A M E R I C A N   S L A V E R Y 

A S   I T   I S : 

T  E  S  T  I  M  O  N  Y 

OF 

A   T H O U S A N D   W I T N E S S E S.

"Behold the wicked abominations that they do!"
--EZEKIEL, viii. 9. 

   The righteous CONSIDERETH the cause of the poor;
but the wicked regardeth not to know it."--PROV. 29, 

   “True humanity consists not in a SQUEAMISH EAR,
but in listening to the story of human suffering and
endeavoring to relieve it."--CHARLES JAMES FOX.



N E W   Y O R K :

PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY, 

OFFICE, No. 143 NASSAU STREET.
1839.

ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER.

   A MAJORITY of the facts and testimony contained in this work rests upon the authority of SLAVEHOLDERS, whose names and residences are given to the public, as vouchers for the truth of their statements. That they should utter falsehoods, for the sake of proclaiming their own infamy, is not probable.

   Their testimony is taken, mainly, from recent newspapers, published in the slave states. Most of those papers will be deposited at the office of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 143 Nassau street, New-York City. Those who think the atrocities, which they describe, incredible, are invited to call and read for themselves. We regret that all of the original papers are not in our possession. The idea of preserving them on file for the inspection of the incredulous, and the curious, did not occur to us until after the preparation of the work was in a state of forwardness, in consequence of this, some of the papers cannot be recovered. Nearly all of them, however have been preserved. In all cases the name of the paper is given, and, with very few exceptions, the place and time, (year, month, and day) of publication. Some of the extracts, however not being made with reference to this work, and before its publication was contemplated, are without date; but this class of extracts is exceedingly small, probably not a thirtieth of the whole

   The statements, not derived from the papers and other periodicals, letters, books, &c., published by slaveholders, have been furnished by individuals who have resided in slave states, many of whom are natives of those states, and have been slaveholders. The names, residences, &c. of the witnesses generally are given. A number of them, however, still reside in slave states;--to publish their names would be, in most cases, to make them the victims of popular fury.

New-York, May 4, 1839.

NOTE.

   The Executive Committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society, while tendering their grateful acknowledgments, in the name of American Abolitionists, and in behalf of the slave, to those who have furnished for this publication the result of their residence and travel in the slave states of this Union, announce their determination to publish, from time to time; as they may have the materials and the funds, TRACTS, containing well authenticated facts, testimony, personal narratives, &c. fully setting forth the condition of American slaves. In order that they may be furnished with the requisite materials, they invite all who have had personal knowledge of the condition of slaves in any of the states of this Union, to forward their testimony with their names and residences. To prevent imposition, it is indispensable that persons forwarding testimony, who are not personally known to any of the Executive Committee, or to the Secretaries or Editors of the American Anti-Slavery Society, should furnish references to some person or persons of respectability, with whom, if necessary, the Committee may communicate respecting the writer.

   Facts and testimony respecting the condition of slaves, in all respects, are desired; their food, (kinds, quality, and quantity,) clothing, lodging, dwellings, hours of labor and rest, kinds of labor, with the mode of exaction, supervision, &c.--the number and time of meals each day, treatment when sick, regulations respecting their social intercourse, marriage and domestic ties, the system of torture to which they are subjected, with its various modes; and in detail, their intellectual and moral condition. Great care should be observed in the statement of facts. Well-weighed testimony and well-authenticated facts with a responsible name, the Committee earnestly desire and call for. Thousands of persons in the free states have ample knowledge on this subject, derived from their own observation in the midst of slavery. Will such hold their peace? That which maketh manifest is light; he who keepeth his candle under a bushel at such a time and in such a cause as this, forges fetters for himself, as well as for the slave. Let no one withhold his testimony because others have already testified to similar facts. The value of testimony is by no means to be measured by the novelty of the horrors which it describes. Corroborative testimony,--facts, similar to those established by the testimony of others,--is highly valuable. Who that can give it and has a heart of flesh, will refuse to the slave so small a boon?

   Communications may be addressed to Theodore D. Weld, 143 Nassau-street, New York.

New York, May, 1839.

C O N T E N T S.

INTRODUCTION.--7-10.

