The nation's sin and punishment, or, The hand of God visible in the overthrow of slavery

Front matter

) I i I

THE NATION'S

SIN AND PUNISHMENT;

Contents

PAGE.

Dedication. . , . . . . . . 5

Author's Introduction. , . . , .7

I. Wars— Just Or Unjust

I HAVE somewhere read, in history, of two brothers, who quarreled for the possession of a throne. The contest became so fierce, that each decided to raise an army, and to settle their claims on the field of blood. When the combat was over, the two brothers were found, side by side, in the embrace of death. Their mutual animosity had been so violent, that they had sought and encountered one another, in single combat, and had fallen, on the same spot, each pierced by the other's sword. This was a war between two brothers. —

The war now desolating this' once prosperous and happy country, is a war between brothers!

Tell me, 0 ye people of America, who boast of your Christianity, how, think you, a Holy God must look down, from his glorious habitation, on such a strife between brothers! How must the lessed and holy angels view sucli a contest as this ! With what sentiments must every truly devout and Christian philanthropist throughout the world, regard this grand display of rage and hellish passions! Can it be imagined, that pure and holy beings, either in heaven or upon earth, can look on such a contest with emotions of satisfaction or complacency? Does the exhibition of such demoniacal wrath, indicate that man was, originally, endowed with reason and a moral conscience ? that the image of Deity was instamped on his heart? and that he was made, in form and soul, erect, and superior to savage beasts whose nature thirsts for blood ?

The existence of war proves that man is a fallen being. He fell from his allegiance to a Holy God. This is the reason, and no other can be assigned, why he is ever made willing to imbrue his hand in the blood of his brother man. If it were not so, this earth would never have become the theater of wars, and deadly strifes ; but the whole family of Adam had remained united together, in the bonds of love and a sacred brotherhood.

What a terrible thing sin is ! It sowed the first seeds of discord ! It first caused the tocsin of war to be sounded in the peaceful realms of the new and green earth, which God created and designed as the abode of man ! It has strewn every battle-field with the dead and mangled corpses of earth's children !

What a frightful thing sin is ! No wonder a Holy God hates sin, with an infinite and eternal hatred !

View war, in its inception and in its progress — what are its paraphernalia, and its accompaniments ? Human ingenuity has been taxed to the utmost extent — science has been laid under contribution, to furnish the most deadly and destructive implements of death that could be invented.

See the opposing hosts drawn up in battle array ; they are members of the same common family of God, who have fallen out with one another, and are met to settle the controversy. The weapons of death gleam in their hands. The passions of hell rage and burn in their hearts. The trumpet sounds ! Wild and savage yells are heard ! It is the signal for the commencement of the slaughter — the battle begins ! There is a deafening roar of artillery — the plains are enveloped in clouds of smoke — the ground is strewn with the dead — the air is rent with the groans

1\

WARS — JUST OR UNJUST.

of the dying ! This is war I aye, this is honorable and christian warfare ! And this is the mode in which brethren choose to settle the differences that arise between them ! Can a righteous God approve of such horrible carnage ?

It has been represented that war is a necessary evil. It is so, only to the extent that sin abounds — for every war is the effect of sin.

Defensive wars are justifiable. The present civil war, as undertaken to defend and maintain the Government of the country, and to perpetuate the glorious inheritance of civil and religious liberty, bequeathed to us by our ancestors, is a necessary, and, therefore, a just war. But, as undertaken by the Rebels, to break up the Government, it is not a just war, but a horrible revolt against God, and against human rights. There was no imperative and absolute necessity, that forced them to engage in this war. They did it voluntarily, and without a just cause. Therefore, there is no palliation for their guilt, and the vengeance of a just God, is inflicted, and must be inflicted on them.

Notwithstanding that all wars are the result of sin, yet, as I have already intimated, some wars are just and necessary. And, it may be said, that, as permitted by the Supreme Being, all wars resuU in good to the human family. We cannot always tell what good, but sometimes we can.

We are sure that the war of our Independence, which laid the foundations of the greatest nation, and the best government on earth, effected an amount of good which it is scarcely possible for the human intellect to estimate.

The Mexican war was overruled for good, inasmuch as it resulted in wresting, from a state of anarchy and misrule, a large portion of this continent, and bringing it under the empire of freedom. It does not require the spirit of vaticination to foresee, at this late hour of the day, that the whole of this New World, discovered by Columbus, is destined to be brought under that Empire

of Freedom. ^ And who does not believe that this present great civil war, will be, in its results, as glorious for the family of man at large, as any that has ever preceded it, in the history of nations ?

