Black Abolitionist Archive

Title: Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Speaker or author: Cary, Mary Ann Shadd, 1823-1893

Newspaper or publication: AD -- Ontario Archives -- Toronto, Canada -- Mary Shadd Cary Papers

Copyright Permission granted by the Archives of Ontario (August 2007). -- Sermon regarding the role of women in slavery and society in general.

Description of file(s): PDF 9 page, 1,327 word document (text and images)

Title: Peter H. Clark

Speaker or author: Clark, Peter H.

Newspaper or publication: Anti-Slavery Bugle

Overview of speech expressing the speaker's view that while the Republican party was an "Anti-Slavery Party," its stance on abolishing slavery was more motivated by dollars than by philanthropy and good will. This, the speaker believed, was sparked by the battle over whether to bring Kansas into the Union as a free or slaveholding state.

Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 649 word document (text and images)

Title: John Mercer Langston

Speaker or author: Langston, John Mercer, 1829-1897.

Newspaper or publication: Anti-Slavery Bugle

Brief speech discounting the Democratic party's pro-slavery stance and the laws that had resulted from its influence.

Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 491 word document (text and images)

Title: William Howard Day

Speaker or author: Day, William Howard, d. 1900

Newspaper or publication: Chatham Planet

Overview of short speech regarding the history and current state of slavery in the U.S.

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 207 word document (text and image)

Title: William Howard Day

Speaker or author: Day, William Howard, d. 1900

Newspaper or publication: Chatham Tri-Weekly Planet

Overview of speech delivered to celebrate the completion of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable project connecting England to the U.S. The speaker noted that "...difficulties measure progress..." and used this as a metaphor for emancipation.

Description of file(s): PDF 7 page, 1,726 word document (text and images)

Title: William Wells Brown

Speaker or author: Brown, William Wells, 1814?-1884

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

The speaker said that the system of slavery degrades the slaveholder as well as the slave. He noted several examples of the injustices of slavery. (Includes MP3 audio file.)

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 295 word document (text and image)

Title: William Wells Brown

Speaker or author: Brown, William Wells, 1814?-1884

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Speech regarding the irony of a country founded on freedom that relied on slavery for its prosperity. The speaker compared the life of the slave to several current incidents, including the story of Casper Hauser who had been imprisoned all his life in Germany and was found unable to speak wandering the streets at the age of 16.

Description of file(s): PDF 5 page, 1,501 word document (text and images)

Title: William C. Nell

Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Speech delivered during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the First Independent Baptist Female Society and the church where their meetings were held. The speaker gave an overview of the history of the church and parish, and the accomplishments of the organization.

Description of file(s): PDF 6 page, 1,493 word document (text and images)

Title: Charles Lenox Remond

Speaker or author: Remond, Charles Lenox, 1810-1873

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

The speaker noted that Washington, Madison, and Jefferson were all slave holders. He objected to the previous speaker's distinction between pro-slavery men and anti-slavery men since some politically anti-slavery men had been themselves slaveholders.

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 175 word document (text and image)

Title: Charles Lenox Remond

Speaker or author: Remond, Charles Lenox, 1810-1873

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Speech given in response to a resolution presented before the American Abolition Society meeting. The speaker said that so far all attempts at a peaceful resolution to the issue of slavery have failed. He could see the direction the country was going, and while he didn't agree with dissolving the Union, he could understand the need for radical change at that point.

Description of file(s): PDF 10 page, 2,925 word document (text and images)

Title: John S. Rock

Speaker or author: Rock, John S. (John Sweat), 1825-1866

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

The speaker addressed the assertion that slaves lacked the same courage as white men or Indians or they wouldn't have allowed themselves to be slaves. The speaker asked if white men and Indians hadn't also been enslaved. If so, who can be said to have more courage or less? The speaker addressed several such irrational beliefs that were being offered regarding the essential nature of black Americans.

Description of file(s): PDF 8 page, 2,426 word document (text and images)

Title: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Speaker or author: Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins, 1825-1911.

Newspaper or publication: National Anti-Slavery Standard

Eloquent speech regarding the ongoing issue of free versus slave state designation as new states enter the Union. The speaker told of her experience as witness to the continued degradation suffered by slaves.

Description of file(s): PDF 4 page, 1,277 word document (text and images)

Title: Charles Lenox Remond

Speaker or author: Remond, Charles Lenox, 1810-1873

Newspaper or publication: National Anti-Slavery Standard

In response to a resolution regarding revolution to gain freedom for the slaves, the speaker said he did not advocate violence but insisted that freedom was the inherent right of all men, regardless of race.

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 301 word document (text and image)

Title: John Mercer Langston

Speaker or author: Langston, John Mercer, 1829-1897.

Newspaper or publication: Presscopy -- New York Historical Society -- Pamphlet Collection

The speaker traced the history of the human struggle for freedom, justice and liberty. He emphasized that the struggle for emancipation of the slaves was part of this universal, human struggle for freedom. The speaker stressed that all human beings have an innate desire to be free, and this is their birthright.

Description of file(s): PDF 25 page, 8,341 word document (text and images)

Title: Edward Scott

Speaker or author: Scott, Edward, fl. 1857

Newspaper or publication: Printed Copy -- Rhode Island Historical Society -- Newspaper Clipping File

Speech delivered during a celebration on the anniversary of the emancipation of the British West Indies. The speaker disputed the idea that the freed slaves could not care for themselves.

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 158 word document (text and image)