By
"The powers that be are ordained of God."
Romans xiii. 1.
TO
The Men
NORTH AND SOUTH,
WHO HONOR THE WORD OF GOD
AND
LOVE THEIR COUNTRY.
The book I give to the public, is not made up of isolated articles. It isone harmonious demonstration--that slavery is part of the governmentordained in certain conditions of fallen mankind. I present the subject inthe form of speeches, actually delivered, and letters written just aspublished. I adopt this method to make a readable book.
I give it to the North and South--to maintain harmony among Christians,and to secure the integrity of the union of this great people.
This harmony and union can be preserved only by the view presented in thisvolume,--i.e. that slavery is of God, and to continue for the good ofthe slave, the good of the master, the good of the whole American family,until another and better destiny may be unfolded.
The one great idea, which I submit to North and South, is expressed inthe speech, first in order, delivered in the General Assembly of thePresbyterian Church, Buffalo, May 27, 1853. I therein say:--
"Let us then, North and South, bring our minds to comprehend twoideas, and submit to their irresistible power. Let the Northernphilanthropist learn from the Bible that the relation of master and slaveis not sin per se. Let him learn that God says nowhere it is sin. Lethim learn that sin is the transgression of the law; and where there is nolaw there is no sin, and that the Golden Rule may exist in therelations of slavery. Let him learn that slavery is simply an evil incertain circumstances. Let him learn that equality is only the highestform of social life; that subjection to authority, even slavery, may,in given conditions, be for a time better than freedom to the slaveof any complexion. Let him learn that slavery, like all evils, hasits corresponding and greater good; that the Southern slave, thoughdegraded compared with his master, is elevated and ennobled comparedwith his brethren in Africa. Let the Northern man learn these things,and be wise to cultivate the spirit that will harmonize with his brethrenof the South, who are lovers of liberty as truly as himself: And let theSouthern Christian--nay, the Southern man of every grade--comprehend thatGod never intended the relation of master and slave to be perpetual.Let him give up the theory of Voltaire, that the negro is of a differentspecies. Let him yield the semi-infidelity of Agassiz, that God createddifferent races of the same species--in swarms, like bees--for Asia,Europe, America, Africa, and the islands of the sea. Let him believe thatslavery, although not a sin, is a degraded condition,--the evil, thecurse on the South,--yet having blessings in its time to the South and tothe Union. Let him know that slavery is to pass away in the fulness ofProvidence. Let the South believe this, and prepare to obey the hand thatmoves their destiny."
All which comes after, in the speech delivered in New York, 1856, and inthe letters, is just the expansion of this one controlling thought, whichmust be understood, believed, and acted out North and South.
The Author.
Written in Cleveland, Ohio, May 28, 1857.
Speech Before the General Assembly at Buffalo
Speech Before the General Assembly at New York
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