History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880 Volume II Part 12

[31] Atlantic Monthly, vol. vii. pp. 728, 744.

[32] Atlantic Monthly, vol. vii. p. 737.

[33] Richmond Enquirer, August 26, 1831.

[34] Richmond Enquirer, August 26 and 30, 1831.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE "AMISTAD" CAPTIVES.

THE SPANISH SLAVER "AMISTAD" SAILS FROM HAVANA, CUBA, FOR PORTO PRINCIPE.--FIFTY-FOUR NATIVE AFRICANS ON BOARD.--JOSEPH CINQUEZ, THE SON OF AN AFRICAN PRINCE.--THE "AMISTAD" CAPTURED AND TAKEN INTO NEW LONDON, CONN.--TRIAL AND RELEASE OF THE SLAVES.--TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES.--RETURN TO THEIR NATIVE COUNTRY IN COMPANY WITH MISSIONARIES.--THE ANTI-SLAVERY CAUSE BENEFITED BY THEIR STAY IN THE UNITED STATES.--THEIR APPRECIATION OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION.

On the 28th of June, 1839, the "Amistad," a Spanish slaver (schooner), with Captain Ramon Ferrer in command, sailed from Havana, Cuba, for Porto Principe, a place in the island of Cuba, about 100 leagues distant. The pa.s.sengers were Don Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz, with fifty-four Africans just from their native country, Lemboko, as slaves. Among the slaves was one man, called in Spanish, Joseph Cinquez,[35] said to be the son of an African prince. He was possessed of wonderful natural abilities, and was endowed with all the elements of an intelligent and intrepid leader. The treatment these captives received was very cruel. They were chained down between the decks--s.p.a.ce not more than four feet--by their wrists and ankles; forced to eat rice, sick or well, and whipped upon the slightest provocation. On the fifth night out, Cinquez chose a few trusty companions of his misfortunes, and made a successful attack upon the officers and crew. The captain and cook struck down, two sailors put ash.o.r.e, the Negroes were in full possession of the vessel. Montes was compelled, under pain of death, to navigate the vessel to Africa. He steered eastwardly during the daytime, but at night put about hoping to touch the American sh.o.r.e. Thus the vessel wandered until it was cited off of the coast of the United States during the month of August. It was described as a "long, low, black schooner." Notice was sent to all the collectors of the ports along the Atlantic Coast, and a steamer and several revenue cutters were dispatched after her.

Finally, on the 26th of August, 1839, Lieut. Gedney, U. S. Navy, captured the "Amistad," and took her into New London, Connecticut.

The two Spaniards and a Creole cabin boy were examined before Judge Andrew T. Judson, of the United States Court, who, without examining the Negroes, bound them over to be tried as pirates. The poor Africans were cast into the prison at New London. Public curiosity was at a high pitch; and for a long time the "_Amistad captives_" occupied a large place in public attention. The Africans proved to be natives of the Mendi country, and quite intelligent. The romantic story of their sufferings and meanderings was given to the country through a competent interpreter; and many Christian hearts turned toward them in their lonely captivity in a strange land. The trial was continued several months. During this time the anti-slavery friends provided instruction for the Africans. Their minds were active and receptive.

They soon learned to read, write, and do sums in arithmetic. They cultivated a garden of some fifteen acres, and proved themselves an intelligent and industrious people.

The final decision of the court was that the "Amistad captives" were not slaves, but freemen, and, as such, were ent.i.tled to their liberty.

The good and liberal Lewis Tappan had taken a lively interest in these people from the first, and now that they were released from prison, felt that they should be sent back to their native sh.o.r.es and a mission started amongst their countrymen. Accordingly he took charge of them and appeared before the public in a number of cities of New England. An admission fee of fifty cents was required at the door, and the proceeds were devoted to leasing a vessel to take them home. Large audiences greeted them everywhere, and the impression they made was of the highest order. Mr. Tappan would state the desire of the people to return to their native land, appeal to the philanthropic to aid them, and then call upon the people to read the Scriptures, sing songs in their own language, and then in the English. Cinquez would then deliver an account of their capture, the horrors of the voyage, how he succeeded in getting his manacles off, how he aided his brethren to loose their fetters, how he invited them to follow him in an attempt to gain their liberty, the attack, and their rescue, etc., etc. He was a man of magnificent physique, commanding presence, graceful manners, and effective oratory. His speeches were delivered in Mendi, and translated into English by an interpreter.

"It is impossible," wrote Mr. Tappan from Boston, "to describe the novel and deeply interesting manner in which he acquitted himself. The subject of his speech was similar to that of his countrymen who had spoken in English; but he related more minutely and graphically the occurrences on board the "Amistad."

