On January 23rd in 1794, the Right Reverend, Richard Allen issued a plea to White people, titled To Those Who Keep Slaves, and Approve the Practice. In his address to them, he is issuing a plea, basically stating that it is not right, nor humane, and it is time to put an end to it. He begins his address by stating that wise men (and women) should think it is illogical to hold Black people in a “state of servitude” for the color of their skin. Black people are being not only looked down on, but are being held them by white people, making them incapable of moving forward in life, and excelling. Allen reminds them that the treatment they receive is worse than that shown to animals, because “[…] a merciful man would not doom a best to” this type …show more content…
of servitude, and adds that ”[…] you try what you can, to prevent our rising from a state of barbarism you represent us to be in […]”. Allen shames them and reminds them that black people, too, are capable of thoughts and are able to “[…] reflect, and feel injuries […]” , as well. While he is letting them know that if they were to be put through what they have endured, white people may feel more of a resentment and lash out with more revenge than black people. What I find interesting is that, while Allen tries to show them how they have reduced black people to nothing, and he is trying to be harsh in his address to them, Allen also is cautious in that he shows them respect by using terms such as “great oppressors” when speaking of them. Allen continues his address by proposing that white people engage in an experiment, where they take “a few black children, and cultivate their minds with the same care, and let them have the same prospect in view as to living in the world, as you would wish for your own children, you would find upon the trial, they were not inferior in mental endowments.” Doing so, white people will realize that there would not be a difference in the learning capabilities of black children, and in showing them the same care as their own children, they would be afforded the same opportunities to succeed in life. Again, in a matter of making sure he shows respect, lets them know that his address is not trying to upset them, but show them that slavery is not forward-thinking. As a Reverend, Allen plays on their religious beliefs, and continues his address by reminding them that God is not on their side and slavery is in fact a sinful act. Furthermore, he injects fear of the repercussions they might face as “ God who hath destroyed kings and princes, for their oppression of the poor slaves.” He gives them a specific example from the Egypitians, as he states “Pharoah and his princes with the posterity of king Saul, were destroyed by the protector and avenger of slaves.” Allen continues his address by stating that while Israelites may not have been prepared for freedom, and it took them a while to get back on their own two feet, doing away with slavery, and granting black people with their freedom so that they can, themselves, learn to live, is the proper thing to do. He tells them this by directly stating to them: “Would you not suppose the Israelites to be utterly unfit for freedom, and that it was impossible for them, to obtain to any degree of excellence? Their history shews how slavery had debased their spirits. Men must be wilfully blind, and extremely partial, that cannot see the contrary effects of liberty and slavery upon the mind of man; I truly confess the vile habits often acquired in a state of servitude, are not easily thrown off; the example of the Israelites shews, who with all that Moses could do to reclaim them from it, still continued in their habits more or less; and why will you look for better from us, why will you look for grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? it is in our posterity enjoying the same privileges with your own, that you ought to look for better things.” Again, playing to their religious beliefs, he pleads with them to not do as Pharoah did, and asks them to let God be their guide in doing away with slavery. Ultimately, it is he (God) who they will have to face and be judged by, and they would not want this pinged on them when declaring their sins, as it is not okay through god’s eyes. Moreover, it is through God’s eyes that black people will find forgiveness in their heart’s to what has been done to them. To his Allen says: “That God who knows the hearts of all men, and the propensity of a slave to hate his oppressor, hath strictly forbidden it to his chosen people, "Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land." Deut.
23. 7. The meek and humble Jesus, the great pattern of humanity, and every other virtue that can adorn and dignify men, hath commanded to love our enemies, to do good to them that hate and despitefully use us. I feel the obligations, I wish to impress them on the minds of our colored brethren, and that we may all forgive you, as we wish to be forgiven, we think it a great mercy to have all anger and bitterness removed from our minds; I appeal to your own feelings, if it is not very disquieting to feel yourselves under dominion of wrathful disposition.” Allen continues his plea by stating that if they can’t find it in their hearts to end slavery, they should do so for their love of their own children, country, and god. And adds that this (keeping slaves) should not be passed down another generation by noting that they should “clear your hands from slaves, burthen not your children or your country with them […].” Furthermore, he asks them to consider that the color of their skin should not mean that they be kept imprisoned and looked as less than in
society. Allen wants white people to realize that have some acted out against being held as slaves, but merely acted out of desperation and not with any animosity against them. He states: “I will also shew why they appear contented as they can in your sight, but the dreadful insurrections they have made when opportunity has offered, is enough to convince a reasonable man, that great uneasiness and not contentment, is the inhabitant of their hearts.” Allen finishes his plea by asking them to be on the right side of God, and do as he has done before. By showing mercy to black people and allowing them to have their freedom, they (white people) will also be liberated of any and all sins, and join all those who have done the right thing in the past, and help those who cannot help themselves. Rt. Rev. Richard Allen makes a valiant and well calculated effort in the movement to abolish slavery, by using all of the tools at his disposal, to address his (and black people) oppressors. Relying on heart, emotion, and religion, he sheds light on what those being oppressed are feeling. While reminding them that they too will face repercussions by being on the wrong side of history, and ultimately, that it is still not too late to do the right thing.
