Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1843-09-01
LETTER FROM JOHN Q. ADAMS ON
XEST INDIA EN- NCIPATION.


The following letter was addressed to Asa
Walker, Charles A. Stackpoe and F. M. Sabine,
Esoures, Committee of Correspondence OF meet
ing of the citizens of Bangor, and its vicinity hol
den the 9th of May, 1S43, and read at a meeting,
for celebrating the ninth Anniversary of West In
dia Emancipation, in Bangor, August ], 1913.
Quincy, July A, l843.
FELLOW CITIZENS Il have received your let
ter of the 9th ult and perhaps, in answering it my
safest and most prudent course, would be to ex-
press my regret that the precarous state of my
health, and particularly of my voice, would not
warrant me in undertaking engagement to de-
liver a public address upon any subject whatever,
on the first day of next August This answer
have been most reluctantly constrained to give to
several other kind invitations to address the people
on various other subjects i'll the course OF the en-
suing Summer and Autumn. But the occasion of
which YOU propose to celebrate the Anniversary, is
viewed in lights so entirely different and opposite
to each other, that it cannot be denied to have
sumed both religious and political aspect, and
this must be my apology, while returning my thanks
for your friendly invitation for frankly unfolding to
YOU other reasons which would have dictated to
me the same conclusion, even if the state of my
health admitted my compliance with it.
The extinction of SLAVERY from the face of the
earth is problem moral, political, religious, which
at this moment rocks the foundations OF human So
ciety throughout the regions of civilized man. 1t
is indeed nothing more nor less than the consum-
nation Of the Christian Religion. 1t is only as
immortal beings that all makind can in any sense be
said to be born equal; and when the Declaration of
Independence affrms as a self evident truth, that
all men are born equal it is precisely the same as
if the affirmation had been that all men are born
with immortal souls. For take away from man his
soul the immortal spirit that is within him, and he
would be mere tameable beast of the field and
like others of his kind, would become the property
g Hpnca II lS that nv the law of
nature and of God, man can never be made the
property of man-and herein consists the fallacy
with which the holders of slaves often delude them
selves by assuming that the test of property is hu
man law. The soul of one man cannot by human
law be made the property of another The owner
of slave is the owner OF living corpse; but he
is not the owner of man.
The natural equality of mankind, affirmed by the
signers of the Declaration of independence to be
held bv them as self evident TRUTH was not SO held
by their enemies. 1t not so held by the King
and Parliament of Great Britain. They held the
reverse-they held that sovereign power was I'M
limited and illimitable That the tie of allegiance
bound the subject to implicit obedience, and there
fore that the natural equality Of mankind was ia
BILE. This was THE question OF the American
Revolutionary war. In the progress of that war,
France, Spain, the United Netherlands became in
volved in il. The governments of France and
Spain, absolute monarchies, had no sympathies with
the American cause.-the rights of human nature.
Verpennes had plotted with Gustavus of Sweden
the revolution in Sweden from Liberty to despo-
tism. Turgot very shortly before the surrender Of
Burgoyne, but after our Declaration Of lndepend-
ence, had formally advised Louis the 10th, that it
was for the interest of France and Spain, that the
in;urection in the Anglo American colonies should
be suppressed. France and Spain had been Warn-
ed of the remote consequences to them as o,oners
of colonies of the success of the Anglo-Ame
nut paithar Turuot Vpruannpa
one European or American Statesman of that age
foresaw or imagined what would be the consequence
upon their oDn governments at home OF the trlum-
plant establishment by a seven years war, the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the British Empire and the es-
tablishment on the continent OF North America, OF
an Anglo Saxon Confederate Nation on the foun-
dation Of the natural equality of mankind, and the
inalienable rights of man.
After Louis the 10th lost his crown, he remem-
bered, and bitterly repented the part he had taken
on the side Of the natural equality humankind, and
the rights of human nature in the American Rev
olutionnry war; For the revolution in France, by
w..ch be lost his throne and his life, was another
fruit of the same self evident truth, that all men
are born equal, and have RIoHT to life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness, pithom Infringing
upon the same right of all other men.
Until the day Of the Declaration Of lndepend-
ence the condition of slavery recognized as
lawful, in all the English Colonies The Consti-
tuition of the Commonwealth OF Massachusetts, es-
tablished three years after the Declaration of In
dependence adopted its self evident truths, and
the Judges of the Supreme Court Of the Common
wealth under that Constitution, judicially decided
that slavery within the Commonwealth was there
by ipso facto abolished Since that day, there has
not been slave within the State.
The author of the Declaration of Independence
was Shareholder. His self-evident truths taught
him that slave-holding was an outrage upon the
natural rights of mankind, at least as great as par
Elementary taxation without representation lie
held that opinion to his dying day. He introdu-
ced it into his draught of the Declaration of indie
pendence Itself, imputing the existence of slavery
In Virginia, to George the third, as one of the
crimes which proved him to be tyrant, unfit to
rule over free people.
Among the signers of the Declaration of indie
pendence, there were at least twenty shareholders
probably thirty. They could not stomach the
application ofthe sefevident truths to themselves
and they Topped it off as an unsghtly excresence
upon the tree of Liberty. But his grandson and
executor has carefully preserved it in the double
form of print and fac-simile, in the edition which