Twenty-seven hundred thousand free born citizens of the U. S. in slavery, 7: Tender mercies of slaveholders, 8: Abominations of slavery, 9: Character of the testimony, 9-10.

PERSONAL NARRATIVES--PART I. pp. 10-27.

NARRATIVE OF NEHEMIAH CAULKINS, 102; North Carolina slavery, 11; Methodist preaching slavedriver, Galloway, 12: Women at child-birth, 12: Slaves at labor, 12: Clothing of slaves, 13; Allowance of provisions, 13; Slave-fetters, 13; Cruelties to slaves, 13, 14, 15, Burying a slave alive, 15; Licentiousness of Slaveholders, 15, 16; Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, with his "hands tied," 16; Preachers cringe to slavery, 15; Nakedness of slaves, 16; Slave-huts, 16; Means of subsistence for slaves, 16, 17; Slaves' prayer, 17.

NARRATIVE OF REV. HORACE MOULTON, 17; Labor of the slaves, 18; Tasks, 18; Whipping posts, 18; Food, 18Houses, 19; Clothing, 19; Punishments, 19, 20; Scenes of horror, 20; Constables, savage and brutal, 20; Patrols, 20; Cruelties at night, 20, 21; Paddle-torturing, 20; Cat-hauling, 21; Branding with hot iron, 21; Murder with impunity, 21; Iron collars, yokes, clogs, and bells, 21.

NARRATIVE OF SARAH M. GRIMKE, 22; Barbarous Treatment of slaves, 22; Converted slave, 22; Professor of religion, near death, tortured his slave for visiting his companion, 33; Counterpart of James Williams' description of Larrimore's wife, 23; Head of runaway slave on a pole, 23; Governor of North Carolina left his sick slave to perish, 23; Cruelty to Women slaves, 34; Christian slave a martyr for Jesus, 24.

TESTIMONY OF REV. JOHN GRAHAM, 25; Twenty-seven slaves whipped, 26.

TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM POE, 26; Harris whipped a girl to death, 26; Captain of the U. S. Navy murdered his boy, was tried and acquitted, 26; Overseer burnt a slave, 26; Cruelties to slaves, 26.

PRIVATIONS OF THE SLAVES, pp. 27--44.

FOOD, 28-31; Suffering from hunger, 28; Rations in the U. S. Army, &c, 32; Prison rations, 33-34; Testimony, 34, 35. LABOR, 35; Slaves are overworked, 35; Witnesses, 35, 36; Henry Clay, 37; Child-bearing prevented, 37; Dr. Channing, 38; Sacrifice of a set of hands every seven years, 38; Testimony, 39: Laws of Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia, 39. CLOTHING, 40; Witnesses, 40, 41; Advertisements, 41; Testimony, 41; Field-hands, 41; Nudity of slaves, 42; John Randolph's legacy to Essex and Hetty, 42. DWELLINGS, 42; Witnesses, 43; Slaves are wretchedly sheltered and lodged, 43. TREATMENT OF THE SICK, 44.

PERSONAL NARRATIVES, PART II. pp 45-57.

TESTIMONY OF THE REV. WILLIAM T. ALLAN. 45; Woman delivered of a dead chiid, being whipped, 46; Slaves shot by Hilton, 46; Cruelties to slaves, 46; Whipping post, 46; Assaults, and maimings, 46, 47; Murders, 47; Puryear, "the Devil," 47; Overseers always armed, 44; Licentiousness of Overseers, 47; "Bend your backs," 47; Mrs. H., a Presbyterian, desirous to cut Arthur Tappan's throat, 47; Clothing, Huts, and Herding of slaves, 47; Iron yokes with prongs, 47; Marriage unknown among slaves, 46; Presbyterian minister at Huntsville, 47; Concubinage in Preacher's house, 47; Slavery, the great wrong, 47.

NARRATIVE OF WILLIAM LEFTWICH, 48, 49; Slave's life, 48, 49.

TESTIMONY OF LEMUEL SAPINGTON, 49; Nakedness of slaves, 49; Traffic in slaves, 49.

TESTIMONY OF MRS. LOWRY, 50; Long, a professor of religion killed three men, 50; Salt water applied to wounds to keep them from putrefaction, 50.

TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM C. GILDERSLEEVE, 50; Acts of cruelty, 50.

TESTIMONY OF HIRAM WHITE, 51; Woman with a child chained to her neck, 51; Amalgamation, and mulatto children, 51.

TESTIMONY OF JOHN M. NELSON, 51; Rev. Conrad Speece influenced Alexander Nelson when dying not to emancipate his slaves, 52; George Bourne opposed slavery in 1810, 52.

TESTIMONY OF ANGELINA GRIMKE WELD, 52; House-servants, 52; Slave-driving female professors of religion at Charleston, S. C., 53; Whipping women and prayer in the same room, 53; Tread-mills, 53; Slaveholding religion, 54; Slave-driving mistress prayed for the divine blessing upon her whipping of an aged woman, 54; Girl killed with impunity, 54; Jewish law, 54; Barbarities, 54; Medical attendance upon slaves, 55; Young man beaten to epilepsy and insanity, 55; Mistresses flog their slaves, 55; Blood-bought luxuries, 55; Borrowing of slaves, 55; Meals of slaves, 55; All comfort of slaves disregarded, 56; Severance of companion lovers, 56; Separation of parents and children, 56; Slave espionage, 57; Sufferings of slaves, 57; Horrors of slavery indescribable, 56.

TESTIMONY OF CRUELTY INFLICTED UPON SLAVES, 57; Colonization Society, 60; Emancipation Society of North Carolina, 60; Kentucky, 61.

PUNISHMENTS, 62-72; Floggings, 62; Witnesses and Testimony, 62, 63.

SLAVE DRIVING, 69; Droves of slaves, 70.

CRUELTY TO SLAVES, 70; Slaves like Stock without a shelter, 71; "Six pound paddle," 71.

TORTURES OF SLAVES. Iron collars, chains, fetters, and hand-cuffs, 72-76: Advertisements for fugitive slaves, 73:Testimony, 74, 75: Iron head-frame, 76: Chain coffles, 76; Droves of 'human cattle,' 76: Washington, the National slave market, 76: Testimony of James K. Paulding, Secretary of the Navy; Literary fraud and pretended prophecy by Mr. Paulding, 77. Brandings, Maimings, and Gun-shot wounds, 77: Witnesses and Testimony, 77-82: Mr. Sevier, senator of the U. S. 79: Judge Hitchcock, of Mobile, 79: Commendable fidelity to truth in the advertisements of slaveholders, 82: Thomas Aylethorpe cut off a slave's ear, and sent it to Lewis Tappan, 93: Advertisemants for runaway slaves with their teeth mutilated, 83, 84; Excessive cruelty to slaves, 85: Slaves burned alive, 86: Mr. Turner, a slave-butcher, 87: Slaves roasted and flogged, 87: Cruelties common, 88: Fugitive slaves, 88: Slaves forced to eat tobacco worms, 88: Baptist Christians escaping from slavery, 88; Christian whipped for praying, 88: James K. Paulding's testimony, 89: Slave driven to death, 89: Coroner's inquest on Harney's murdered female slave, 89: Man-stealing encouraged by law, 90: Trial for a murdered slave, 90: Female slave whipped to death, and during the torture delivered of a dead infant, 90: Slaves murdered, 90, 91, 92: Slave driven to death, 92: Slaves killed with impunity, 93: George, a slave, chopped piece-meal, and burnt by Lilburn Lewis, 92; Retributive justice in the awful death of Lilburn Lewis, 94: Trial of Isham Lewis, a slave murderer, 94.

PERSONAL NARRATIVES.--PART III. PAGE 94-109.

NARRATIVE OF REV. FRANCIS HAWLEY, 94; Plantations, 94; Overseers, 95; No appeal from Overseers to Masters, 95.

CLOTHING, 95; Nudity of slaves, 95.

WORK, 95; Cotton-picking, 96; Mothers of slaves, 96; Presbyterian minister killed his slave, 96; Methodist colored preacher hung, 96; Licentiousness, 97; Slave-traffic, 97; Night in a Slaveholder's house, 97; Twelve slaves murdered, 97; Slave driving Baptist preachers, 97; Hunting of runaways slaves, 97; Amalgamation, 97.