The easy manner of Cinquez, his natural, graceful, and energetic action, the rapidity of his utterance, and the remarkable and various expressions of his countenance, excited admiration and applause. He was p.r.o.nounced a powerful natural orator, and one born to sway the minds of his fellow-men. Should he be converted and become a preacher of the cross in Africa what delightful results may be antic.i.p.ated!"

A little fellow called Kali, only eleven years of age, pleased the audience everywhere he went by his ability not only to spell any word in the Gospels, but sentences, without blundering. For example, he would spell out a sentence like the following sentence, naming each letter and syllable, and recapitulating as he went along, until he p.r.o.nounced the whole sentence: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

Of their doings in Philadelphia, Mr. Joseph Sturge wrote:

"On this occasion, a very crowded and miscellaneous a.s.sembly collected to see and hear the Mendians, although the admission had been fixed as high as half a dollar, with the view of raising a fund to carry them to their native country. Fifteen of them were present, including one little boy and three girls. Cinque, their chief, spoke with great fluency in his native language; and his action and manner were very animated and graceful. Not much of his speech was translated, yet he greatly interested his audience. The little boy could speak our language with facility; and each of them read, without hesitation, one or two verses in the New Testament. It was impossible for any one to go away with the impression, that in native intellect these people were inferior to the whites. The information which I privately received from their tutor, and others who had full opportunities of appreciating their capacities and attainments, fully confirmed my own very favorable impressions."

But all the while their sad hearts were turning toward their home and the dear ones so far away. One of them eloquently declared: "If Merica men offer me as much gold as fill this cap full up, and give me houses, land, and every ting, so dat I stay in this country, I say: 'No! no! I want to see my father, my mother, my brother, my sister.'"

Nothing could have been more tender and expressive. They were willing to endure any hards.h.i.+ps short of life that they might once more see their own, their native land. The religious instruction they had enjoyed made a wonderful impression on their minds. One of them said: "We owe every thing to G.o.d; he keeps us alive, and makes us free. When we go to home to Mendi we tell our brethren about G.o.d, Jesus Christ, and heaven." Another one was asked: "What is faith?" and replied: "Believing in Jesus Christ, and trusting in him." Reverting to the murder of the captain and cook of the "Amistad," one of the Africans said that if it were to be done over again he would pray for rather than kill them. Cinquez, hearing this, smiled and shook his head. When asked if he would not pray for them, said: "Yes, I would pray for 'em, an' kill 'em too."

These captives were returned to their native country in the fall of 1841, accompanied by five missionaries. Their objective point was Sierra Leone, from which place the British Government a.s.sisted them to their homes. Their stay in the United States did the anti-slavery cause great good. Here were poor, naked, savage pagans, unable to speak English, in less than three years able to speak the English language and appreciate the blessings of a Christian civilization.

FOOTNOTES:

[35] Sometimes written Cinque.

PART 6.

_THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION._

CHAPTER IX.

NORTHERN SYMPATHY AND SOUTHERN SUBTERFUGES.

1850-1860.

VIOLENT TREATMENT OF ANTI-SLAVERY ORATORS.--THE SOUTH MISINTERPRETS THE MOBOCRATIC SPIRIT OF THE NORTH.--THE "GARRISONIANS" AND "CALHOUNITES"--SLAVE POPULATION OF 1830-1850.--THE THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS.--MOTION FOR THE ADMISSION OF NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA.--THE DEMOCRATIC AND WHIG PARTIES ON THE TREATMENT OF THE SLAVE QUESTION.--CONVENTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AT BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.--NOMINATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE FOR PRESIDENT.--WHIG PARTY CONVENTION.--NOMINATION OF GEN.

WINFIELD SCOTT FOR THE PRESIDENCY BY THE WHIGS.--MR. PIERCE ELECTED PRESIDENT IN 1853.--A BILL INTRODUCED TO REPEAL THE "MISSOURI COMPROMISE."--SPEECH BY STEPHEN A. DOUGLa.s.s.--MR.

CHASE'S REPLY.--AN ACT TO ORGANIZE THE TERRITORIES OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA.--STATE MILITIA IN THE SOUTH MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.--PRESIDENT BUCHANAN IN SYMPATHY WITH THE SOUTH.

The arguments of anti-slavery orators were answered everywhere throughout the free States by rotten eggs, clubs, and missiles. The public journals, as a rule, were unfriendly and intolerant. Even Boston could contemplate, with unruffled composure, a mob of her most "reputable citizens" dragging Mr. Garrison through the streets with a halter about his neck. Public meetings were broken up by pro-slavery mobs; owners of public halls required a moneyed guarantee against the destruction of their property, when such halls were used for anti-slavery meetings. Colored schools were broken up, the teachers driven away, and the pupils maltreated.

