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.