In the first place, it will be the overthrow of Slavery, which has so long been a withering and blighting curse to the richest and most beautiful section of our wide domain. If that should be the only result, it will be worth all the blood and treasure expended in the achievement of so desirable an end. In all my reading, I must say, I have never read of a more matured system of fraud, and wholesale murder and oppression, than this system of slavery, which has been so long tolerated under the auspices of our, so called, free government. For one, I rejoice for my country, that it is to be blotted out forever. In the second place, the effect of this war, will be, to cement and strengthen the. bonds of the Union. There is little probability that we shall ever see another civil war in this land. If eleven powerful States, combining their resources and strength, could not succeed in breaking up the Government, but have been so severely punished for their mad undertaking, what likelihood is there, that any other States will ever, hereafter, venture upon a similar experiment? No, we believe that all our sectional disputes and differences that may hereafter arise, will be settled by ballots, and not by bullets. There will never be another appeal to arms to decide political questions and local disputes. It is something, surely, to have attained a purpose so desirable as this.

In tlie last place, this war has served to develope the fact, that the people of this country have a government which can maintain itself, not only against foreign enemies, but against domestic foes, and traitors at home. The fact has been illustrated, that there is, in the heart of the masses of the people, a love for the Union, even stronger than love for life itself, which would cause them to rally to the defence of that Union, when endangered, under any and all circumstances. If this civil war were ended to-day, we should have no fears in regard to the perpetuity of the Union, not even if the Nations of Europe should conspire together, for its destruction. In view of the future of our country, which was also the country of Washington and of Franklin, we can say, esto pcrpetua, in the full belief, that the ejaculation is not uttered in vain.

We see , therefore , how it is , that the Almighty sends war, and overrules it, for the accomplishment of great good to the nations. Doubtless, all the wars that have ever occurred in the world, have resulted in some good, although shortsighted mortals might not be able to discover it, at the moment.

The Lord hath said, in his word, that, he wiU

(yverturn, and overturn, and overturn, till he shall reign, whose right it is, and he will give him the kingdom. The most obvious meaning of this language is, that revolution shall succeed revolution among the nations, until the reign of Jesus Christ is established, and then, there shall be peace on earth.

All the wars that have been waged of late years, and all the changes that are now taking place, in the condition of nations, seem ordained to prepare the way for the reign of Jesus Christ. The two last wars in Europe, the Crimean and the Italian, broke the power of the two most formidable despotisms in the old world. And this great American war, is destined to subvert and destroy Slavery, in the new world.

The reign of Jesus Christ, will be one of universal peace and freedom. Previous to the birth of Christianity, Slavery prevailed generally throughout the world. But it has been gradually retreating, as the Cross has advanced in triumph, till now. I believe there are but two countries under the influence of the Christian Keligion, where slavery exists, viz ; the Spanish West Indies, and Brazil, in South America. And it is known, that, it is but an imperfect form of Christianity that exists in those countries. But we may rest assured, that, it will not be many years before they will be fully redeemed from the curse, and the shackles shall fall from the limbs of every slave.

There are many • signs which clearly indicate, that we are approaching the Millennial age of the world. Who can enumerate the discoveries and improvements in Science and Art, of the last fifty years, including the Steam Engine, the Eail Road, the Magnetic Telegraph, and a thousand other things, all of which are calculated to bring the scattered race of Adam nearer together, as one family, in the bonds of brotherhood and charity. And who can speak, in adequate terms, of the operations of the Press, in the diffusion of knowledge? The Bible has been translated into almost every spoken language, and millions of copies have been put into circulation.

Under this belief, of the near approach of the Millennium, I am willing to see revolution succeed revolution, in the affairs of nations. I rejoice to witness the great stoppings of the Almighty on the theater of the world. Nor do I feel dismayed, at the fearful overturnings and earthquakes, by which one gigantic system of tyranny after another is overthrown. I believe that we shall still hear of wars, and rumors of wars, according to the word of Jesus Christ. But, from the signs of the times, I believe these wars will speedily take place, and it will not be very long before the last battle shall be fought.

England, Spain, and perhaps some other nations have debts of long standing to be settled, which, I think, will be exacted of them before very long, in blood. If I know what justice is, and, if I can read aright, there must be such debts standing charged against them, in the Book of the Most High, and when the hour for settlement comes, as come it will, they must meet the account.

God does punish the nations for their sins! Our nation, to day, in sackcloth and ashes, attests the truth of this declaration. And if this favored land has been so severely judged, will He, can He, consistently with the principles of Eternal Justice, let other nations escape? As sure as God reigns on his throne in Heaven, he will not. The innocent blood shed by them, will be exacted of them, in turn.

