Black Abolitionist Archive

Title: John Mercer Langston

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

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

The speaker emphasized that the law in South Carolina that authorized "the sale of any Negro or Mulatto found in the state more than 12 days" was being used to sell white people more than fugitive slaves. He noted that any man could be called a mulatto and sold under this law. He urged reform and called for the white public to get involved for their own sake.

Description of file(s): PDF 5 page, 1,378 word document (text and images)

Title: John Sella Martin

Speaker or author: Martin, J. Sella (John Sella), b. 1832

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Speech given before an English audience asking for their support in the process of emancipation that was now in effect in the U.S. The speaker expressed his idea that immediate emancipation was better than the gradual emancipation that some promoted.

Description of file(s): PDF 6 page, 1,641 word document (text and images)

Title: William Cooper Nell

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

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Speech commemorating the March 5th death of Crispus Attucks, a day that African Americans had long celebrated. This celebration had been merged with the July 4th celebration, but the speaker asked his audience to remember the sacrifices of black war heroes on this day.

Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 314 word document (text and images)

Title: John Parker

Speaker or author: Parker, John, fl. 1861-1864

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Brief overview of a speech given by a recently freed slave who served in the Confederate army. He believed the South's greatest ally was the divided opinion of slavery expressed by those in the North.

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

Title: Charles Lenox Remond

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

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Brief speech in which the speaker expressed his belief that emancipation had failed. He believed that new states entering the Union should do so only on "...the basis of free suffrage, free religion and free social and civil rights."

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 167 word document (text and image)

Title: Henry Highland Garnet

Speaker or author: Garnet, Henry Highland, 1815-1882

Newspaper or publication: Morgan State University Library -- Pamphlet Collection

Speech given before the House of Representatives denouncing slavery as an inhumane system in a country founded on freedom. The speaker related his own experiences with slavery and the injustices he had witnessed growing up as a slave. Now that slavery had ended, he asked that the government approach the recovery of the Union with an eye towards racial harmony.

Description of file(s): PDF 20 page, 5,472 word document (text and images)

Title: John Mercer Langston

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

Newspaper or publication: Nashville Times and True Union

Speech delivered before a mixed race audience in the House of Representatives. The speaker stressed his hope for a brighter future for the former slaves. He spoke of the injustice suffered by slaves over the years since slavery was first established in the U.S. He paid special attention to the contributions and sacrifices that African Americans had made to the country, and his hope for future racial harmony.

Description of file(s): PDF 9 page, 2,243 word document (text and images)

Title: Charles Lenox Remond

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

Newspaper or publication: National Anti-Slavery Standard

The speaker noted that while slavery had ended, as long as equality did not exist between the races, the work of the Anti-Slavery movement would continue. He believed that now was not the time to abandon work for civil rights and social acceptance of the newly freed slaves.

Description of file(s): PDF 4 page, 955 word document (text and images)

Title: Alexander Crummell

Speaker or author: Crummell, Alexander, 1819-1898

Newspaper or publication: New York Public Library -- Schomburg Collection

The speaker stressed the history, benefit, and continued need of missionary work in Africa. He emphasized the work of Jewish, Baptist, Episcopalian, Catholic, Evangelical, Presbyterian and Protestant missionaries.

Description of file(s): PDF 19 page, 5,354 word document (text and images)

Title: William Howard Day

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

Newspaper or publication: New York Public Library -- Schomburg Collection

Overview of a speech given at the unveiling of monument to Abraham Lincoln who had died in April of that year. The speaker emphasized Lincoln's great achievements but tempered this with a reminder of the legacy the system of slavery had left. He urged continued efforts for social improvements and civil rights as the country recovered from the Civil War.

