, 1866-05-11
THE NEGRO As HE rs.


war, treats the John Brown raid intofVirginis
ss 'ne act OF maniac, aud talks about Browns
ignorance, his want of means and influence and
une lnadequacy Of bis preparations for SO vast q
> Seheme as general insnrrection. OfcOurse Mr
LInt expresses the utmost disgust at those who
eeleora'ed his death if he were a Christian
martyr, aud fuds in that spirit Of fanaticism one
OF the chief ProvOcations to the rebellion. This
may be generally conceded as a matter Of fact,
sot IL WAS Nc SEnntis dnlE As a, historian, to
have kncFnbefOre be wrote, as he might ha' {
done without any extraordinary research, thar
John Brown acted upon awell defined plan, that
be had the support OF many Of the most inteli-
gent abOlitionists Of thls add other States, and
that there was no lack of material resources to
have made his scheme II success. It failed from
a single reason; the slaves were not ready to
rise and fight for liberty. The enterprise was
based upon the radical mistake that tbe negroes
| would do just what white men would under the
same circumstances. II was a mistake alike as
to the native character Of the negro race, and as
to the real feelings of the slaves themselves
| Doubtless many Of them had a vague longing
for freedom; but they had no such passionate
desire for i as to be ready to sacrifice comfort
and risk life for its achievement Many thou
sands of them had, information in advance of
| Browns plan, and we're quite willing to be freed
by bin, but that was all; they would do nothiag
for themselves. If the estimSte made by John
| Brown and the northern abolitionists of the
character and teh1pet of the negroes had been
| correct, be would have succeeded at least in IN
augufating an extensive and bloody insurrec-
| ton. His first movement was a success; he got
possession of the armory, whence his expected
| allies would nave been supplied with the imple-
ments of war; but they failed to respond to his
call, to be inspired by his exalted heroism and
left him to perish as a martyr to their cause, in
stead Of Pleading them ccnqueror. The
| groes are not to be reproacbed for this. 1t was
not in them to fight; naturally the most docile
and submissive of men, long enslavement had
fixed them in the habit of patient non resistance.
| If reproach falls upon any of those concerned in
the John Brown experiment, when impartial
history makes up its verdict, it will be upon
those who encouraged the hold insurrectonst,
furnished him with money and arms, .and made
no effort TO rescue him from Virginia galows.
Honor required that they should risk something
for bis salvation; they left him to die, and then
glorfed MIN with or ,tous and songs. .
1t is curious fact that the radical mistake
about the negro, out of which grew tile John
Grown raid, is still adhered to, Notwithstanding
that the history of the last FIVE years has made
more and more evident the actual truth IN the
matter. twas predicted with the utmost conf
dence that the moment war commenced the ne
groes would rise and the southern whites would
have too much to do ut home in suppresSing in.
But the great mass OF the negroes kept quIeUy At
work on the plantations while their masters
went into tie rebel armies; prOclamatiOns of lib.
cr,y by our companions drew in hardly enough
contr0blnds for camp service; aud even the
emancipation proclamation had no perceptihe
influence upon the negroes They heard Of il
and were glad, but waited patiently for the
Yankees to come along and deliver them Some
100 900 altogether at various times en-.
rolled as soldiers, chiefly as cOnscripts, but the
war did not last long enough to give them
chance to show their quality as soldiers. \ few
coIored regiments from the North exhibited fair
fphtinp qualities, but our commanders did not
trus: any important enterprise to the armed
freedmen Most of the negroes who died in the
war perished IN camp and hospital, not in the
field. and the war proved, what John Browns
failure had previously shown, that the negro, as
centuries of slavery had left him, is not fight
inc man. If he had been what our abolitQnsts
suDposed, he would have given the rebels in
mense trouble during the war, and would have
helped greatly to its earlier decisfon.s indeed,
if the four millions of negroes in the.SOuth had
done what white men would have done in the
same circumstances, the rebellion might have
been nut down with less than half the blood and
treasure actually expended.
IL ia no reproach to the colored men to state
these facts They are not to be blamed for fail
ing to do what it was not in them to do. Let all
honor be given to those that fought, or in any
way served the nation in its hour of trial. But
to distinguish the negroes as the henefactors
and sayiors of the Union is to deal in false and
inflated rhetoric. 1t is 10 do injustice to the
white men who fought the decisive battles of the
war. and perished by hundreds of thousands
that the Union might live. The cause of the
negro is pejudiced by the over statement of his
services Our soldiers have little patience with
the orators who forget them, and attribute the
salvation Of the nation wholly to the negroes.
They know very well that the fScts do not sus-
tain any extraordinary claim.. They know that
the freedmen are the benefciaries, instead of
the beuefactors of the nation, and that it has
cost many millions OF dollars to make self-re-
liant and intelligent citizens of the millions to
whom the naIion has given the boon of liberty
They do not grudge the cost, but they would
like TO see some fair division of the honors and
those who exaggerate the services of the negro
in the war should understand that thereis no one
thing by which they can so surely strengthen
and fix the prejudice by which the colored man
is excluded from equal political rights. Many !"
good cause is damaged by the OVERRIDING Of zeal
ots and this is the more certain to be the case
where there are chronic dislikes and jealousies
of race and caste 10 the way. We can DO the
best for the negro, or for any other man, by Ia
king him for what he really is, and dealing with
him accordingly Springfield Aas'.) RtpH0''ea"'
-. a. -"