There may be some now living, who, though not very young, may be permitted to see the last bloody conflict, which is to precede the dawning of the millennial day, when the olive branch of peace shall be seen throughout the world. The best commentators are of the opinion, that, the prophecies are nearly fulfilled, and that the commencement of that wished for, golden age of the world, is near at hand.

II. What Is Slavery?

« To a conscience, humanized by the influences

of a christian civilization, as well as to an enlightened reason, there is something repugnant in the theory, that one-half, or any portion, of the children of Adam, were born to be slaves and drudges for the other half. If the theory were true, one would suppose that men should come into the world, with some distinctive marks upon them, indicating to what destiny they were born. We receive the Bible account of the creation of man ; and, placing implicit confidence in the authenticity of that account, we cannot, for a moment, entertain the notion, that, during the first generation of man, even in the life-time of Adam, some of his sons and daughters were enslaved by the others, and bought and sold by them, as merchandise. But why not, if slavery is an Institution of Divine origin ? Surely, we have a right to suppose that every institution of a Divine nature— as marriage, and others which God established— must have flourished in the garden of Eden, and during the earlier ages, when the world was far more free from the eflects of sin, than it has been at any subsequent period ; yet there is nothing said of the existence of slavery in the garden of Eden, and, in the Mosaic account of the creation, there is no mention made of any such institution.

We have learned men and eminent theologians in our day, proclaiming the Divine origin of slavery. They are, at this hour, edifying their brethren throughout the Southern Confederacy, by teaching that this new government has been ordained of God, for the purpose of conserving and perpetuating the peculiar and Divine institution. I am acquainted with one of these reverend lecturers. An Englishman by birth, he settled first in Syracuse, N. Y., where he distinguished himself as an earnest and zealous advocate for abolition. Afterwards, he removed to the Soivth^and soon became equally earnest and zealous for the divine right of slavery, and, months before the war commenced, openly avowed and preached Secession from his pulpit.

Another lecturer, Dr. Palmer, is entitled to be considered as a leader in this class of divines. But he was born in South Carolina, and some allowance may be made for him, on account of the peculiar training and education he received in his youth. He asserted in a public discourse, in New Orleans, that the cause of the Confederacy was a more just and sacred cause, than that for which Washington and the Revolutionary fathers fought. He also declared publicly, that, he should lose his confidence in God, as a God of truth and justice, if he should give success to the arms of the North. How strikingly we see verified, in such cases, the old heathen adage, " Quern Deus vult perde7'e, prius dementatJ^

No, the most that can be said in &vor of slavery is, that, like war and many other evils that afflict the world, it was engendered by sin. It belongs to the same family of ills that were let loose, when Pandora's box was opened, to scourge humanity. To say that it was ever designed as a blessing to the human family, would be, in effect to affirm that the curse which Noah pronounced on Canaan, was a blessing ! It would be to put darkness for light ; to call evil good. And to assert that slaverv is a Christian Institution, would be tantamount to saying, that Christ did not come into the world to redeem men from under the curse of sin. But, to teach that the object of his Heavenly Mission to the earth, was to rivet the fetters of bondage on the slave, instead of breaking every yoke, is a piece of impiety bold enough to bring the blush of shame on the very cheeks of damnation.

No one, who makes any pretensions to piety, will controvert the position that slavery, as it exists, and as it has existed for long ages in the world, was originally produced by sin. It is one of the works of the Devil. But Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the Devil.

The principle that might makes right, is the principle that has practically governed the world, during Satan's dominion over it. It is the principle that has made slaves of one part of the family of man, and tyrants of another part of the same family.

The first slaves, as it is generally supposed, were captives taken in war, sold or distributed among the conquerors, and afterwards held by them as bondmen.

What would be thought by the civilized world, of any christian nation, who should sell the prisoners taken in war to be held as slaves for life, and their posterity? What would the philanthropists of England say, if our Government should cause the Confederate prisoners, taken in this war, to be sold into perpetual slavery ? Yet, if slavery is a Divine Institution, and if it was just in its origin, we ought to do this ; and certainly, no one could complain of the injustice, without finding fault with an ordinance of God ! As a measure of retaliation, it might be viewed as an act of retributive justice, for their enslavement of the Africans. And we know that the law of retaliation is strictly just, although militating againt a dispensation of mercy, like that under which we have been brought by the Gospel. Dr. Palmer and his fellow laborers in preaching their new gospel, could not complain of our Government, if they should sell every rebel captured, himself included in the number, to be forever hereafter held as slaves.