The author Kevin Bales ,and co-writer Ron Soodalter, discuss the issues pertaining to forced labor in “Slavery in The Land of The Free”. Free The Slaves is a non-profit organization in Washington that Bales founded to help end slavery not only in the United States, but around the world. The Abraham Lincoln Institute has the honor to have the established historian, Soodalter, serve on it’s board.The two authors also wrote a book by the name of “The Slave Next Door: Human trafficking and Slavery in America Today” (2009). One of the issues that Bales and Soodalter effectively touch on is how widespread the issue of human trafficking and slavery is in
He talks about how the emancipation is very important to us African Americans, but to other white people it was just a speech because it did not really involve them, so they really just did not care because it was not their history. As Americans, I feel we share the same history because it was just not the blacks that got everything passed for them, but it was also the whites because we all played a separate part with it. When issues like this come up I just look back on the elections of my president Obama. Every one said that us as African Americans we got him into office both times, but if the whole black population would of voted just for Obama he would not have won.... ...
Along with his arguments of mental inferiority, Jefferson argues that blacks concede their inferiority through their submissiveness to the slave owners. This argument is met by Walkers’ appeal to the people for action. He states that, “unless we try to refute Mr. Jefferson’s arguments respecting us, we will only establish them” (Walker 18). It is an urgent call for action that urges not only blacks but other abolitionist, to stand up and fight against the stereotypes. He calls for black people to stop being submissive and to stand up for their rights. He also calls on blacks to not allow their oppression to hinder them from attaining as much knowledge as is reachable given their circumstances. He uses Jefferson’s demeaning statements to incite black people to rise up against the injustices being done to them. Through his derogatory statements towards black people, Jefferson, the champion of equality, is inadvertently giving Walker a means to inflame the fight in black people.
For more than two hundred years, a certain group of people lived in misery; conditions so inhumane that the only simile that can compare to such, would be the image of a caged animal dying to live, yet whose live is perished by the awful chains that dragged him back into a dark world of torture and misfortune. Yes, I am referring to African Americans, whose beautiful heritage, one which is full of cultural beauty and extraordinary people, was stained by the privilege given to white men at one point in the history of the United States. Though slavery has been “abolished” for quite some years; or perhaps it is the ideal driven to us by our modern society and the lines that make up our constitution, there is a new kind of slavery. One which in
He compares their situation as being on a “lonely island of poverty” (2) in a “vast ocean of material prosperity” (2) which displays the atrocious position of colored people and further expands on this by describing how “The Negro is still at the bottom of the economic ladder” (2) which presents the injustice faced by these impoverished population. His adopting of these phrases is in order influence his audience to not only realize the harsh realities, but to prompt them to seek true freedom for everyone. The examples employed by King leave the reader with a sense of understanding of why King has his powerful ambitions.
“The right to have a slave implies the right in some one to make a slave; that right must be equal and mutual, and this would resolve society into a state of perpetual war.” Senator William Steward, an anti-slavery supporter, issued this claim in his “There is a Higher Law than the Constitution” speech. Steward, like all abolitionist, viewed all of man as equals. This equality came from the “higher law” that is the Bible. Since all men were created by God then all men were equals in God’s eyes. Abolitionist believed that whites had no more right to make a slave out of a African American than the African American had to make a slave out of a white man.
Prominent abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, in his speech, No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery, paints a picture depicting the idea that all men must free as endowed upon them by God. Garrison carefully crafts scenes which demonstrate logos, ethos, and kairos used in such a way to where they effectively establish and strengthen his claim. His purpose is to prove that slavery is an evil creation and must be abolished for there is no compromising with it. He adopts an affirmative tone in order to convince his readers that slavery is evil and must be removed in its entirety, without any kind of bargain being made.
William Pitt talks in a way that persuades people to believe him and actually feel what he is saying. In his speech about slave trade and why it should be abolished, he uses multiple strategies in order to get his point across. In the beginning of his speech he uses a series of rhetorical questions “If then we feel… If we view… If we shudder” (Safire 657.) he uses these questions in order to amend the motion on abolishing slave trade. William Pitt the younger believed that slave trade should be abolished because it is not advantageous to Great Britain it actually is most destructive and ruins the economy by “supplying our plantations with negroes” and it goes against the first principle of justice.
