Complete Works of Harriet Beecher Stowe

by Harriet Beecher Stowe

  The public sentiment of the slave-states is the sentiment of men who have been thus educated, and in all that concerns the negro it is utterly blunted and paralysed. What would seem to them injustice and horrible wrong in the case of white persons, is the coolest matter of course in relation to slaves.

  As this educational influence descends from generation to generation, the moral sense becomes more and more blunted, and the power of discriminating right from wrong, in what relates to the subject race, more and more enfeebled.

  Thus, if we read the writings of distinguished men who were slave-holders about the time of our American revolution, what clear views do we find expressed of the injustice of slavery, what strong language of reprobation do we find applied to it! Nothing more forcible could possibly be said in relation to its evils than by quoting the language of such men as Washington, Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. In those days there were no men of that high class of mind who thought of such a thing as defending slavery on principle; now there are an abundance of the most distinguished men, North and South, statesmen, civilians, men of letters, even clergymen, who, in various degrees, palliate it, apologise for or openly defend it. And what is the cause of this, except that educational influences have corrupted public sentiment, and deprived them of the power of just judgment? The public opinion even of free America, with regard to slavery, is behind that of all other civilised nations.

  When the holders of slaves assert that they are, as a general thing, humanely treated, what do they mean? Not that they would consider such treatment humane if given to themselves and their children — no, indeed! — but it is humane for slaves.

  They do, in effect, place the negro below the range of humanity, and on a level with brutes, and then graduate all their ideas of humanity accordingly.

  They would not needlessly kick or abuse a dog or a negro. They may pet a dog, and they often do a negro. Men have been found who fancied having their horses elegantly lodged in marble stables, and to eat out of sculptured managers, but they thought them horses still; and, with all the indulgences with which good-natured masters sometimes surround the slave, he is to them but a negro still, and not a man.

  In what has been said in this chapter, and in what appears incidentally in all the facts cited throughout this volume, there is abundant proof that, notwithstanding there be frequent and most noble instances of generosity towards the negro, and although the sentiment of honourable men and the voice of Christian charity does everywhere protest against what it feels to be inhumanity, yet the popular sentiment engendered by the system must necessarily fall deplorably short of giving anything like sufficient protection to the rights of the slave. It will appear in the succeeding chapters, as it must already have appeared to reflecting minds, that the whole course of educational influence upon the mind of the slave-master is such as to deaden his mind to those appeals which come from the negro as a fellow-man and a brother.

  CHAPTER III.

  SEPARATION OF FAMILIES.

  “What must the difference be,” said Dr. Worthington, with startling energy,

  “between Isabel and her servants? To her it is loss of position, fortune, the fair

  hopes of life, perhaps even health; for she must inevitably break down under the

  unaccustomed labour and privations she will have to undergo. But to them it is

  merely a change of masters!”

  “Yes, for the neighbours won’t allow any of the families to be separated.”

  “Of course not. We read of such things in novels sometimes. But I have yet

  to see it in real life, except in rare cases, or where the slave has been guilty of

  some misdemeanour, or crime, for which, in the North, he would have been

  imprisoned, perhaps for life.”

  — Cabin and Parlour, by J. Thornton Randolph, .

  * * * * * * *

  “But they’re going to sell us all to Georgia, I say. How are we to escape

  that?”

  “Spec dare some mistake in dat,” replied Uncle Peter stoutly. “I nebber

  knew of sich a ting in dese parts, ‘cept where some niggar ‘d been berry bad.”

  BY such graphic touches as the above does Mr. Thornton Randolph represent to us the patriarchal stability and security of the slave population in the Old Dominion. Such a thing as a slave being sold out of the State has never been heard of by Dr. S. Worthington, except in rare case for some crime; and old Uncle Peter never heard of such a thing in his life.

  BY such graphic touches as the above does Mr. Thornton Randolph represent to us the patriarchal stability and security of the slave population in the Old Dominion. Such a thing as a slave being sold out of the State has never been heard of by Dr. S. Worthington, except in rare case for some crime; and old Uncle Peter never heard of such a thing in his life.

  Are these representations true?

