The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-01-07

II is not within the scope of these sketch
es to enter upon a history of negro slavery
In this country, more than to say that III
insignificant appearance at its birth gave
no indication of its future monstrous devel-
opment and fearful consequences to the
stability of our government, IL was the
one weak stone which accidentally got q
place In the foundation Of what was other
wise the fairest political ediiice ever reared
by mortal hands or conceived by human
intellect And to the credit OF the Ameri
can people, be it said, that slavery was in
troduced here, not by themselves, but by
foreigners,-by subjects of other countries
who knew nothing of human liberty In
theory or In fact, and whose sole aim was
personal gain The first slaves In this
country were twenty Africans landed upon
our shores in chains by Dutch ship in A
d. 100. They were sold to company of
English SPECTATORS who had come to
America to get wealth and dealing in hu-
man char,les seemed to them the easiest
and surest road to that object They had
not immiglated hither to become citizens
and grow up with the country" as famous
emancipatiOnist of modern times expressed
II, but 10 get rich of of the spoils of the
country, and then, with their ill-gotten
wealth, TO leave it! These were the first
slave owners and dealers In human flesh
and blood of whom we have any account.
We know that slavery was not popular with
the early settlers of the afterwards slave
states, and 1t would speedily have died on
but for the Portuguese and Dutch slave
traders and slave pirates which swarmed
the shores of Africa and ranged the high
seas unm olested and delivered their cargoes
here long after their trade had been de-
clared contraband everywhere along our
coasts and, under the humane teachings of
Wilberforce and Pitt that nefarious bust
ness had not only been interdic.ed on every
water on the globe, where an English ship
could sail, but slavery itself was abolished
on every inch of British soil Still, negro
stealing went on, and slave ships went and
came and the Ubiquitous trade continued in
spite of Englsh and American cruisers
Slavery was unpopular in the South until
II began TO be profitable; and it began TO
pay when the world wanted Southern cot
ton, and negro slave labor was supposed TO
be the only kind that could be employed
In that industry!
SO plainly was slavery curse to society
Itself as we'll as Its victims, that no public
resolution or act of any political party more
than apologized for its existence up TO
about A. d, 1920. The early statesmen had
all condemned 1t, or AT most mentioned il
as an evil which was dying out. Washing.
tons farewell words to his countrymen
were full Of warning against the posslbili.
ties of fatality TO the Union by this evil.
Jetfersons splendid craftsmanship clearly
foresaw the fact that slavery and free re-
public were contradictory terms. He chose
for freedom and it was his pen that drew
or his mind that conceived the celebrated
ordinance of 1877, by which Virginia,
slave state, by her own voluntary act, con.
secrated TO freedom forever the immense
Northwest territory, now covered by the
great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wis
consin and Michigan-the very heart of
the Union. When this grand and supremely
generous gift of Virginia, "the mother of
was ratified In congress, every