Frederick Douglass on American Slavery

Extract This well known and popular advocate for the abolition of slavery, and who has recently arrived in this country on a mission tour in behalf of the cause to which he is so zealously and earnestly devoted, appeared before a Falkirk audience for the first time, in the Free Church, on Monday evening.1 Mr DOUGLASS, who, on rising, was received with great applause, said that he never stood up to address a public audience on the subject which was to engage their attention that night, without feeling extremely inadequate to come up to the expectations which may have been previously entertained in his favour. He would, however, humbly and unostentatiously lay the claims of his enslaved brethren before them, and craved a patient and indulgent hearing. Before doing so, however, he would remark, with regard to himself, that he was born a slave, and passed 21 years of his life in that degrading capacity; he had never enjoyed the benefits of a scholastic education. These disadvantages would plead his excuse when he appeared with his tale of woe before an intelligent and refined community. Mr Douglass then contrasted the system of slavery as it existed in Brazil, and other places, with that at present enforced in the Southern States of America, and fully proved that to the latter the comparison was anything but favourable. In the former, the slave, if enabled at any time, could purchase his freedom in terms of the law of the country – not so in the slave states of America without the consent of his master – whatever money or goods the slave possessed there at any time was not his own, but by the iniquitous slave law belonged to his master, and could be taken from him. Little prospect dawned for the poor negro there but to attempt to effect his escape to British soil, and this was attended with extraordinary risk and danger. There were, he noticed, 350,000 slaveholders in the United States, who owned about four millions of slaves, and these were liable at any time to be sold and resold at the slave markets like cattle to the highest bidder. Such an atrocious and debasing system called for its immediate abolition. The highway robber demands of the traveller “your money or your life”; in the same manner the slaveholder demands from the slave “your labour or your life.” Mr Douglass depicted a few instances which he witnessed of the cruel manner in which the slave was treated by his master for the most trivial offences; and an instance occurred on the plantation where he wrought of a poor negro, who, instead of coming as he was ordered by the slave-driver to the whipping post to be lashed, fled to the nearest river, and stood in the water up to the chin. He was, however, shot like a water fowl because he would not succumb. The lecturer afterwards entered upon the principle of slavery, which he characterised as a system which undermined the chief purpose of man’s creation, was contrary to divine law, and abhorrent to the best feelings of humanity. In referring to the present aspects of slavery, Mr Douglass compared the work which had been achieved during the last fifteen years by the abolitionists with what yet remained to be done. The question was at present engrossing public attention throughout all the States. A contest was going on in the House of Representatives regarding the election of a Speaker.2 The democratic party, strange to say, were not only for upholding slavery as it at present existed, but were for nationalising it, so that in the Northern States it might be respected with the view subsequently of being actually introduced. The Republican party, though holding anti-slavery views, were not abolitionists, and from the latest accounts could muster 105 votes, being within three of the required number to return their man. He had no doubt at the first election of a President, which would take place within eighteen months, that one holding anti-slavery views would be elected, and he had no fear but in a short time they would have an abolitionist President of their own choosing. Some doubts had been expressed as to a Speaker being elected at all; he had no fear of this, because each representative was paid at the rate of 3000 dollars a year, and not a single dollar could any representative draw until a Speaker was elected. The people of this country were too well acquainted with the wide-awake disposition of the Americans when they had anything to gain, to imagine that a Speaker would be long before being elected. In alluding to several doctors of divinity who had written in support of slavery, and in quoting their names, Mr Douglass, in pointed irony, observed that the system required considerable “doctoring,” and which certainly told against it in unmistakeable terms. (Cheers.) The promulgation of pro-slavery views by these doctors of divinity had done much in retarding the emancipation of the slave, and, he was of opinion, was more dangerous to the spread and growth of genuine Christianity than infidelity itself. Mr Douglass, after giving a few statistics with regard to slavery, from 1844 downwards, closed his thrilling address by referring to the assistance to the cause which had been given by the different anti-slavery associations in this country, and trusted that his mission would meet with that sympathy and support to which it was entitled. It need scarcely be stated, he said, that the money so contributed was applied for the purposes of supplying with clothing and money such fugitives as had effected their escape to Canada. The audience were also aware that he had established a paper several years ago, and which in his absence was conducted by his son,3 for the purpose of disseminating anti-slavery and abolitionist views. In doing so, he had almost insurmountable difficulties to contend against, and at times he was subjected to great inconvenience by post-office espionage. He was frequently grieved to find upon inquiry at the post-office that after all the other papers and letters were despatched for the day, his own papers were piled up as entire as when they were posted. Mr Douglass resumed his seat amid great applause.

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