  The worst abuse of the system of slavery is its outrage upon the family; and, as the writer views the subject, it is one which is more notorious and undeniable than any other.

  Yet it is upon this point that the most stringent and earnest denial has been made to the representations of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” either indirectly, as by the romance-writer above, or more directly in the assertions of newspapers, both at the North and at the South. When made at the North, they indicate, to say the least, very great ignorance of the subject; when made at the South, they certainly do very great injustice to the general character of the Southerner for truth and honesty. All sections of country have faults peculiar to themselves. The fault of the South, as a general thing, has not been cowardly evasion and deception. It was with utter surprise that the author read the following sentences in an article in Fraser’s Magazine, professing to come from a South Carolinian: —

  Mrs. Stowe’s favourite illustration of the master’s power to the injury of the slave is the separation of families. We are told of infants of ten months old being sold from the arms of their mothers, and of men whose habit it is to raise children, to sell away from their mother as soon as they are old enough to be separated. Were our views of this feature of slavery derived from Mrs. Stowe’s book, we should regard the families of slaves as utterly unsettled and vagrant.

  And again —

  We feel confident that, if statistics could be had to throw light upon this subject, we should find that there is less separation of families among the negroes than occurs with almost any other class of persons.

  As the author of the article, however, is evidently a man of honour, and expresses many most noble and praiseworthy sentiments, it cannot be supposed that these statements were put forth with any view to misrepresent or to deceive. They are only to be regarded as evidences of the facility with which a sanguine mind often overlooks the most glaring facts that make against a favourite idea or theory, or which are unfavourable in their bearings on one’s own country or family. Thus the citizens of some place notoriously unhealthy will come to believe, and assert, with the utmost sincerity, that there is actually less sickness in their town than any other of its size in the known world. Thus parents often think their children perfectly immaculate in just those particulars in which others see them to be most faulty. This solution of the phenomena is a natural and amiable one, and enables us to retain our respect for our Southern brethren.

  There is another circumstance, also, to be taken into account, in reading such assertions as these. It is evident, from the pamphlet in question, that the writer is one of the few who regard the possession of absolute irresponsible power as the highest of motives to moderation and temperance in its use. Such men are commonly associated in friendship and family connexion with others of similar views, and are very apt to fall into the error of judging others by themselves, and thinking that a thing may do for all the world because it operates well in their immediate circle. Also, it cannot but be a fact that the various circumstances which from infancy conspire to degrade and depress the negro in the eyes of a Southern-born ma
n — the constant habit of speaking of them, and hearing them spoken of, and seeing them advertised, as mere articles of property, often in connexion with horses, mules, fodder, swine,&c., as they are almost daily in every Southern paper — must tend, even in the best-constituted minds, to produce a certain obtuseness with regard to the interests, sufferings, and affections, of such as do not particularly belong to himself, which will peculiarly unfit him for estimating their condition. The author has often been singularly struck with this fact, in the letters of Southern friends; in which, upon one page, they will make some assertion regarding the condition of Southern negroes, and then go on, and in other connexions state facts which apparently contradict them all. We can all be aware how this familiarity would operate with ourselves. Were we called upon to state how often our neighbours’ cows were separated from their calves, or how often their household furniture and other effects are scattered and dispersed by executors’ sales, we should be inclined to say that it was not a misfortune of very common occurrence.

  But let us open two South Carolina papers, published in the very State where this gentleman is residing, and read the advertisements FOR ONE WEEK. The author has slightly abridged them: —

  COMMISSIONERS’ SALE OF TWELVE LIKELY NEGROES. FAIRFIELD DISTRICT.

  R. W. Murray and Wife and others v. William Wright and Wife and others, In Equity.

  In pursuance of an order of the Court of Equity made in the above case at July Term, 1852, I will sell at public outcry,” to the highest bidder, before the Court House in Winnsboro’, on the first Monday in January next, TWELVE VERY LIKELY NEGROES.

  belonging to the estate of Micajah Mobley, deceased, late of Fairfield District.

  These negroes consist chiefly of young boys and girls, and are said to be very likely.

  Terms of Sale,&c.