The mobocratic demonstrations in the Northern States were the thermometer of public feeling upon the subject of slavery. The South was, therefore, emboldened; for the political leaders in that section thought they saw a light from the distance that encouraged them to entertain the belief and indulge the hope that their present sectional inst.i.tution could be made national. Southerners thought slavery would grow in the cold climate of the North, excited into a lively existence by the warmth of a generous sympathy. But the South misinterpreted the real motive that inspired opposition to anti-slavery agitation in the North. The violent opposition came from the mercantile cla.s.s and foreign element who believed that the agitation of the slavery question was a practical disturbance of their business affairs. The next cla.s.s, more moderate in opposition to agitation, believed slavery const.i.tutional, and, therefore, argued that anti-slavery orators were traitors to the government. The third cla.s.s, conservative, did not take sides, because of the unpopularity of agitation on the one hand, and because of an hara.s.sing conscience on the other.

There were two cla.s.ses of men who were seeking the dissolution of the Union. The Garrisonians sought this end in the hope of forming another Union _without_ slavery.

In an address delivered by Wm. Lloyd Garrison, July 20, 1860, at the Framingham celebration, he declares:

"Our object is the abolition of slavery _throughout the land_; and whether in the prosecution of our object this party goes up or the other party goes down, it is nothing to us. We cannot alter our course one hair's breadth, nor accept a compromise of our principles for the hearty adoption of our principles. I am for _meddling with slavery everywhere_--_attacking it by night and by day, in season and out of season_ (no, it can never be out of season)--in order to _effect its overthrow_. (Loud applause.) Higher yet will be my cry. Upward and onward! No union with slave-holders! Down with this slave-holding government! Let this 'covenant with death and agreement with h.e.l.l' be annulled! _Let there be a free, independent, Northern republic_, and _the speedy abolition of slavery_ will inevitably follow! (Loud applause.) So I am laboring to dissolve this blood-stained Union as a work of paramount importance. Our mission is to regenerate public opinion."

The Calhounites sought the dissolution of the Union in order that another Union might be formed _with_ slavery as its chief corner-stone. Inspired by this hope and misguided by the apparent sympathy of the North, Southern statesmen began _preparations to dissolve the Union of the United States_.

During these years of agitation and discussion, although the foreign slave-trade had been suppressed, the slave population increased at a wonderful ratio.

CENSUS OF 1830.--SLAVE POPULATION.

District of Columbia 6,119 Delaware 3,292 Florida 15,501 Georgia 217,531 Illinois 747 Kentucky 165,213 Louisiana 109,588 Maryland 102,994 Alabama 117,549 Mississippi 65,659 Missouri 25,091 New Jersey 2,254 North Carolina 245,601 South Carolina 315,401 Tennessee 141,603 Virginia 469,757 Arkansas 4,576 --------- Aggregate 2,008,476

Now, this was the year the agitation movement began. Instead of the slave population decreasing during the first decade of anti-slavery discussion and work, it really increased 478,412![36]

CENSUS OF 1840.--SLAVE POPULATION.

Alabama 253,532 Arkansas 19,935 District of Columbia 4,694 Delaware 2,605 Florida 25,717 Georgia 280,944 Illinois 331 Kentucky 182,258 Louisiana 168,452 Maryland 89,737 Mississippi 195,211 Missouri 58,240 New Jersey 674 New York 4

CENSUS OF 1840.--SLAVE POPULATION.--(_Continued._)

Pennsylvania 64 North Carolina 245,817 South Carolina 327,038 Tennessee 183,059 Virginia 449,087 --------- Aggregate 2,487,399

During the next decade the slave population swept forward to an increase of 716,858. The entire population of slaves was 3,204,313; 2,957,657 were unmixed Africans, and 246,656 were Mulattoes. The free Colored population amounted to 434,495, of whom 275,400 were unmixed, and 159,095 mixed or Mulatto. The total number of families owning slaves in 1850 was 347,525.

CENSUS OF 1850.--SLAVE POPULATION.

Alabama 342,844 Arkansas 47,100 District of Columbia 3,687 Delaware 2,290 Florida 39,310 Georgia 381,682 Kentucky 210,981 Louisiana 244,809 Maryland 90,368 Mississippi 309,878 Missouri 87,422 New Jersey 236 North Carolina 288,548 South Carolina 384,984 Tennessee 239,459 Texas 58,161 Virginia 472,528 Utah Territory 26 --------- Total 3,204,313