ANTI-SLAVERY sentiment is as old as the human family. It antedates the Bible; it was eloquent in the days of our Saviour; it preached the Gospel of Humanity in the palaces of the Cæsars and Antonies; its arguments shook the thrones of Europe during the Mediæval ages. And when the doctrine of property in man was driven out of Europe as an exile, and found a home in this New World in the West, the ancient and time-honored anti-slavery sentiment combined all that was good in brain, heart, and civilization, and hurled itself, with righteous indignation, against the institution of slavery, the perfected curse of the ages! And how wonderful that God should have committed the task of blotting out this terrible curse to Americans! And what "vessels of honor" they were whom the dear Lord chose "to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound!" Statesmen like Franklin, Rush, Hamilton, and Jay; divines like Hopkins, Edwards, and Stiles; philanthropists like Woolman, Lay, and Benezet! And the good Quakers—God bless them!—or Friends, which has so much tender meaning in it, did much to hasten the morning of freedom. In the poor Negro slave they saw Christ "an hungered," and they gave Him meat; "thirsty," and they gave Him drink; "a stranger," and they took Him in; "naked," and they clothed Him; "sick," and they visited Him; "in prison," and they came unto Him. Verily they knew their "neighbor."
They began their work of philanthropy as early as 1780. In Maryland,[12] Pennsylvania, and New Jersey the Friends emancipated all their slaves. At a single monthly meeting in Pennsylvania eleven hundred slaves were set at liberty. Nearly every Northern State had its anti-slavery society. They were charged with the humane task of ameliorating the condition of the Negro, and scattering modest literary documents that breathed the spirit of Christian love.
But the first apostle of Abolition Agitation was Benjamin Lundy. He was the John Baptist to the new era that was to witness the doing away of the law of bondage and the ushering in of the dispensation of universal brotherhood. He raised his voice against slave-keeping in Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Maryland. In 1821 he established an anti-slavery paper called "The Genius of Universal Emancipation," which he successively published in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington City,—and frequently en route during the tours he took through the country, wherever he could find a press. Once he made a tour of the free States, like another Apostle Paul, stirring up the love of the brethren for those who were in bonds, lecturing, obtaining subscribers, writing editorials, getting them printed where he could, stopping by the wayside to read his "proof," and directing and mailing his papers at the nearest post-office. Then, packing up his "column-rules," type, "heading," and "directing-book," he would journey on, a lone, solitary "Friend." He said in 1830:—
"I have, within the period above mentioned (ten years), sacrificed several thousands of dollars of my own hard earnings; I have travelled upwards of five thousand miles on foot and more than twenty thousand in other ways; have visited nineteen States of this Union, and held more than two hundred public meetings; have performed two voyages to the West Indies, by which means the emancipation of a considerable number of slaves has been effected, and I hope the way paved for the enfranchisement of many more."
He was a slight-built, wiry figure; but inflamed by a holy zeal for the cause of the oppressed, he was almost unconscious of the vast amount of work he was accomplishing. As a Quaker his methods were moderate. His journalistic voice was not a whirlwind nor the fire, but the still, small voice of persuasiveness. Though it was published in a slave mart, his paper, a monthly, was regarded as perfectly harmless. But away up in Vermont there was being edited, at Bennington, a paper called "The Journal of the Times." It was started chiefly to advocate the claims of John Quincy Adams to the Presidency, but much space was devoted to the subject of anti-slavery. The young editor of the above-named journal had had experience with several other papers previous to this—"The Free Press," of Newburyport, Mass., and "The National Philanthropist," of Boston. "The Genius of Universal Emancipation," was among the exchanges of "The Journal of the Times," and its sentiments greatly enthused the heart of the Vermont editor, who, under God, was destined to become the indefatigable leader of the Anti-slavery Movement in America, William Lloyd Garrison! To his advocacy of "temperance and peace" young Garrison added another excellent principle, intense hatred of slavery. He penned a petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, which he sent to all the postmasters in Vermont, beseeching them to secure signatures. As the postmasters of those days paid no postage for their letters, many names were secured. The petition created a genuine sensation in Congress. The "Journal of Commerce" about this time said:
"It appears from an article in 'The Journal of the Times,' a newspaper of some promise, just established in Bennington, Vt., that a petition to Congress for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia is about to be put in circulation in that State.
"The idea is an excellent one, and we hope it will meet with success. That Congress has a right to abolish slavery in that District seems reasonable, though we fear it will meet with some opposition, so very sensitive are the slave-holding community to every movement relating to the abolition of slavery. At the same time, it would furnish to the world a beautiful pledge of their sincerity if they would unite with the non-slave-holding States, and by a unanimous vote proclaim freedom to every soul within sight of the capital of this free government. We could then say, and the world would then admit our pretence, that the voice of the nation is against slavery, and throw back upon Great Britain that disgrace which is of right and justice her exclusive property."
Charmed by the originality, boldness, and humanity of Garrison, the meek little Quaker went to Boston by stage; and then, with staff in hand, walked to Bennington, Vt., to see the young man whose great heart-throbs for the slave he had felt in "The Journal of the Times." There, in the Green Mountains of Vermont, swept by the free air, and mantled by the pure snow, the meek Quaker communed with the strict Baptist, and they both took sweet counsel together. The bright torch that Garrison had held up to the people in Vermont was to be transferred to the people of Baltimore, who were "sitting in darkness." So, as a result of this conference, Garrison agreed to join Lundy in conducting "The Genius of Universal Emancipation." Accordingly, in September, 1829, Garrison took the principal charge of the Journal, enlarged it, and issued it as a weekly. Lundy was to travel, lecture, and solicit subscribers in its interest, and contribute to its editorial columns as he could from time to time.
Both men were equally against slavery: Lundy for gradual emancipation and colonization; but Garrison for immediate and unconditional emancipation. Garrison said of this difference: "But I wasn't much help to him, for he had been all for gradual emancipation, and as soon as I began to look into the matter, I became convinced that immediate abolition was the doctrine to be preached, and I scattered his subscribers like pigeons."
But the good "Friend" contemplated the destructive zeal of his young helper with the complacency so characteristic of his class, standing by his doctrine that every one should follow "his own light." But it was not long before Garrison made a bold attack upon one of the vilest features of the slave-trade, which put an end to his paper, and resulted in his arrest, trial for libel, conviction, and imprisonment. The story runs as follows:
"A certain ship, the 'Francis Todd,' from Newburyport, came to Baltimore and took in a load of slaves for the New Orleans market. All the harrowing cruelties and separations which attend the rending asunder of families and the sale of slaves, were enacted under the eyes of the youthful philanthropist, and in a burning article he denounced the inter-State slave-trade as piracy, and piracy of an aggravated and cruel kind, inasmuch as those born and educated in civilized and Christianized society have more sensibility to feel the evils thus inflicted than imbruted savages. He denounced the owners of the ship and all the parties in no measured terms, and expressed his determination to 'cover with thick infamy all who were engaged in the transaction.'"