding the honor of countless,
innocently accused slave owners, who have now
passed away, is the object of this essay:-"Thou
shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."


6i








CHAPTER VIII








Chapter VIII


AFRICAN COLONIZATION
In 1790 there were about 8500 free Negroes in
Maryland. In 1830 there were upwards of 53,000.
Hence the political necessity of some definite plan
upon which they could be provided for. Colonization was the only practicable one.
We find the whole subject before the legislature
of Virginia in 1816. It was resolved that an Association be founded for the purpose of collecting
information of a plan for the Colonization of the
free people of color, with their consent, in Africa
or elsewhere. In less than one year after the organization of the Society, we find two distinguished citizens on their passage to Africa, engaged in assisting the Government of the United
States in selecting a suitable district of country
there, for the proposed settlement. In the same
year the cities of New York, Philadelphia and
Baltimore formed Societies. In 1818, the Congress
of the United States passed an act prohibiting the
stave trade. By that act, the President of the
United States was authorized to direct the armed
vessels of the United States to cruise on the coasts
of the United States and of Africa, and bring into
any port of the United States all ships which may
have taken on board any persons of color, in violation of the provisions of the acts of Congress


69




prohibiting the slave trade. It provided for the
reception and maintenance in the United States
of all recaptured Africans until they could be restored to their own country. The construction
given to that act by the President of the United
States, James Monroe, was such as brought the
general Government into a friendly, collateral alliance with the Societies.
In 1821 the Colonization Societies procured a
territory in Africa, a fertile soil, named Liberia,
which extended in 1832 from Grand Cape Mount
to Trade Town, a distance of 280 miles, and later
on embraced a much larger extent, both of coast
and the interior of the country. Monrovia, the
capital of Liberia, had, in 1845, wide and straight
streets, a fort, good schools, a public library, harbor and two thousand inhabitants. In the same
year, there were nine thousand free Negroes from
North America in this Colony. It was taken for
granted, that this Colony would, under suitable
patronage, gradually remove from our borders a
great social and political evil.
Colonization, at the time, did for the South
more than the worth of a million of dollars. It
secured on the coast of Africa a territory more
than sufficient for her free colored population, as
numerous as they were, and for all that would
hereafter, from time to time become free, for an
age to come. The result was altogether different
from the prediction of many in 1817. Then it was
7TO




alleged, "no territory can be secured on the African coast-no free Negro will ever voluntarily
leave the United States for Africa; and the expense, even if these difficulties were out of the
way, is too enormous." However, the fact is, that
the necessary money was collected, and thousands
of colored men and their families were transported
to Africa. But for the interference of Abolitionists, where there was one colored man a Colonist
in Liberia, there would have been one hundred.
Thousands of free Negroes have been deterred
from removing there, by abolition efforts.
Such was the state of affairs two decades before
the Civil War.
The view of Slavery from the Southern standpoint, which is herewith placed before the public,
is not intended to serve as a shameful means to
sanctify Slavery. Far from this attitude, the
Southerners, as a whole, were indeed sick and
tired of the Negroes already decades before they
were freed. Literature on this order has always
been suppressed-hence the great ignorance of the
Northerners. Being among the last survivors who
can bear testimony in regard to this subject, the
writer considers it a good deed to set right erroneous opinions, that even three quarters of a century did not wipe out.-How much of untold
misery could have been spared not only the white
population of the South, but also the poor, ignorant Negro, had there been a GRADUAL discontinuation of domestic Slavery!
71








CHAPTER IX








Chapter IX - Part I
THE COLONY OF LIBERIA AT THE PRESENT TIME
That I am enabled to round up the foregoing
History of the American Negro by giving some
information to the reader concerning the present
conditions prevailing in Liberia, I am indebted to
the publishers of a recent work: "Liberia rediscovered," by J. C. Young, who have kindly permitted me to make excerpts from this book. It
contains the most authentic matter regarding the
old African Home that was procured more than
a century ago by the United States for their free
Negro population. I take special pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to the author for permitting me to use his material.
I am giving a brief summary in the following
pages:
In 1817 the American Colonization Society was
formed and two years later the Congress of the
United States appropriated $100,000 to support
the new organization and "for the keep and deportation of the liberated Negroes." Since that
time the society maintained friendly assistance for
Liberia, the ward of America.
In 1820 the original band of settlers ventured
across the Atlantic to Africa, the land of their
origin. They planted a new home on a spot which
bore the name of "Slave Coast," a hunting ground
75