But instead of fighting for such a principle, we make war against it, and it is nothing but opposition to this new and diabolical theory, that has involved us in this terrible civil strife, and clothed our nation in sackcloth.

What is slavery? Analyze the thing — Let its foul and corrupt carcass be dissected, and if any one can see in it, aught but sin, he must look through a medium strangely distorted.

What is slavery? Man puts a chain on the limbs of his brother man, — deprives him of his freedom — calls him his slave — and compels him, with whip in hand, to do his bidding! This is slavery !

Laws are enacted, legalizing the act, and giving him the right to hold his victim as a slave. Laws are enacted by the stronger party — the miserable slave has no voice in enacting the law, and is powerless to resist it — He is not now his own man — He belongs to another. He cannot use his feet any longer to walk whither soever he will. He is not at liberty to employ his hands to do whatsoever he will — He is not free to exercise his reason to choose and determine for himself, what actions are right — He has no right to the use of speech, to utter what words he may think most suitable — but every member, and every faculty of his mind and body, belongs to another ; and he can only employ them, as instruments, to do the pleasure of another, whom he must call, master. This is Slavery. To say, that the Merciful Father willed it, — to call it a Divine Institution, may justly be considered as evidence of a perverted Intellect.

Has the wretched slave a wife now ? Has he a child ? Has he a father, or a mother ? Has he a legal right to cherish and protect his wife? Can he live with, and support her, according to God's Institution ? Can he educate his child, and train it in the way he should go, according to God's Command? Can he comfort and support his aged and infirm parents, as the dictates of natural affection, and the duties of religion require ?

No ! he has no right to his own wife — no right to his child — no right even to visit his old mother ! • — His wife has been sold and is the slave, or the mistress of another — His child belongs to another master, and has been transported to a distant state, and he shall never see that child again. This is slavery I To call it a Divine Institution would be to give utterance to that which would be nothing short of the boldest blasphemy.

Yet, this is the glorious Institution, for which the Southern people made war against their brethren. For the inestimable privilege of holding a portion of God's children in bondage, and carrying on a traffic in the bodies and souls of men, they rebelled against the ordinance of God, refusing to " be subject to the powers that beJ^

They were prosperous and happy under the best Government the wisdom of man ever devised, but they were not content. They wished to carry chains and slavery into new Territory, and to propagate the curse, where it had never existed. And because they could not obtain a guaranty, from the Government, of immunity and protection, in the accomplishment of the damnable purpose, they stained their souls with the crime of Treason. This is one of the fruits of Slavery ! " Every tree shall be known by its fruit."

III. Origin Of Afeican Slavery

If we may place any credence in the records of History, the first cargo of African Slaves was landed and sold in the island of Hispaniola, or St. Domingo. A severe retribution, as written in the subsequent history of that island, followed this invasion of the natural rights of man. Bancroft, in his inimitable work, remarks ; " Hayti, the first spot in America, that received African Slaves, was the first to set the example of African Liberty." For years, they have possessed and ruled the island, an enterprising and independent people. The tyrants, who held them in bondage, were put to death, or driven into exile, a significant display of the stern justice of Heaven I

The first slaves sold in the United States, then English Colonies, were brought from Africa, in a Dutch Man of War, which entered the mouth of James river, in the year 1620, four months before the landing of the Puritan pilgrims, on the rock of

ORIGIN OF AFRICAN SLAVERY. 31

Plymouth. So that, by a singular coincidence, tho vessels of the same country, Holland, brought both the pilgrims and the slaves, to our shores, in the course of the same memorable year.

If we would fully comprehend the origin of slavery, in our land, it will be necessary to follow the kidnappers to Africa, and understand the manner by which they originally established their right of property in the bodies of African men and women. We must not forget that the claim of a divine right has been set up, in this age of progress and reform.