Description of file(s): PDF 12 page, 3,929 word document (text and images)

Title: John Sella Martin

Speaker or author: Martin, J. Sella (John Sella), b. 1832

Newspaper or publication: Non Conformist

An appeal to the American people on behalf of the newly freed slaves for assistance in adapting to their new condition. Almost immediately after the Emancipation Proclamation the prejudice already prevalent in the country became more pronounced and intense. The speaker called for reason and compassion.

Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 804 word document (text and images)

Title: John Sella Martin

Speaker or author: Martin, J. Sella (John Sella), b. 1832

Newspaper or publication: Non Conformist

Speech addressing those who criticized immediate emancipation. The speaker also addressed the belief that the slave was content in his bondage.

Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 890 word document (text and images)

Title: Alfred M. Green

Speaker or author: Green, Alfred M..

Newspaper or publication: Presscopy -- Foner and Walker, Eds. -- Proceedings of the Black State Conventions 1840-1865, (1979) Vol. 1, pp. 139-166

Eloquent, rational, and meaningful speech delivered before the Convention of the Colored People of Pennsylvania expressing a legal argument for civil rights. The speaker asked that African Americans be given their civil rights, be allowed to vote, hold jobs equal to those of the white population, and be given the opportunity to prove themselves worthy citizens of the U.S.

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 480 word document (text and image)

Title: George Boyer Vashon

Speaker or author: Vashon, George Boyer, 1824-1878

Newspaper or publication: Presscopy -- Foner and Walker, Eds. -- Proceedings of the Black State Conventions 1840-1865, (1979) Vol. 1, pp. 139-166

Brief overview of speech in which the speaker expressed his view that a country that is not administered by a just and impartial government was not secure or permanent.

Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 377 word document (text and image)

Title: William Henry Hall

Speaker or author: Hall, W. H. (William Henry), fl. 1863-1864

Newspaper or publication: Presscopy -- Harvard University, Cambridge -- Rare Books and Manuscripts

Although California had entered the Union as a free state, the speaker joined those in the state government in questioning what social and political changes would take place nationally now that the Emancipation Proclamation had been delivered and the war was at an end.

Description of file(s): PDF 11 page, 2,632 word document (text and images)

Title: John Jamison Moore

Speaker or author: Moore, John Jamison, 1818-1893.

Newspaper or publication: Presscopy -- Harvard University, Cambridge -- Rare Books and Manuscripts

The speaker addressed the issue of suffrage for all African Americans. He expressed his belief that African Americans had earned their civil and equal rights through patriotism, patience, loyalty, and fighting for their country. He asked that they be given only what any American would claim as a U.S. citizen.

Description of file(s): PDF 7 page, 1,638 word document (text and images)

Title: Edward Wilmot Blyden

Speaker or author: Blyden, Edward Wilmot, 1832-1912.

Newspaper or publication: Presscopy -- Our Origin, Dangers and Duties -- Lynch, Black Spokesman: Selected Published Writings of Edward Wilmot Blyden, pp. 77-79

The speaker called for an amendment to the Constitution of the newly formed Liberian government to extend the term of president from two years to "six to eight" without an option for immediate re-election to that office. He also called for an amendment to allow the president the power to dismiss government employees when necessary. The speaker included other suggestions to improve the Constitution of Liberia.

Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 1,099 word document (text and images)

Title: John Sella Martin

Speaker or author: Martin, J. Sella (John Sella), b. 1832

Newspaper or publication: Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland Ohio -- Sella Martin Book

The speaker traced in detail the benefits and the drawbacks of raising cotton. He stressed the value of the crop itself and its positive influence on the American economy. He linked this with the work of slaves who had given their health and lives to produce it. The remainder of the speech stressed the predicament that the emancipation of the slaves placed on those involved with cotton production. He also emphasized that the Negro was not inferior to the white race and he offered several examples to prove this. He believed the future of the production of cotton and other crops was with science not with "brute" man power. The idea of inferiority of one race was not a sound argument for slavery. He argued for the right of all human beings to be free.

Description of file(s): PDF 13 page, 3,682 word document (text and images)