  W. R. ROBERTSON, C. E. F. D.

  Commissioners’ Office, Winnsboro’, Nov. 30. 1852.

  Dec. 2. 42 x4.

  ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.

  Will be sold at public outcry, to the highest bidder, on Tuesday, the 21st day of December next, at the late residence of Mrs. M. P. Rabb, deceased, all of the personal estate of said deceased, consisting in part of about —

  2,000 Bushels of Corn.

  25,000 Pounds of Fodder.

  Wheat — Cotton Seed.

  Horses, Mules, Cattle, Hogs, Sheep.

  There will, in all probability, be sold at the same time and place several likely Young Negroes.

  The Terms of Sale will be — all sums under Twenty-five Dollars, Cash. All sums of Twenty-five Dollars and over, twelve months’ credit, with interest, from day of Sale, secured by note and two approved securities.

  WILLIAM S. RABB, Administrator.

  Nov. 11. 39 x2.

  COMMISSIONERS’ SALE OF LAND AND NEGROES. FAIRFIELD DISTRICT.

  James E. Caldwell, Administrator, with the Will annexed of Jacob Gibson, deceased, v. Jason D. Gibson and Others, In Equity.

  In pursuance of the order of sale made in the above case, I will sell at public outcry, to the highest bidder, before the Court House in Winnsboro’, on the first Monday in January next, and the day following, the following real and personal estate of Jacob Gibson, deceased, late of Fairfield District, to wit:

  The plantation on which the testator lived at the time of his death, containing 661 acres, more or less, lying on the waters of Wateree Creek, and bounded by lands of Samuel Johnston, Theodore S. du Bose, Edward P. Mobley, B. R. Cockrell. This plantation will be sold in two separate tracts, plats of which will be exhibited on the day of sale:

  FORTY-SIX PRIME LIKELY NEGROES,

  Consisting of Waggoners, Blacksmiths, Cooks, House Servants,&c.

  W. R. ROBERTSON, C. E. F. D.

  Commissioners’ Office, Winnsboro’, 29th Nov., 1852.

  ESTATE SALE. — FIFTY PRIME NEGROES. BY J. & L. T. LEVIN.

  On the first Monday in January next I will sell, before the Court House in Columbia, 50 of as likely Negroes as have ever been exposed to public sale, belonging to the estate of A. P. Vinson, deceased. The Negroes have been well cared for, and well managed in every respect. Persons wishing to purchase will not, it is confidently believed, have a better opportunity to supply themselves.

  J. H. ADAMS, Executor.

  Nov. 18. 40 x3

  ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.

  Will be sold on the 15th December next, at the late residence of Samuel Moore, deceased, in York District, all the personal property of said deceased, consisting of

  THIRTY-FIVE LIKELY NEGROES;

  a quantity of Cotton and Corn, Horses and Mules, Farming Tools, Household and Kitchen Furniture, with many other articles.

  SAMUEL E. MOORE, Administrator.

  Nov. 18. 40 x4t

  ADMINISTRATOR’S SALE.

  Will be sold at public outcry to the highest bidder, on Tuesday, the 14th day of December next, at the late residence of Robert W. Durham, deceased, in Fairfield District, all of the personal estate of said deceased; consisting in part as follows:

  50 PRIME LIKELY NEGROES.

  About 3000 Bushels of Corn.

  A large quantity of Fodder.

  Wheat, Oats, Cow Peas, Rye, Cotton Seed, Horses, Mules, Cattle, Hogs, Sheep.

  C. H. DURHAM, Administrator.

  Nov. 23.

  SHERIFF’S SALE.

  By virtue of sundry executions to me directed, I will sell at Fairfield Court House, on the first Monday, and the day following, in December next, within the legal hours of sale, to the highest bidder, for cash, the following property. Purchasers to pay for titles.

  2 NEGROES, levied upon as the property of Allen R. Crankfield, at the suit of Alexander Brodie, et al.

  2 Horses and 1 Jennet, levied upon as the property of Allen R. Crankfield, at the suit of Alexander Brodie.

  2 Mules, levied upon as the property of Allen R. Crankfield, at the suit of Temperance E. Miller and J. W. Miller.

  1 pair of Cart Wheels, levied upon as the property of Allen R. Crankfield, at the suit of Temperance E. Miller and J. W. Miller.

