THE DEGENERACY OF THE UNITED STATES.
By Uriah Smith
UNDER the heading of "Anti-slavery Agitators," we find the following compilation of statements in the Recorder of May 29, 1862. They are declarations from some of the noble men who graced the early days of this republic, and show how they regarded the subject of slavery, even though they were natives of, and residents in, slave States. Compare these sentiments with the blasphemous and insane ravings of pro-slavery demagogues of the present day on this question, the whitewashed villainy of many of the pulpits of our land in relation to it, and the strenuous efforts put forth to foster and extend this diabolical system, and mark the contrast. To him who reads the signs of the times, these things are significant. They give us something of an idea of how rapidly the dragonic spirit of this nation has of late years developed itself in accordance with the prophecy in Rev. xiii, 11. U. S. There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.—Gen. Washington, Apr. 12th, 1786. "The scheme, my dear Marquis, which you propose as a precedent to encourage the emancipation of the black people in this country from the state of bondage in which they are held, is a striking evidence of the benevolence of your heart."—Washington to Lafayette, 1788. "It is the most earnest wish of America to see an entire stop forever put to the wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade in slaves."—Meeting at Fairfax, Va., July 18, 1774, presided over by Washington. "I tremble for my country, when I reflect that God is just. His justice cannot sleep for ever."—Jefferson's Notes on Slavery in Virginia, 1782. "The King of Great Britain has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty, in the persons of a distant people who never offended him; captivating them and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation hither."—Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence. "After the year 1800 of the Christian era, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the said states" (all of the territories then belonging to the United States).—Jefferson's Ordinance of 1787, unanimously approved by Congress and signed by Washington. "We have seen the mere distinction of color made, in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man."—James Madison. "We have found that this evil has preyed upon the very vitals of the Union, and has been prejudicial to all the States in which it has existed."—James Monroe. "The tariff was only the pretext, and a Southern Confederacy the real object. The next pretext will be the negro or slavery question."—Andrew Jackson, May 1833. "Sir, I envy neither the heart nor the head of that man from the North who rises here to defend slavery on principle."—John Randolph, of Roanoke. "The people of Carolina form two classes, the rich and poor. The poor are very poor; the rich, who have slaves to do all their work, give them no employment. The little they get is laid out in brandy, not in books and newspapers; hence they know nothing of the comparative blessings of our country, or of the dangers which threaten it; therefore they care nothing about it."—General Francis Marion to Baron De Kalb. "So long as God allows the vital current to flow through my veins, I will never, never, never, by word or thought, by mind or will, aid in admitting one rood of free territory to the everlasting curse of human bondage."—Henry Clay. Alluding to the time the above sentiment was uttered, Thomas H. Benton says:
"That was a proud day. I could have wished that I had spoken the same words; I speak them now, telling you they were his, and adopting them as my own." "We consider the voluntary enslaving of one part of the human race by another as utterly inconsistent with the law of God, which enjoins that 'All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.'"—Resolutions unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America.