African American Studies Commons^™

An Oration On The Abolition Of The Slave Trade; Delivered In The African Church In The City Of New-York, January 1, 1808, Peter Williams Jr

Zea E-Books in American Studies

The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until the year 1808. A bill to do this was first introduced in Congress by Senator Stephen Roe Bradley of Vermont in December 1805, and its passage was recommended by President Jefferson in his annual message to Congress in December 1806. In March 1807, Congress passed the legislation, and President Thomas Jefferson signed it into law on March 3, 1807. Subsequently, on March 25, 1807, the British Parliament also passed an act banning the slave trade aboard British ships. The effective date of the …

The Nature And Importance Of True Republicanism With A Few Suggestions Favorable To Independence: A Discourse, Delivered At Rutland, (Vermont,) The Fourth Of July, 1801. — It Being The 25th Anniversary Of American Independence., Lemuel Haynes, Paul Royster , Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

This intriguing document is a political 4th of July “discourse” by an African American New England Congregational ordained minister and Revolutionary War veteran from the very early years of the Republic. Lemuel Haynes’ personal history is an interesting story, as is his assessment of the progress, needs, and future prospects of the new nation. Ostensibly and formally, the discourse is about selecting leadership dedicated to serving the public welfare and avoiding men who seek office for personal preferment, power, or fame. Taking a text from the gospel of Luke, Haynes applies the advice of Jesus to his disciples to the …

Manuscript Slave Deed, Dated December 1, 1800, From William & Nicholas Mills To Charles Thompson Jr. Contemporary Copy, Recorded March 1801., William Mills, Nicholas Mills

Documents Related to Slavery

This deed ? made and entered in the first day of December in the year one thousand and eight hundred between William and Nicholas Mills administrators of the Nicholas Mills desc'd who was executor of Ann Mills deceased on the one part and Charles Thompson Jr of the other part Witneseth that the said William Mills and Nicholas Mills as Admintrs aforesaid for and in consideration fo the sum of One dollar to us in hand paid by the said Charles Thompson Fr the receipt where of we do hereby acknowledge. But more especially for the uses and trust hereafter …

Letter From Josiah Masters To John Reade About An Enslaved Man Named Dick Whom (Masters) Wishes To Sell. New York, 1796., Josiah Masters

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

Masters writes to Reade that Dick "has been somewhat uneasy with me, the first cause [was] my separating his wench from him."

"The lowest price is one hundred pounds."

Addressed to Reade in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Articles Of Agreement Amongst The Preachers, Methodist Episcopal Church. South Carolina Conference.

Methodist Books

Articles of Agreement Amongst the Preachers relative to slavery, January 2, 1795. The clergy agree about the impropriety and evil of slavery, and its harmful consequences. They resolve that no member of conference should own slaves, and anyone who becomes the possessor of slaves should emancipate them where the law allows, and that any member who acts otherwise shall forfeit their seat at conference and their letter of ordination.

Essay On Negro-Slavery., James O'Kelly

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.

An Address To The Negroes In The State Of New-York, Jupiter Hammon

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Hammon’s Address, published in New York and Philadelphia in 1787, is a simple but eloquent set of Christian advice and reflections. To his fellow Negroes who are enslaved, Hammon advises obedience to masters, honesty and faithfulness, and the avoidance of profaneness. Among his strongest recommendations is that Negroes make every effort learn to read and use that knowledge to study the Bible. Hammon’s focus is on eternity, judgment, redemption, and God’s governance of the world.

Yet Hammon’s appeal is no apology for the slave system, but rather a modulated and astute assessment of the social and power relations between blacks …

The Negro Christianized. An Essay To Excite And Assist That Good Work, The Instruction Of Negro-Servants In Christianity (1706), Cotton Mather, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

There were Africans in New England before there were Puritans there, and by 1700 they numbered about 1,000 out of a total population of 90,000. Roughly half of them lived in Massachusetts, and were concentrated in Boston and the coastal towns. Puritans actively participated in the trafficking of enslaved persons, importing Africans from the West Indies and sometimes selling native American prisoners overseas.

Cotton Mather’s household contained enslaved Negro servants, and his congregation at the Second (or North) Church included both merchants of slavery and persons of African descent. The pamphlet reprinted here appeared in 1706 without his name, but …