Walker's Appeal, with a Brief Sketch of His Life: And Also Garnet's Address to the Slaves of the United States of AmericaWalker, David
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Walker's Appeal, with a Brief Sketch of His Life: And Also Garnet's Address to the Slaves of the United States of America
Walker, David
Slavery -- United States
But an American minister, with the Bible in his hand, holds us and our
children in the most abject slavery and wretchedness. Now I ask them,
would they like for us to hold them and their children in abject
slavery and wretchedness? No says one, that never can be done--you
are too abject and ignorant to do it--you are not men--you were made
to be slaves to us, to dig up gold and silver for us and our children.
Know this, my dear sirs, that although you treat us and our children
now, as you do your domestic beasts--yet the final result of all
future events are known but to God Almighty alone, who rules in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and who
dethrones one earthly king and sits up another, as it seemeth good in
his holy sight. We may attribute these vicissitudes to what we please,
but the God of armies and of justice rules in heaven and in earth, and
the whole American people shall see and know it yet, to their
satisfaction. I have known pretended preachers of the gospel of my
Master, who not only held us as their natural inheritance, but treated
us with as much rigor as any Infidel or Deist in the world--just as
though they were intent only on taking our blood and groans to glorify
the Lord Jesus Christ. The wicked and ungodly, seeing their preachers
treat us with so much cruelty, they say: our preachers, who must be
right, if any body are, treat them like brutes, and why cannot
we?--They think it is no harm to keep them in slavery and put the whip
to them, and why cannot we do the same!--They being preachers of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, if it were any harm, they would surely preach
against their oppression and do their utmost to erase it from the
country; not only in one or two cities, but one continual cry would be
raised in all parts of this confederacy, and would cease only with the
complete overthrow of the system of slavery, in every part of the
country. But how far the American preachers are from preaching against
slavery and oppression, which have carried their country to the brink
of a precipice; to save them from plunging down the side of which,
will hardly be effected, will appear in the sequel of this paragraph,
which I shall narrate just as it transpired. I remember a Camp Meeting
in South Carolina, for which I embarked in a Steam Boat at
Charleston, and having been five or six hours on the water, we at last
arrived at the place of hearing, where was a very great concourse of
people, who were no doubt, collected together to hear the word of God,
(that some had collected barely as spectators to the scene, I will not
here pretend to doubt, however, that is left to themselves and their
God.) Myself and boat companions, having been there a little while, we
were all called up to hear; I among the rest, went up and took my
seat--being seated, I fixed myself in a complete position to hear the
word of my Saviour and to receive such as I thought was authenticated
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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