The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-08-03
WASHINGTON. ID. C.
TooPYkIaEr SECURED By THE AUTHoR.l
For the National Era.
THE LEGAL TENURE OF SLAVERY.
LETTER XVI.
SLAVERY HAS NOT BEEN LOCALIZED SINCE
1852, OR AT THAT PERIOD.
To tie Friends of AnerieGn Liberty:

1852, OR AT THAT PERIOD
To the Friends of AnserieGn Liberty:
hsye shown, if mistake not, that up to the
date of the adoption of the Federal Constitu-
tion l7s9) there was no legalized Slavery In
this country, there having been no valid "nu-
nieipal law" to establish it. The question.
therefore, with which we set out On our search.
is still before us" Whsn, auhers, ko1r, and by
sokoEl, lOas american Slavery iegdiized2n
Did the Constitution of 1889 legalize it, Is
the date Of its legality to be reckoned from
thai period Was tkat the time, the mode, the
process, Of its legalization2 Does it stand on
the authority CT the nation, as represented in
tina Federal Convention Does It reside on
the instrument they elaborated or in the
State ratifeations that succeeded it? or in the
Government thus orgea;zedi
Itwould be difficult to prove this and still
mare difficult TO make either the North OF the
South consent to it, If it were proved.
IL such were the origin Of legalizsd Slavery,
Its legality would extend over the whole cour-
try, for all the States were alike included, and
no particular discrimination was made be-
tween them, If such were the origin cf the
Institution" the process Of its termination
would be equally simple. The same power
that created it could destroy it. The end Of
ny argument would, by that process, be ef
fectueiiy reached, but choose to zee and rep
resent things as they are. The Constitution Of
1889 did not iegaliSe Slavery. l know CT no
advocates of the system who claim that i. did
They o3ly claim that it recognised it-thst it
gUGrGnfied it. or that compromise was made
IN its favor. at this claim | will look IN duo
season. But il assumes the previous existence
OF lcgalzed Slavery, "a assumption which
have already disproved We must find the L.
gdlSGtion Of Slavery somewhere else il re fnd
Il az al, and It must be of later date than
1879, when the AntiSlaVery State Constitu-
tons were in force.
Some OF the original thirteen States, es well
as sume Of tboss edmitted afterwards may
have adopted new Constitutions that recognise
SlaveTy--!n some cases forbidding the Legisla-
lures 20 abolish il. But even this does not le-
g-i>e Slavery. 1t only assumes its previous
Legality, and undertakes to perpetuste what it
supp0ses TO be in existence. But have al
ready shown the faLacy of its supposed previ-
ous legality and mere assumptions thas turn
out TO be faliacious have no legal force. Not
enc Of the existing State Constitutions pretend
CT attempt 10 Originate the institution of Sls-
very. Not one Of them clearly define loyen il
they attempt to defnc) uhO may be held as
s'a7es, and, conscq Ieniiy, not one OF them fur
Diahes foundation for iegal:z2d Slavery. They |
u
tioal precisely where they found it. They i'm
part 70 it no additional validity. They neither
make il legal, nor prove IL 10 be so No sound
and shge@d lawyer, | think would expect TO
msin.siu sGcces-fuily, beflre an impartial and
learned court the existence of legallzed Slave
" IN any Cf the Southern States if he should
frat conceds las iilegalty up to the date Of the
State Constitutions noY exislinE. Aud this
mus, be conceded, as has already been ehown
When Southern Judges and Senators fnd
themselves hard pressed las viii be seen so0n)
TO make out the legal foundation Ct slavehoid-
ing, they are ne7er known to resort TO the
State Constitutions for its warranty To do
this woUld be giving il an origin too modern
to comport with lite claims to veperation. Il
would be placing it en- too vague and uncer-
tam basis. IL would unsette all claims to
slave property pIl0T 20 the date CT the new
Constitution, and ~ StStes wherein 10 pro-s!a-
very Constitutions have been formed. AT the
game Gne, TIE fact Of frr.ing such new Con-
s;isuticns Latrays the Consciousness Of defect
il the Legal tenure Of previously existing SlG-
very.
| thick I have now proved, 60 far as any
negative proposition OF the kind can or need be
proved, that Slavery does not a. the present
time, exist In the American slave Staies, by
any "i-csl or municipal law" No euactments
creating tie relation, CT defining either its con-
citlOns or It's subjects have been found No
chronological tebio reveals TO Us their dates
no archives contain tho original Documents
that embody them. No history tells Us the
names CT the statesmen who signed the enact
mente. No statute book gives Us :hc titles the
sections, or the prcyizioDS Cf tho Gcts. Not
even the initial BE Il enccttd has survived
the brief period OF our recent history as q
people We know when, where. how, and by
r-sfr he A. I. I II.
Colonial Govern nonts were organized. We
know when, where, how, and by whom, the
Continental ASSOCIATION against British
aggression and the slave trade was adopted erd
signed. We know tho date, the specifications.
and tho sgoeTs Of tn DsclaTGtiCn o. Independ-
eaco, or the articles Of Confederation Of the
Federal Constitution, e tie CONSTITUTIONS Of
the several States, of the treaties and principal
statutory enactments succeeding and growing
cut Of them. But tie psuIlGT institution OF
American Slavery is n nothing n.o,s "pecu-
lar" than in this-thas its claims are without
either document or dste without paternity or
parchment. No man can tell lrken it became
al ips'itGtion" or how or by whom it was
inSt1tuied-uDless We 80 back again to John
ii Awklus, the robber end murderer n--cr to
The Dutch esptsin who knows his Bamc y that
hTss landed cargo Of stolen Africans on the
banks OF James rITer. No name OF native
American can &c pointed out as having assisted
at the enactment OF the "looal municipal law"
that logai'zed American Slavery. IL was
neither Bradford nor Carver-nor Smith nor
Oklethorpe-n0r Baltimore nor Penr-nor
Franklin nor Rsndolph-nor WASHINGTON nor
JsfeFson-Dor Madison nor Jay-nor Mar
shall nor Wirt-nor Clay nor Calhoun. The
locality of the local Law legslntion equally
eludes pursuit And yet eli the iurists assure
US that Slavery can exist only by the force
Of municipal Law, local law, positive law
The Slave Power, ncvertheless. in the persons
Of its petty olgarchy Of 100 600 Shareholders
on the ASSUMED legaliIsti0n Of American Sia-
very, espires to expound the Constitution, to
dictate the national policy, and control twen-
ty-fve millions Of people
This is the fail tenure Of their claim. Were
1t only the claim of an insurance company to
the night Of iss0.rg policies Of insurance, or
ct a turnpike company to collect sixpenny
toils the legal foundations of the claim, if no
better sttessed, wOuld dissclEo into thin air.
No decent attorney would encourage litigation
in favor Of sCch 2 CAIN. Bu. this Is a claim
Ct one man TO held another raGn al a chattel-
tie claim of a smsl minority to subvsrt the
liberties Of mighty nation. since fin the
words Of William Pinkney, Of Msrylapdl "the
stream Of general hbcrtyn cannot "Aog for
ever unpolluted, through the mire of partial
bondage Asuredly, tho legal tenure of
property in man lf there be any such tbipgl
ought to be, at least, as carefully defined es
the legal claim of turnpike Company to its
tolls The date, the authors, and the provisions
Of the enactment ought 70 be equally clear.
Indispensable, and authentic But nothing of
the kind can be fourd, either during the Colo
NAL reriod of our history. CT since the estah-