Editor's Note
A review is given, in the pages following, of the causes which led to the political issue of the '60s; an issue which will be open to argument until, in all of its bearings, it becomes understood through familiarity with the conditions of the past. Sentiment divorced from reason occasioned misconception. Many causes contributed to that effect. The lack of authentic records doubtless was one; certainly ill-advised publications inflamed, if they did not inspire, public opinion at this critical period.
The author was actuated by the desire to correct erroneous opinion in relation to the South. His manuscript has lain unpublished during the passing of half a century, till passion having cooled and prejudice abated, there is no longer reason for clash from difference of feeling upon the subject.
The African slave trade began in the year 1442, when Anthony Gonsalez, a Portuguese, took from the Gold Coast, ten negroes, which he carried to Lisbon. In 1481, the Portuguese built a fort on the Gold Coast, and as early as 1502, the Spaniards began to employ negroes in the mines of Hispaniola. In 1517, Charles V, Emperor of Spain, granted a patent to certain persons, for the supply of 4,000 negroes, annually, to the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Porto Rico. John Hawkins, afterwards knighted by Queen Elizabeth, got into his possession, partly by the sword and partly by other means, 300 negroes, and sold them in the West Indies. Hawkins' second voyage was patronized by Queen Elizabeth, who participated in the profits; and in 1618, in the reign of James I, the British government established a regular trade on the coast of Africa.
When negotiations for the slave traffic were first agitated, the cost to the victim seems not to have been considered. The white man's need—or greed—demanded sacrifice. The negro, a product of the "three-cornered rum, slave and molasses trade" was brought to New England to a condition offering few advantages beyond certain comforts which were to be provided by the master who was to assume all the obligations of the position.
Wrenched from his home, separated from his people, exiled to a foreign land, which was governed by laws maintained through penalties, the enforced emigrant was set to labor in unaccustomed ways under uncongenial circumstances.
The experiment of settling him in a manufacturing section proved disadvantageous to the investor. The demand for field labor furnished a Southern market; this occasioned his removal to that part of the country, his aptitude for the work kept him there.
His insurrectionary spirit made his training difficult. It was a trial of endurance for master as well as apprentice, but custom and good treatment tamed the wild nature of the latter and converted him into an important factor in Southern industries; to this day none other has been found to take his place in cotton or tobacco field.
He was also a form of property, and laws were made in that connection. That instances of abuse on the part of the owner arose was axiomatic—such is the history of life in every sphere, and that was neither a Utopian age nor country.
Having served its aim, the slave trade diminished, then ceased. The attitude of those engaging in and encouraging it altered, the base of operations changed, and there remained only the people of the slave-holding states (upon whom now fell the responsibility of the support of these nation wards) with any reason for interest in the subject. Perhaps it was inevitable that diverging interest should arise to cause the politics of the country to become affected through distrust of those who owned that particular form of property.
Originally acquired as a necessity, the slave's value lessened and the burden on his master increased, as other interests divided his attention. Legislation was resorted to without success in the enactment of measures for the abolishment of a system so firmly rooted.
In 1805, Mr. Jefferson wrote "I have given up all expectation of any early, provision for the extinguishment of slavery among us. There are many virtuous men who would make any sacrifices to effect it, many equally virtuous who believe it cannot be remedied." In 1814, however, Mr. Jefferson again urged the policy of emancipation.
That many owners were in sympathy with this proposed disposition of a vexed problem, is manifest from the records of the courts, which show that slaves were sent to Liberia, settled in the free states, permitted to purchase their freedom, bequeathed land and liberty by the masters who had held them.
A strange condition existed in the holding of slaves by free negroes. These were to be found in nearly all of the colonies and states where there were slaves. In some counties they were numerous, while in others they were unknown. In certain states this condition was at times forbidden by law, but often continued in spite of the law, tolerated or ignored; the laws upon the subject also varied from time to time. In other states free negroes were given the privilege of being masters by special statute or this liberty was covered by general laws.
Certain good was accomplished by the transportation of the African savage to a congenial clime among those who trained him to become a useful citizen. Under the tutelage of his master, he was guided, stage by stage, along the pathway to civilization by the law he recognized in his native land—that of coercion—till he attained his present status. Standing upon this vantage ground, it remains for him to work out his further advancement and to discover the position he can maintain. In the fact that some have made strides forward, and thus fitted themselves as leaders of the race, lies the hope and inspiration for the rest, an encouraging factor being the imitative faculty with which many are gifted.
Criticism today discovers that in the portrayal of the character of "Uncle Tom" Mrs. Stowe paid a glowing tribute to the achievement of the Southern master. Africa has not done as much for the brother left upon her soil, nor has the foreign missionary. We may still read of such practices as cannibalism on the western coast of the dark continent—even along the trail of the religious enthusiast. Taking then into account what has been accomplished, the claim that the Southern master was the most successful missionary can easily be proved.
We have no doubt but that some cause other than the avarice of the white man led to the rescue of the man of color from a life of ignorance and barbarism—to his expatriation to this country of opportunity—to his settlement under apprenticeship calculated to encourage self-helpfulness by developing his capabilities. To this end he passed through the probationary period of servitude.
General Early's review of the situation previous to the war, as here presented, illustrates the point of view of the people of the South. His attitude towards slavery took its color from his familiarity with the institution as it existed in the homes of those to whom it had become a natural condition of life. It was so incorporated with their daily living, and with the traditions of generations, that they became accustomed to it without considering the reasons for its establishment.
The author was never an investor in slaves, although he always possessed a negro servant. One who served till age enfeebled him, was retired on a pension. Another, cut short in his service by fatal disease, was respectfully followed to his last resting place by the master upon whom in health he had attended. His thoughtful care of his attendants and his liberality when trouble overtook them, won their affection and respect.
It may be understood then that interest in slaves as property did not enter into his defense of slavery as an institution of his country. No selfish thought prompted the use of his pen in the exposition of the unfairness of opinion abroad—but, imbued with a keen sense of right, he was actuated by the desire to dissipate that injustice which took possession of many minds—coloring their views and proving barriers to their sympathies.
To make clear his point of view by stating the true conditions which brought about slavery in the South and to define the relation which existed between master and slave, was the purpose of General Early in writing this real story of slavery as it was established in America, and as it continued to exist in that section of which it became the heritage.
R. H. Early.