TESTIMONY OF REUBEN C. MACY, AND RICHARD MACY, 98. Whipping of slaves, 98, 99. Testimony of Eleazer Powel, 99; Overseer of Hinds Stuart, shot a slave for opposing the torture of his female companion, 100.

TESTIMONY OF REV. WILLIAM SCALES, 100. Three slaves murdered with impunity, 100; Separation of lovers, parents, and children, 101.

TESTIMONY OF JOS. IDE, 101. Mrs. T. a Presbyterian kind woman-killer, 101; Female slave whipped to death, 101; Food, 101; Nakedness of slaves, 101; Old man flogged after praying for his tyrant, 101; Slave-huts not as comfortable as pig-sties, 101.

TESTIMONY OF REV. PHINEAS SMITH, 101. Texas, 102; Suit for the value of slave 'property,' 102; Anson Jones, Ambassador from Texas, 102; No trial or punishment for the murder of slaves, 102; Slave-hunting in Texas, 102; Suffering drives the slaves to despair and suicide, 102.

TESTIMONY OF PHIL'N BLISS, 102. Ignorance of northern citizens respecting slavery, 102, Betting upon crops, 103; Extent and cruelty of the punishment of slaves, 103; Slaveholders excuse their cruelties by the example of Preachers, and professors of religion, and Northern citizens, 104; Novel torture, eulogized by a professor of religion, 104; Whips as common as the plough, 104; Ladies use cowhides, with shovel and tongs, 104.

TESTIMONY OF REV. WM. A. CHAPIN, 105. Slave-labor, 105; Starvation of slaves, 105; Slaves lacerated, without clothing, and without food, 105.

TESTIMONY OF T. M. MACY, 105. Cotton plantations on St. Simon's Island, 105; Cultivation of rice, 106; No time for relaxation, 106; Sabbath a nominal rest, 106; Clothing, 106; Flogging, 106.

TESTIMONY OF F. C. MACY, 106. Slave cabins, 106; Food, 106; Whipping every day, 106; Treatment of slaves as brutes, 106; Slave-boys fight for slaveholder's amusement 107; Amalgamation common, 107.

TESTIMONY OF A CLERGYMAN, 107. Natchez, 107; 'Lie down," for whipping, 107; Slave-hunting, 108, 'Ball and chain' men, 108; Whipping at the same time, on three plantations, 108; Hours of Labor, 108; Christians slave-hunting, 108; Many runaway slaves annually shot, 108; Slaves in the stocks, 108; Slave-branding, 108.

CONDITION OF SLAVES, 108. Slavery is unmixed cruelty, 108; Fear the only motive of slaves, 109; Pain is the means, not the end of slave-driving, 109; Characters of Slave drivers and Overseers, brutal, sensual, and violent, 109; Ownership of human beings utterly destroys their comfort, 109.

OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED:--PAGE 120[sic]--210.

I. Such cruelties are incredible, 110. Slaves deemed to be working animals, or merchandize; and called 'Stock,' 'Increase,' 'Breeders,' 'Drivers,' 'Property,' 'Human cattle,' 110; Testimony of Thomas Jefferson, 110; Slaves worse treated than quadrupeds, 111, 112; Contrast between the usage of slaves and animals, 112; Testimony, 112; Northern incredulity discreditable to consistency, 112; Religious persecutions, 113; Recent 'Lynchings,' and Riots, in the United States, 113; Many outrageous Felonies perpetrated with impunity, 113; Large faith of the objectors who 'can't believe,' 114; 'Doe faces,' and 'Dough faces,' 114; Slave-drivers acknowledge their own enormities, 114; Slave plantations in Alabama. Louisiana, and Mississippi, second only to hell,' 114; Legislature of North Carolina, 115; Incredulity discreditable to intelligence, 115; Abuse of power in the state, and churches, 115; Legal restraints, 116; American slaveholders possess absolute power, 116; Slaves deprived of the safeguards of law, 116; Mutual aversion between the oppressor and the slave, 116; Cruelty the product of arbitrary power, 117; Testimony of Thomas Jefferson, 117; Judge Tucker, 117; Presbyterian Synod of South Carolina, and Georgia, 117; General William H. Harrison, 117; President Edwards, 118; Montesquieu, 118; Wilber force, 118; Whitbread, 118; Characters, 118, 121.