If the kidnapper had a Divine warrant, or a special commission from Heaven, to alight on the shores of Africa, to murder and capture the defenceless inhabitants, and transport them to distant shores, as slaves, and if they could produce unquestionable evidence that they had such a commission, as the Jews could, when commanded by God to occupy the land of Canaan, we should be bound to pay some respect to the claim set up by the modern advocates of slavery. But I have never yet heard of any slave-pirate or kidnapper^ who even pretended that he had such a warrant or commission from God Almighty, to steal the children of Africa, and sell them into bondage I

32 ORIGIN OF AFRICAN SLAVERY.

I have, however, heard of one Johnny Hawkins, a Sir knight, and a notable person in his day, who was the first Englishman who engaged in the traffic, and enlisted Queen Elizabeth to protect him in the same, and to share in the profits. But how did he obtain his right and title? He tells his own story. He does not intimate that he had any commission from Heaven. He went to an African village of eight thousand inhabitants. The huts were covered with dry palm leaves, very combustible. He set fire to these, which were, soon, all in a blaze. In the midst of the terror and confusion that ensued, he captured two hundred and fifty of the innocent natives, and had them conveyed, in chains, on board of his ship. This was his first cargo to Hispaniola, from which he realized a rich return, in sugar, ginger, and pearls. The profits were so immense, that, the government of the English nation resolved to engage in the trade. Bancroft says that the Sovereign of England, " participated in the hazards, the profits, and the crimes, and became at once a smuggler and a slave merchant." The whole system had its foundation in crime and cupidity.

The slaveholders in our Southern States, obtained their right to own and hold these captured

ORIGIN OP AFRICAN SLAVERY. 33

Africans, as slaves, from Sir Johnny Hawkins, and others, who, like him, stole them from their native country. If the original kidnappers had no divine right to this species of property, it is a question, how those who purchased it from them, have come into the possession of such a right. If a thief has no valid right or title to the property, stolen by him, has the man who buys it of him, knowing it to be stolen property, a valid right or title to the same ?

I know that, as late as the year 1860, slaves were sold in Texas, Florida, and, perhaps, other Southern States, brought by kidnappers in pirate ships, direct from Africa, and, that some of these advocates for the Divine right of slavery, were the purchasers. I am not able to prefer any accusation against Dr. Palmer, as having been one of the number. But here is a question for him, and all of the same school of divinity, to consider : If the slaves owned by them at present, or at the time of Secession, were the children or the grand-children of those who were kidnapped in Africa, and to whom the kidnappers had no other claim thd.n a thiefs title, on what foundation do they now set up the claim of a Divine right? God shall judge these whited sepulchres I They

34 ORIGIN OF AFEICAN SLAVERY.

find their brother guilty of a skin not colored like their own, and they claim authority from King Jesus, to put a yoke of bondage on his neck, an iron chain on his ankle, and to make him their slave for life I

IV. Early Opposition To Slavery

We must do justice to the Church of Rome, to say, that it has ever and persistently opposed the institution of slavery. Soon after the discovery of the New World, by Columbus, the Sovereign PontilBfs were repeatedly importuned to give their sanction, not only to the enslavement of Africans, but also, of the aboriginal inhabitants of America. But they never yielded to these importunities. Even as early as the twelfth century, when Mahometans enslaved Christians, and Christians, in turn, enslaved Mahometans, and slavery was all but universal. Pope Alexander III., in the genuine spirit of Christianity, wrote, in one of his bulls, '^Mature having made no Slaves, all men have an equal right to Liberty." And after him. Pope Leo X. declared that, " not the Christian religion only, but nature herself cries out against the state qf Slavery, ^^ Another Pontiff, Paul III., even went

SO far, as to imprecate tlie curse of God, on Europeans who should enslave Indians, or any other class of men. These are facts which ought to be borne in mind, especially by slave-holding Catholics in America.

The first ship which sailed from New England for the coast of Guinea, to trade for negroes, belonged to two men of Boston, whose names were Thomas Keyser, and James Smith ; but there was such a cry of indignation, raised against them, throughout the country, that they were arrested, and brought before a civil magistrate, as malefactors and murderers. The cargo of Africans, was ordered to be sent back to their native country, at the public expense, with a letter, expressing the indignation of the General Court, at Iheir wrongs.

There was no slavery in Georgia, for years after it was first settled, and after it had been introduced into the neighboring state of South Carolina. It was excluded, during the life-time of General Oglethorpe, the first governor, because of the earnest and determined opposition of that wise and good man. By the third regulation, adopted for the government of the colony, under his superintendence, slavery was absolutely pro-

EARLY OPPOSITION TO SLAVEET. 37

scribed. Oglethorpe himself wrote, " Slavery is against the Gospel, as well as against the fundamental law of England. We refused to make a law^ ■permitting such a horrid crime."

Many of the settlers earnestly requested, that the introduction of negroes might be allowed ; and many even prepared to desert the colony, declaring that success was impossible without them. Notwithstanding, he sternly rejected their applications, saying, that he would have nothing further to do with the colony, if negroes should be introduced into Georgia. There is not a purer and more unblemished character, than that of Oglethorpe, among all those who had any thing to do with the settlement of the English colonies in America.