  1 Chest of Drawers, levied upon as the property of Allen R. Crankfield, at the suit of Temperance E. Miller and J. W. Miller.

  1 Bedstead, levied upon as the property of Allen R. Crankfield, at the suit of Temperance E. Miller and J. W. Miller.

  1 NEGRO, levied upon as the property of R. J. Gladney, at the suit of James Camak.

  1 NEGRO, levied upon as the property of Geo. McCormick, at the suit of W. M. Phifer.

  1 Riding Saddle, to be sold under an assignment of G. W. Boulware to J. B. Mickle, in the case of Geo. Murphy, Jr., v. G. W. Boulware.

  R. E. ELLISON, S. F. D.

  Sheriff’s Office, Nov. 19, 1852. Nov. 20. 37 †xtf

  COMMISSIONERS’ SALE.

  John A Crumpton and others v. Zachariah C. Crumpton. In Equity.

  In pursuance of the Decretal order made in this case, I will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder before the Court House door in Winnsboro’, on the first Monday in December next, three separate tracts or parcels of land, belonging to the estate of Zachariah Crumpton, deceased.

  I will also sell, at the same time and place, FIVE OR SIX LIKELY YOUNG NEGROES, sold as the property of the said Zachariah Crumpton, deceased, by virtue of the authority aforesaid.

  The terms of sale are as follows,&c.&c.

  W. R. ROBERTSON, C. E. F. D.

  Commissioners’ Office, Winnsboro’, Nov. 8, 1852. Nov. 11. 30 x3

  ESTATE SALE OF VALUABLE PROPERTY.

  The undersigned, as Administrator of the Estate of Col. T. Randell, deceased, will sell, on Monday, the 20th December next, all the personal property belonging to said estate, consisting of

  56 NEGROES, STOCK, CORN, FODDER, ETC. ETC..

  Terms of Sale,&c.&c.

  SAMUEL J. RANDELL.

  Sept. 2. 29 x16

  The Tri-Weekly South Carolinian, published at Columbia, S. C., has this motto: —

  “BE JUST AND FEAR NOT; L
ET ALL THE END THOU AIM’ST AT BE THY COUNTRY’S, THY GOD’S, AND TRUTH’S.”

  In the number dated December 23, 1852, is found a “Reply of the Women of Virginia to the Women of England,” containing this sentiment: —

  Believe us, we deeply, prayerfully, study God’s Holy Word; we are fully persuaded that our institutions are in accordance with it.

  After which, in other columns, come the ten advertisements following: —

  SHERIFF’S SALES FOR JANUARY 2, 1853.

  By virtue of sundry writs of fieri facias, to me directed, will be sold before the Court House in Columbia, within the legal hours, on the first Monday and Tuesday in January next —

  Seventy-four acres of Land, more or less, in Richland District, bounded on the north and east by Lorick’s and on the south and west by Thomas Trapp.

  Also, Ten Head of Cattle, Twenty-five Head of Hogs, and Two Hundred

  Bushels of Corn, levied on as the property of M. A. Wilson, at the suit of Samuel Gardner v M. A. Wilson.

  SEVEN NEGROES, named Grace, Frances, Edmund, Charlotte, Emuline, Thomas, and Charles, levied on as the property of Bartholomew Turnipseed, at the suit of A. F. Dubard, J. S. Lever, Bank of the State and others v. B. Turnipseed.

  450 acres of Land, more or less, in Richland District, bounded on the north, &c. &c.

  LARGE SALE OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. — ESTATE SALE.

  On Monday, the (7th) seventh day of February next, I will sell at Auction, without reserve, at the Plantation, near Linden, all the Horses, Mules, Waggons, Farming Utensils, Corn, Fodder,&c.

  And on the following Monday (14th), the fourteenth day of February next, at the Court House, at Linden, in Marengo County, Alabama, I will sell at public auction, without reserve, to the highest bidder,