OBJECTION II.--"Slaveholders protest that they treat their slaves well." 121 Not testimony but opinion, 122; 'Good treatment' of slaves,' 123; Novel form of cruelty, 125.

OBJECTION III.--"Slaveholders are proverbial for their kindness, and generosity, 125; Hospitality and benevolence contrasted, 125, 126; Slaveholders in Congress, respecting Texas and Hayti, 126; 'Fictitious kindness and hospitality,' 128.

OBJECTION IV.--"Northern visitors at the south testify that the slaves are not cruelly treated," 128. Testimony, 128, 129; 'Gubner poisoned,' 129; Field-hands, 130; Parlor slaves, 130; Chief Justice Durell, 131.

OBJECTION V.--"It is for the interest of the masters to treat their slaves well," 132; Testimony, 133. Rev. J. N Maffitt, 134; Masters interest to treat cruelly the great body of the slaves, 134, 138; Various classes of slaves, 135, 136; Hired slaves, 136; Advertisements, 136, 137.

OBJECTION VI:--"Slaves multiply; a proof that they are not inhumanly treated, and are in a comfortable condition, 139. Testimony, 139; Martin Van Buren, 139; Foreign slave trade, 139; 'Beware of Kidnappers,' 140; 'Citizens sold as slaves,' 141; Kidnapping at New Orleans, 141; Slave breeders, 142.

OBJECTION VII.--"Public opinion is a protection to the slave, 143” Decision of the Supreme Court of North and South Carolina, 143; 'Protection of slaves,' 143; Mischievous effects of 'public opinion' concerning slavery, 144; Laws of different states, 144; Heart of slaveholders, 145; Reasons for enacting the laws concerning cruelties to slaves, 147; 'Moderate correction,' 148; Hypocrisy and malignity of slave laws, 148; Testimony of slaves excluded, 149; Capital crimes for slaves, 149; 'Slaveholding brutality,' worse than that of Caligula, 149; Public opinion destroys fundamental rights, 150; Character of slaveholders' advertisements, 152; Public opinion is diabolical, 152, 154; Brutal indecency, 154; Murder of slaves by law, 155, 156; Judge Lawless, 157; Slave-hunting, 159, 160; Health of slaves, 161; Acclimation of slaves, 162; Liberty of Slaves 162; Kidnapping of free citizens, 162; Law of Louisiana, 163; FRIENDS', memorial, 164; Domestic slavery, 164; Advertisements, 164, 167; Childhood, old age, 167; Inhumanity, 169; Butchering dead slaves, 169; South Carolina Medical college, 169; Charleston Medical Infirmary, 172; Advertisements, 172, 173; Slave murders, 173; John Randolph, 173; Charleston slave auctions, 174; 'Never lose a day's work,' 174; Stocks, 175; Slave-breeding, 175; Lynch law, 175; Slaves murdered, 176; Slavery among Christians, 176, 180; Licentiousness encouraged by preachers, 180; 'Fine old preacher who dealt in slaves,' 180; Cruelty to slaves by professors of religion, 181; Slave-breeding, 182; Daniel O'Connel, and Andrew Stevenson, 182; Virginia a negro raising menagerie, 182 Legislature of Virginia, 182; Colonization Society, 183; Inter-state slave traffic, 184; Battles in Congress, 184; Duelling, 185; Cock-fighting, 186; Horse-racing, 186; Ignorance of slaveholders, 187; 'Slave-holding civilization, and morality,' 188; Arkansas, 188; Slave driving ruffians, 189, 190; Missouri, 191; Alabama, 192; Butcheries in Mississippi, 194; Louisiana, 198; Tennessee, 200; Fatal Affray in Columbia, 201; Presentment of the Grand Jury of Shelby County, 202; Testimony of Bishop Smith of Kentucky, 204, 206.

ATLANTIC SLAVEHOLDING REGION, 206. Georgia, 206; North Carolina, 209; Trading with Negroes, 209; Conclusion, 210.

Source: Weld, Theodore Dwight. American Slavery As It Is. New York: The American Anti-Slavery Society, 1839.