An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called AfricansChild, Lydia Maria
History
An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans
Child, Lydia Maria
Antislavery movements -- United States; Slavery -- United States
An affecting instance of negro friendship may be found in 1 Bay's
Report, 260-3. A female slave in South Carolina was allowed to work out
in the town, on condition that she paid her master a certain sum of
money, per month. Being strong and industrious, her wages amounted to
more than had been demanded in their agreement. After a time she earned
enough to buy her freedom; but she preferred to devote the sum to the
emancipation of a negro girl, named Sally, for whom she had conceived
a strong affection. For a long time the master pretended to have no
property in his slave's manumitted friend, never paid taxes for her, and
often spoke of her as a free negro. But, from some motive or other, he
afterward claimed Sally as his slave, on the ground that no slave could
make any purchase on his own account, or possess any thing which did not
legally belong to his master. It is an honor to Chief Justice Rutledge
that his charge was given in a spirit better than the laws. He
concluded by saying, "If the wench choose to appropriate the savings of
her extra labor to the purchase of this girl, in order to set her free,
will a jury of the country say, No? I trust not. I hope they are too
upright and humane, to do such manifest violence to such an
extraordinary act of benevolence." By the prompt decision of the jury,
Sally was declared free.[AK]
[Footnote AK: Stroud says of the above, "This is an isolated case, of
pretty early date; it deserves to be noticed because it is in opposition
to the spirit of the laws, and to _later_ decisions of the courts."]
In speaking of the character of negroes, it ought not to be omitted that
many of them were brave and faithful soldiers during our Revolution.
Some are now receiving pensions for their services. At New-Orleans,
likewise, the conduct of the colored troops was deserving of the highest
praise.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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