A Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, An Essay on Slavery

by A. Woodward

Abolitionists may affect as much sanctity and philanthropy, as they please, and pile their maledictions and execrations on the heads of slave holders mountain high! They can call them murderers, thieves and robbers to their hearts content! They can anathematize better men than themselves; and denounce slavery as a curse, an evil, a hardship! They can call slavery by what name they choose! For it matters but little what they call it; nor what it really is; nor in what it originated; nor yet, what perpetuates it; nor what our feelings and views may be; for slavery exists in our midst; and has existed in our world as a civil institution, for more than three thousand years: and when God in his amazing condescension, unbounded benevolence, and infinite mercy vouchsafed to us a revelation of his will; he informed us in language clear and explicit, how we should treat it. The duties and obligations of ministers, and churches—of masters and servants, are unfolded and enforced in the Sacred Record; and he that errs, is without excuse. "But men have become wise above what is written." God, alone, was competent to decide what was best for masters and servants, individuals, and nations. We are all the work of his hands, and it is his prerogative to dictate to us laws for the guidance and regulation of our conduct. Those, then, who receive the Bible as a revelation of the will of God, and take it as their guide and counsellor; cannot consistently do otherwise, than to treat slavery and slaveholders in accordance with its clear and unmistakable injunctions, warnings and admonitions, a precept or practice from the Sacred Oracles, is practical infidelity; and I here, openly and boldly assert, that no intelligent man, who reads and believes the Bible to be the word of God, ever did, or ever will embrace the extreme views of the abolition party in the United States. No! It is impossible: for they are in direct opposition to the plainest declarations of the inspired writers—to the whole spirit and tenor of the Sacred Volume. I care not on whom this may fall; nor where it falls, it is true. I am well aware, that nine tenths of mankind, neither read nor think for themselves—particularly on subjects that relate to their duties and obligations to their Creator, or their fellow creatures! No! They suffer others to read and think for them; and by the by, they too often commit their consciences, and their souls, to the keeping of those whose object is to secure the fleece, though the devil take the flock!

I have said that God, alone, was competent to decide what was best under the circumstances for masters and servants, individuals and nations. I have clearly shown in the following chapters, that as masters and servants, and as a nation we cannot do better, than to faithfully observe and carry out the injunctions of Holy Writ—that the best interests of all concerned will be subserved thereby—that there is no other safe and practicable course—that the Bible, and the Bible alone, is a safe and sure guide in this emergency. We "may bite and devour each other;" speculate, wrangle and contend to no purpose. No good will ever grow out of it. I have shown that nothing is likely to mitigate the evils of slavery—or rather, its abuses; or in any reasonable time bring about its abolition, but a rigid adherence on the part of masters and servants, to the duties and obligations imposed on them in the Sacred Volume. That it is the duty of servants to love, serve and obey their masters, and that it is the duty of masters to enlighten the minds and elevate the characters of their slaves—to prepare them for self government and the enjoyment of liberty, and then to colonize them.

And I flatter myself, that I have clearly and indisputably demonstrated, that the African race in this country, are not yet prepared for freedom—and that they cannot enjoy freedom in our midst, provided they were prepared for it—and consequently that the African derives no benefit from emancipation if he remain among us. Hence, the propriety of manumitting slaves is, to say the least, doubtful, unless they are colonized. Every man of truth and candor, who is acquainted with the condition of slaves and free negroes, North and South, must admit, that the conditions of slaves is better, than that of free negroes.

Mrs. Stowe has labored hard to prove that there are evils and abuses in the treatment of slaves in the Southern States; but then she would have us substitute greater evils for lesser—according to the old proverb, "out of the frying pan into the fire." Many of the Southern people as deeply deplore these evils, and are as fully impressed with the necessity of removing them, as Mrs. Stowe or any one else; but hitherto they have been unable to decide upon any plan by which these evils could be removed—except, at least, to a very limited extent. They knew well, that if they manumitted their slaves, it would involve both the slaves and themselves in greater evils than African slavery itself, as it exists in the Southern States.

I beg leave to digress for a moment from the subject under discussion. Mrs. Stowe has told her tale about Southern slavery; and what a wondrous story it is! Remarkable indeed! She has told of deeds, dark and revolting! A tale of injustice and wrongs—oppression and woe! I admit there are, and ever have been, occasional and rare instances of acts of inhumanity and cruelty among Southern slaveholders; too shocking for recital! But if any one will be at the trouble to spend a few months in the Yankee States, and take for granted all that is related to him by busy-bodies, idlers and others that have nothing else to do but to talk about their neighbors; they will find no difficulty in gathering up material, out of which, they could manufacture as dark a tale as Uncle Tom's Cabin. The free negroes in the North could furnish material for a shocking story! But, ah! it is all a contemptibly low business; we had better quit talking about our neighbors. There are the best of reasons why we should not give full credence to village and neighborhood gossip, old women's stories, and free negroes tales. What we see, feel, taste and smell, we know to be true: and that is about all we do know. As for the remainder, it is as the breeze which plays around us, or passes over our heads. It is here, it is gone, and we know not from "whence it cometh, or whither it goeth?" nor yet what pestiferous emanations might perchance float in the current. The sooner we get rid of negro novels and village gossip, and neighborhood slander, and busy-bodies, and idlers, and loafers, and liars, and the whole crew, who have nothing else to do, but to meddle with people's business, the better. God speed the day when we shall all find better employment. But to return to the evils of slavery.