for the slavers of New England and Europe. It
was a sad homecoming! The account of their
struggle to survive is a chapter of the Negro's
story that does him credit. The mere fact of color
proving no bond of sympathy, the new-comers
found themselves in the midst of perils. How they
persevered against the jungle and its denizens,
human and otherwise, and finally won a place in
the wilds, makes up an impressive story of fortitude. A white American, Jehudi Ashman, guided
the settlers through the first years. The country
was named Liberia, an adaptation of "liberty."
Then the Liberians named their capital Monrovia
in honor of our fifth President.
In 1874 the American Colonization Society
ceded the territory previously acquired and Liberia
declared herself to be a Republic, setting up a
Constitution like our own.
The next decades saw a growth of frontier disputes with France and Great Britain, which controlled the adjacent territory then as now. In less
than forty years from the foundation of the little
Negro Republic, the two powers limited Liberian
frontiers and seven years later further encroachments took place, despite representations by the
United States. In the early years of the century
Liberia lost additional territory to which she laid
claim.
As events developed the Republic was subjected
to threatening gestures, accompanied by protests
76




from the French and British that Liberian tribes
periodically raided the territories of adjoining
Colonies. More and more frontier difficulties arose
and in Liberia the spirit of bitterness, especially
against the British, was ever increasing.
Liberia could not settle her financial troubles,
accompanied by internal troubles of many kinds,
except by outside help, because her troubles long
since passed the scope of her capacity.
This series of development led the Government
to request American assistance as a means of
maintaining the independence of the Republic.
The nation's appeal stirred the sympathy of the
President. He appointed a commission to study
conditions. In 1909 three members of this commission sailed for Monrovia. The commission
delved deeply into Liberian troubles, concluding
that the country did need assistance. The American Government, after long drawn discussion, arranged an international loan of $1,700,000.
Upon the outbreak of the war in 1914, the German cable station in Monrovia was a prize of war
much to be desired. The country produces palm
oil in quantities and palm oil is essential to the
making of munition. While Germany tried to hold
her own, the Allies eagerly grasped for cable and
oil. As the war advanced, by reason of American
influence, Liberia declared herself a belligerent
upon the Allied side. The United States being the
war chest, our Treasury established a credit of
77




$5,000,000 in favor of Liberia. However, when
the war was ended, Liberia's chances of getting
the money diminished. In an effort to obtain it,
Liberia sent a commission to the United States,
but to this day Liberia is waiting for the money
authorized but never advanced.
Meanwhile a new moral force appeared in the
world known as the League of Nations. One of
the special charges given to a section of the League
is the searching and uprooting of Slavery, under
any guise. From the foundation of the Liberian
Republic as well as before, there was Slavery [see
chapter I.-A. H.] and these conditions have persisted to the present day.
The League's International Commission of Enquiry was active in Liberia for a number of weeks.
It was stated that the Liberian population of
American extraction numbers no more than 10,000
and constitutes a governing class. The natives as
a whole have no voice in the Government.
Investigators reported: "The proceedings of the
Liberian Frontier Force in the Kru country are
tyrannical and highhanded in an explicable degree, and are exposing Kru population to personal
violence and outrage and the destruction of property.... The plantation town of Wolokri was
attacked in the night when the inhabitants were
asleep and totally unprepared. The soldiers poured
volleys into the huts. In the subsequent confusion
and flight women and children were ruthlessly
78




shot and killed. The whole area has been laid
waste and the towns have been burnt and pillaged.
Nothing remains of what were previously prosperous villages but a few charred posts.... Some
12,000 natives, who have been harried and subjected to punitive raids have taken refuge in the
bush, where they are existing under conditions of
extreme hardship."-Other examples of brutality,
pillaging and destruction were available on every
hand. [See chapter 6 and 7.-A. H.]
The request for assistance presented by the
Liberian Government could not be granted, because Liberia declined to carry out the only conditions on which it would be safe, or decent, or
proper for the League to assist her. Liberia did
show in every possible way her unfitness to be a
member of the League.
While these events were under way in Europe,
12,000,000 Negroes of the United States were
aroused to the threatened extinction of the Liberian Republic and joined in a concerted effort to
preserve the nation which has such intimate ties
with the Negroes of the United States.
The British member of the League of Nations
reported to the House of Lords: "The Negro community in the United States appears to be misinformed regarding the true state of affairs in
Liberia. We can understand and even sympathize
with their desire to prove to the world that the
Negro raece is capable not only of self-goternment
79




