Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1855-12-06
For the Green Mountain Freeman.
NOAHJS CVTRSE.

nations" by Rev. DR.. Lord. President OF DART
mouth College, the editor, with permission,
omitted considerable portion of the article, as
originally prepared, on account of its being too
long for bis Periodical. Most of what l had
written in reply to the Doctors attempted de-
fence of Slavery on the ground of Noah : curse,
he left out and supplied the deficiency with
some briefremarks, chiefly his own, which almost
entirely fail to exhibit my real sentiments on
that subject, which are, that God never either
authorized or executed that curse and that
even if it had been uttered by divine nspira-
ton, it would be wholly inapplicable to the in
habitants of Africa, and would not give the least
authority for onslaving the negro races. As
much is said of that old curse as sufficient
warrant for negro slavery, I will be obliged to
you to give place in your paper to what the
Ne,o Englander has omitted in regard to it. The
cause of truth and humanity may be promoted
thereby. Yours, very respectfully,
| S. McKEEN.
The first proof given by DR.. Lord that slavery
is an institution of revealed religion is the curse
which Noah pronounced on Ham, or rather on
Canaan his son, as recorded in the ninth chap
ter of Genesis. Ham is represented as having
grievously sinned by marrying one Of the wicked
and accursed race of Cain. of which, however,
we have no evidence, and charged with treating
his father with scandalous disrespect; for which
reasons, it is said, God cursed him in his poster
ity; giving them up to the practice OF the most
degrading and shameful vices, and by booming
them to perpetual subsection and slavery to the
posterity of Shem and Japhet. This curse, &C.
cording to those who take this view of the mat
ter, is designed to be an enduring monument be-
fore all nations and ages of Gods terrible dis
pleasure against those who refuse duly to honor
their parents!
As this curse has long been considered, by the
advocates of slavery, divine warrant for en-
shaving the negro race, let US examine it, with
attention and candor. When Noah came forth
with his family from the ark, he planted vine
yard, drank of the wine, and was drunken. We
may charitably suppose that the wine was stron-
ger than he suspected, or that he was less able
to bear it than he had been. Be that as it
may, in this one instance, he was overcome;
and lay uncoveree in his tent! In this deplor-
able case, Ham, his youngest son, accidentally
found him, and Immediately conveyed the sad
intelligence to his two brothers, who, with faces
averted, approached their father and cast COW
ering over him. =" When Noah awoke from his
wine, and knew what his younger son had done
unto him. in stating his humiliating condition
to his two other sons, he said, " Cursed be Ca
naan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren. ". 1t is maintained that he spoke by
divine inspiration, and that his curse from that
time made the slavery of the posterity of Ham
to the posterity of Shem and Japhet, aninstitu-
ton Of revealed religion, sanctioned by the au-
thority Of God! This opinion, let it be held by
whom it may, we decidedly reject as groandless.
unreasonable and monstrous. II is high time
that it were thrown aside with the lumber Of
the dark ages +
Notwithstanding all the efforts which have
been made to blacken the character Of Ham, and
to make him appear SO eminently wicked that it
was fit that, his whole posterity should be 40.
cursed on his account, that charity which think
eth no evil would lead US to take very different
view of his conduct 1t was bis misfortune to
find his venerable father in deplorable cond.
ton, and in his confusion and grief he hastened
away to convey the sad intelligence to his two
elder brothers, that they might, jointly with
him, determine what was best to be done. There
is no evidence that he ridiculed his father, or
treated him with the least disrespect His
brothers found no fault with bis conduct, neither
is their the least censure cast upon it by the sa-
cred historian or any intimation given that
the Almighty was displeased with him. He
) might not have had any means of covering his
: father, when taken with sudden surprise, as his
brothers did when duly informed and having
time to act deliberately
Neither is there the least evidence that the
curse which Noah uttered was, in any sense, ut
tered by divine authority, He had just SO far
recovered from his drunkenness, as to learn in
what disgraceful condition he had BEEN and
how his son Ham had seen him, and given in
formation to Shem and Japhct of the facts In
the case-when the old man, shamed and vexed
but without giving the least evidence of repeu.
: lance or humility, and without asking God to
forgive him. uttered this terrible curse, not in.
deed against Ham, but his son Canaan who,
It 80 far as appears, had not had anything to do
- in the matter, or even any knowledge of it
! Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall
y he be to his brethren" What right had he
more than any other man, to curse whom God
had not cursed! The fact that he was, in the
main, good man, was no more justification
" Of his curse than Of his drunkenness Other
men, probably as good as he, have been known
in their grief and vexation to utter curses which
no one ever supposed to be agreeable to the will
= of God, or otherwise than utterly offensive unto
= him. Job cursed the night in which he wa.
, = conceived, and the day in which he was born
" Jeremiah cursed not only the day of his birth
but the man who brought the intelligence to hi,
J. ! father, instead of sIaying him as soon Us he
e came into the world Who will attempt tc
Is justify these insane imprecations! And what
It ground have we to believe that Noah did moi
= y speak as rashly and wckedly as either Job Oh
o Jeremiah' To maintain, on the ground of hi
curse. that slavery is an institution of revealed
religion, would he as absurd as to argue frou
the curse of jeremiah that it is divine ordi
nance that the man who brings intelligence to
father of the birth Of son, instead of quickly
70 putting the newborn child to death, does there