Slavery is not an evil to those involved in it, under all circumstances. There are circumstances, under which it may be a blessing to the slave—and a blessing it would have proved to the entire slave population in this country, if both masters and servants had complied with the requisitions of the Bible. None are so much to blame for the evils and hardships of slavery as the abolition party. No! none! Not the slaveholders themselves. They have incited the slaves to deeds for which they have been cruelly punished. In consequence of their unwarrantable interference, slaves that were, previous to such interference, pious, contented and happy, have become discontented, impertinent and perverse, and have been too often cruelly punished for their dereliction of duty. Ah! well do I recollect the time when the months of Southern clergyman were closed, when rigid laws were enacted—when so many restrictions were thrown around slaveholders. I then saw, and deplored the evil, and hoped, but hoped in vain, that Northern men would desist from a procedure, so fraught with mischief to masters and servants—so contrary to the laws of God—so opposed to every principle of humanity, justice, truth and righteousness. I must refer the reader to chapter three, and return to the proposition under investigation, that slavery is not, an evil under all circumstances.

The peculiar condition of an individual may be such, that he is fit for nothing but a slave. He maybe physically, mentally, and morally disqualified for any other condition or station in life. To such an individual slavery is not necessarily an evil; but, on the contrary, to him it may be a blessing and not a curse. He may be utterly incapable of making provision for his own wants. Servitude may be the only condition or station in life, in which he could be provided for, and enjoy happiness. The disabilities of such an individual is a misfortune; or, as it is generally termed, a curse, an evil; but the evil consists in the incompetence of the individual, and not in that condition or station in life, to which his incompetency subjects him. It is, (to use common parlance), a curse, or an evil, to be physically, mentally, and morally disqualified to enjoy the rights, privileges and immunities of a free man; but if such be the condition of the individual, slavery to him is a blessing. It is, at least the only condition or station in life, adapted to his peculiar circumstances, and the only one in which he would be likely to enjoy happiness. I have shown in chapter eight, that African slavery originated in the inferiority of the African race, and that their inferiority originated in the transgression of God's laws.

Hence, the evils of slavery have their origin in its abuses. They have resulted from the cupidity, cruelty and inhumanity of masters, and the disobedience and perverseness of servants. Under the circumstances that the African race became servants to the citizens of the United States, servitude to them would have been a blessing, and not a curse, if both masters and servants had obeyed the commands of God. I have alluded to this elsewhere, to which I must refer the reader.

But in order to clearly comprehend the argument, we must contemplate the African in his native state, and survey the peculiar circumstances under which he became a slave. A large portion of the negroes that were transported to the United States, and sold as slaves, were captives taken in war, and if they had not been transported to the United States, they would have been subjected to slavery in their native country.[^[1]] Was it not better for those poor captives to have become the servants of intelligent and humane men, in the United States, than to have become the slaves of barbarians of their own race? It certainly was, for I observed while a resident of the South, that negro overseers were the most cruel, barbarous wretches, that ever were clothed with a little brief authority. Yes, they are the most barbarous relentless demons, that ever flourished a rod over a fellow being's back. Men in an ignorant, semi-savage state, when clothed with authority, (or otherwise when they have others in their power,) are universally cruel. Where we find most ignorance, there will we, as a general rule, find least humanity, for I observed while in the South, that intelligent men were seldom cruel to their slaves. Cruel masters in the South, are generally individuals of low birth, who, in early life, were white servants themselves; but by some lucky turn they got hold of a little money, and purchased a few negroes. These mock lords are the most cruel masters, and the most pompous gentlemen in all the sunny South. Such men are universally dreaded by the African race in the South. I wish here to impress the reader's mind with the fact, that a native semi-savage African, must necessarily be a cruel master. We need but reflect on their ignorance, barbarism and brutality, to satisfy ourselves of the truth of the remark. I have alluded to the fact in Chapter 8, that one portion of the African race have been slaves to another, ever since the earliest dawn of history; and it is said that by far the larger portion are slaves. It is then certain, that most of the native Africans who were originally enslaved in the United States, would have been slaves in their own country, if they had not been transported to this country. Wretched as the condition of slaves may be in this country, what is American, to African slavery? Slavery in the United States was but an exchange of African, for American slavery. The condition of the slaves of the South is better than the native African, formerly, or now; yes, it is better than that of African masters, and it must be infinitely better than the condition of African slaves. As a general rule, the native Africans who were originally subjected to slavery in this country; were not, as is generally supposed, deprived of their liberties; for they were for the most part captives, or slaves, when they were sold to the slave dealers. The reader will please recollect, that I am not justifying the slave trade. I am simply stating facts; and I deem it essential that these facts should be understood. Those who wish to know what my views are on the subject of slavery, will be under the necessity of reading this volume through.

Most of the native Africans that were transported to this country, were not only the lowest grade of barbarians, but they were the servants of barbarians. Here, in the United States, they have enjoyed to a considerable extent, the advantages of civilization, and so far as religious instruction is concerned; there is not, I suppose, four millions of human beings on earth, of what are called the lower classes of society, white or black, who have had superior religious advantages. I have remarked, however, at the close of chapter 11, that in consequence of their ignorance; religious instruction had failed to produce that decided, thorough and permanent influence, which otherwise it might have done. But I think it probable that there are not four millions of ignorant illiterate human beings living, on whom the doctrines of Christianity have exerted as salutary an influence; nor can there be found a body of ministers of the gospel in the world, who have made so great sacrifices to Christianize the "lowly," as Mrs. Stowe chooses to denominate them. The devotion of the Southern clergy to the best interests of the poor African, is worthy of all praise. Men without a tithe of their piety may calumniate and reproach them; but there is one who seeth not as man seeth, who has taken cognizance of their sacrifices and "labors of love." Ah! my friends, you may deceive yourselves, and deceive one another, but of one thing you may rest assured—you cannot deceive your God. Nor are you as successful in deceiving your fellow creatures, as some of you probably imagine. Some of us understand you.