He mentions the very recent violence that occurred in Selma, Alabama; where African Americans were attacked by police while preparing to march to Montgomery to protest voting rights discrimination. Without mentioning this violent event that occurred a week prior, there would not be much timeliness to his argument, and it wouldn’t have been as effective. The timeliness of his argument gave the speech a lot more meaning, and it heightened the emotions of many who heard the address. He is appealing to the emotions of many American people, both Congressmen and ordinary citizens, to encourage them to support his cause. He reminds us of all of the Americans around the world that are risking their lives for our freedom. He refers to them as “guardians of our liberty.” He also address the problem as the whole nation should be concerned not just the north, the south, or the African American
The Petition of Slaves to the Massachusetts Legislature states, “your petitioners apprehend that they have in common with all other men a natural and unalienable right to that freedom which the Great Parent of the Universe has bestowed equally on all mankind and which they have never forfeited by any compact or agreement whatever, but…were unjustly dragged by the hand of cruel power from their dearest friends and some of them even torn from the embraces of their tender parents, from a populous, pleasant, and plentiful country and in violation of laws of nature and of nations and in defiance of all the tender feelings of humanity brought here either to be sold like beasts of burden and like them condemned to slavery for life, among a people professing the mild religion of Jesus, a people not insensible of the secrets of rational being nor without spirit to resent the unjust endeavors of others to reduce them to a state of bondage and subjection.” (“Voices of Freedom” 115) The petitioners continue to state that they are urgently awaiting the consideration of their petition “whereby they may be restored to the enjoyments of that which is the natural right of all men-and their children who were born in this land of liberty may not be held as slaves after they arrive at the age of twenty-one years. “ (“Voices of Freedom” 116) Besides economies and politics benefiting off the unjust servitude of Africans, they also gained power by taking advantage of colonists, who like the
David M. Oshinsky’s book “Worse Than Slavery” brings to life the reality that faced slaves after the abolishment of slavery. It recounts the lives that these men faced daily and it made me question the humanity of all those who were involved and question how as a society we let this ever happen. From the convicts being leased out to people who didn’t care about their well-being to a life back on a state ran plantation, where life was worse than it was for them as slaves. It showed just how unfair the justice system was for a black prisoner compared to a white prisoner. Their lives were worthless and replaceable and only mattered when they were thought to be worth something to someone.
In mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation he shows that our ancestors signed a contract, in which all human beings are created equal, and therefore should be treated in the same way as others. He also visualizes his ideas with visual examples, which everybody can understand. “America has given the black population a bad check, which has come back marked insufficient funds”( I Have a Dream) In one paragraph of his speech he mentions that the “black population has come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. but we refuse to believe, that the bank of justice is bankrupt and that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation” (316).
Many slave masters tried to defend owning slaves by claiming it’s not breaking any laws or hurting anything and in contrary it is actually bettering society. On November 27, 1789, John Brown wrote a letter to his brother Moses defending his right to take part in the slave trade. John Brown claims he needed to own slaves to pay back a debt in Europe. Which his debt would be left to his family if he were to pass away without fulfilling it. John Brown claims that if slaves weren’t with him they could be with someone else that could treat them worse. Brown views the slave trade as doing a favor to the slaves. In 1837, William Harper wrote, “Slavery in the Light of Ethics,” which can be summarized as we don’t know the effects of abolishing slavery and we should be worried of the aftermath if slavery was to be abolished. Putting an end to slavery would be bad for Southern
The word “slavery” brings back horrific memories of human beings. Bought and sold as property, and dehumanized with the risk and implementation of violence, at times nearly inhumane. The majority of people in the United States assumes and assures that slavery was eliminated during the nineteenth century with the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth; rather, slavery and the global slave trade continue to thrive till this day. In fact, it is likely that more individuals are becoming victims of human trafficking across borders against their will compared to the vast number of slaves that we know in earlier times. Slavery is no longer about legal ownership asserted, but instead legal ownership avoided, the thought provoking idea that with old slavery, slaves were maintained, compared to modern day slavery in which slaves are nearly disposable, under the same institutionalized systems in which violence and economic control over the disadvantaged is the common way of life. Modern day slavery is insidious to the public but still detrimental if not more than old American slavery.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free”. Which shows how even though the Emancipation Proclamation freed the African Americans from slavery, they still are not free because of segregation. He then transitions to the injustice and suffering that the African Americans face. He makes this argument when he proclaims, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream”.