The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-01-08
From Claws True American.
An Appeal to all the Followers OF Christ
in the American Union.

reHSion, CalnoIlc and Protestant, IN the
: American Union, the writer Of this arti-
Gle would respectfully represent, that he
is but single individual of humble
t pretentions, struggling with honest zeal
for the liberties Of his country and the
common rights of all mankind. He sets
. up no claims to piety or purity of life,
but willis: he is himself subject to all the
inirmities Of our common nature, he be
leves in an olnnipotent and benevolent
God, over-ruling the universe by fixed
and eternal laws He believes that mans
greatest happiness consists in wise
understanding and a strict observance
all the laws ofhis being, moral mental
and physical, which are best set forth in
the Christian code of ethics. He be-,
lieves that the Christian religion is the
truest basis of justice, mercy, truth and
happiness known among men. AS pol
itlcan especially does he regard Chris
tian morality as the sole basis of nation
al and constitutional liberty. He be-
leives that the liberty of conscience was
the antecedent of civil liberty, and that
to Christianity did our fathers owe the
emigration from the Old World and our
national independence in the New. He
believes that there is now a crisis in the
affairs of our nation which calls for the
united efforts of all good men to save US
from dishonor and ruin.
Slavery is our great national sin, and
must be destroyed or we are lost From
a small cloud not larger than a mans
hand it has overspread the whole Hea-
vens. Three millions of our fellow men,
all (f our religion be not fable) chill
dren of the same FOther, are held in alb
solute servitude and the most unqualified
despotism. BY strange oversight or
self avenging criminality Of our fathers,
an anti-republican, unequal, sham rep
resentation has given the slaveocracy a
concentrated power, which subjec the
additional fifteen millions of whites OF
this nation to the caprice and rule OF
some three hundred and Gfy thousand
Shareholders. They monopolize the prin
cipal Offices of honor and profit, control
our foreign relations and internal policy
of economical progress. They have
forced us into unjust wars-natlonal bad
laith-and large and unnecessary eXpen-
dItures OF money. They have violated
time after time the National and State
Constitutions They have trampled un-
der foor all of the cardinal principles Of
our inherited liberty freedom of the
press liberty of speech-trial by jury
the habeas corpus and that clause Of the
Constitution which gives to the citizens
Of the several States the rights and priv
ileges of citizens of each State. They
have murdered our citizens-imprisoned
our eamen-and denied us all redress
in the courts Of national judicature, by
forcibly and illegally eXpelling our en-
bassadors thus failing in the comfy OBJ.
served sacred by all nations, civilized.
and savage, till nowl All this have we
borne, in magnanimous forbearance, or
tame subserviency, till remonstrance is
regarded as criminal and il has become
the common law of the land, in all the
Slave States, to murder in cold blood
and in calm and "dignifed manner"
any American freeman who has the spr-
it to exercise the constitutional and nat
ural and inaienable rights of free
thought and manly utterance!
Now in the name of that religion
which teaches US to love our neighbor as
ourself-to do unto others as we would
have others do unto us-to break every
yoke and let the Oppressed 90 free, we
pray every follower Of Christ to bear tes-
timony against this crime against man
and God; which fills our souls with cru
city and crime-stains our hands with
blood and overthrows every principle
of national and constitutional liberty, for
which the good and great-souIed patriots
of all ages laid down their lives, and for
which our fathers suffered, bled, and d.
ed.
We pray you to set your faces against
all those prolessed followers Of Christ
who betray him in the house Of their
friends, and make God the founder Of an
institution which causes the mos, refined,
enlightened, and "respectabIe men, in
the State of Kentucky, where Slavery
exists in its most modified and lenient
supremacy to raise the black and bloody
flag of "death to liberty of Speech and
the Press!"
We pray you in the name of liberty
our country-our common humanity -
and the God of all, who is no respecter
ofpersons - to come to our help!
We know that in l776 the prayers oil
the Church went up from the closet, the
altar, and from the field of battle to the
Great Arbiter of the destinies Of war;
we believe that a time of equal danger
and awful responsibility is at hand and
we now ask that the prayers Of the uni
, versal Church be uttered in the cause OF
Liberty once more.
And as we believe that it is not only
our duty to pray, but to act, we respect