but of governing a subject people; but the fact
that Prof. Johnson, an American Negro, was one
of the Commission which exposed the slave-dealing and misrule, should show them that far from
establishing the prestige of the Negro race in the
eyes of the world by championing the cause of the
Liberian oligarchy, they are seriously injuring it.
Their assistance in carrying out the League plan
would be welcomed." [See chapter VI.-A. H.]
The views of other delegates are expressed in
the following:"It would be a dereliction of duty to civilization
if the misgovernment of the native tribes by
Liberia were to be allowed to continue, as it would
infallibly result in the encouragement of such evils
as slave-trading and the slaughter and maltreatment of 2,000,000 natives by the corrupt and inefficient oligarchy of Monrovia."-"Surely it is
one of the most lamentable tragedies of history
that those who went forth one hundred years ago
as the liberators of the members of their own race,
bearing the motto, 'Love of liberty has brought
us here,' should be continuing there in the face of
the civilized world as the oppressors of these people-about 10,000 Americo-Liberians tyrannizing
over 2,000,000 members of inoffensive native
tribes."
Liberia owes its foundation to American enterprise and philanthropy. The United States was
responsible for Liberia's creation, and has been
80




responsible, both politically and financially, for
her existence. Hence, the Americans appear to be
the only nation who can undertake the protectorate of Liberia.
According to latest news, the Republic of Liberia has now made a satisfactory agreement with
the United States.


Is




Chapter IX -Part II


AMERICAN ENTERPRISE IN LIBERIA
The chaotic condition of affairs in the Negro
Republic at the western tip of Africa was suddenly illuminated by a bright ray of hope for the
future, when Mr. Harvey S. Firestone selected
Liberia as a future source of rubber that would
free his company from a foreign rubber monopoly.
The country was brought to international prominence from that time on, while since the Civil War
her existence was well-nigh forgotten.
A full century had passed since the landing of
the freedmen. A third and fourth generation stood
in the place of the first. These were native Africans, but the American influence of their forebears still prevailed. Here, if anywhere on earth,
Americans could expect opportunity to develop a
great new enterprise without hindrance. Proof
abounded that rubber would grow well in Liberia.
Many new things developed with the twentieth
century. One of them was the need for rubber,
the indispensable commodity in this age of movement. When the World War broke out with a fury
unknown to civilization, the army which could
travel the swiftest had much the best chance of
victory: Rubber, plus gasoline. Without it, the
movements of army transport proved impossible.
Cut off from rubber, Germany suffered intensely.
82




In his interesting talks over the radio, Mr. Harvey
S. Firestone, Jr., told his listeners that one of the
most serious obstacles which the Germans faced
in the World War was the fact they have not been
shrewd enough to stock up with sufficient rubber
for a long period of time.-A. H.
The British growers held three-fourths of the
producing area in their hands. They proclaimed
that "One of our principal means of paying our
debt to the United States is in the provision of
rubber." The United States, at that time, used
three-fourths of all the rubber produced. Artificially high prices were then created by England.
Mr. Firestone condemned this measure and determined to fight against foreign domination. His
opinion was that Americans should produce their
own rubber.
American business never before engaged in such
an undertaking, waged against every obstacle a
primitive land could offer. A planting agreement
was prepared in mutually acceptable form and
enacted into law in 1926. The Firestone Plantations Company received the privilege to lease for
ninety-nine years up to 1,000,000 acres of land belonging to the public domain of Liberia.-It also
became necessary to consider the existing financial conditions and economic outlook of Liberia.
Firestone engaged to arrange a refunding loan to
pay her internal and external debts.


83




In 1927 thousands of natives thronged to the
plantation offering to take a hand in felling the
heavy jungle growth, which had to be cleared before planting could begin. In 1928 a wide area
had been cleared and the torch was applied, the
blaze sweeping over miles upon miles of fallen
timber. When the charred debris was removed,
the rubber men found their long sought plantations ready for planting. Millions of rubber trees
were planted, expected to yield within five or six
years.
In fall 1928 one hundred miles of new highways were ready. Until then Liberia was practically without a road. [The roads referred to by
a geographer in 1845 (see chapter VIII), were
probably neglected owing to laziness of the population-carelessness being an outstanding characteristic of the Negro.-A. H.]
The working force, native and American, had
grown until approximately 20,000 men labored for
the modern needs of civilization. Upward of
10,000,000 rubber trees are now growing upon
55,000 acres of retrieved jungle. Problems that
once seemed almost past solution have been overcome. Two power houses brought electric light,
power and refrigeration to the land. A modern
radio station also raises its towers toward the sky.
The new Liberia is stirring with activity and
enterprise, with life and hope!


84




NOTE: Readers interested in the details of the
facts which are briefly stated in the above, will
enjoy reading "Liberia Rediscovered," by James
C. Young. (Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York.
Publishers.)
A. H.












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I1998


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