The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-06-22
AS TO CHATTEL SLAVERY.
The Truth of History Stated oy Je1-
freson Davis.

yrditor Constitution: The truth of his
tow ,yas very correctly and very apt
" stated in the editorial i'll The Consti-
tuition of the 18th instant referring to the
statement by The Chicago Chronicle that
in the southern states the negro was Tor
generations a mere chattel over whom the
master exercised the power of life or
death, and who had no rlght OIL tFlal by
Jury or any appeal to law
You are correct, too. in thinking that
II Is pure ignorance that leads many
northern writer's to make statements oil
this sort The ignorance among the peo-
ME of the north--the educated as well as
the uneducated-abo almost everything
relatingk to the south IS great and we'll
nigh universal, and upon no subject is
il more widespread and apparently in
eradicable than that Of the relations be-
tween the races in the days before the
war between the states.
This ignorance arises from the fact that
those people read nothing upon that sub
ject that does not emanate from unin-
formed, misinformed and prejudced
sources And as it is a lamentable fact
that il is from similar sources that the
people of the south have so largely,
been getting their literature for more
than q third of century, it Is not sur
I1riSing that many are now to be found
among them who believe that chattel
slavery once existed In the south. Only
short while before his death. eX-Presl-
dent Davis was impelled to correct this
belief on the part OF the editor OF a
southern paper who had written an ar
ticle in which he referred TO himself as
having been always opposed to chattel
slavery In acknowledging the receipt of
Il copy of the paper containing the ar
ticle in question, Mr.. Davis wrote as fol-
lows:
Dear Sir: Accept my thanks for a
marked copy of your paper of the 9th
instant have read the article on the
True Southern Character win much
qualification, but ] wish respectfully to
point out to you what | consider an er-
ror, and one from which most evil conse-
uuences have flowed refer TO the sen
tence in which you announce yourself as
one who always was inherently and vital
" opposed to chattel slavery
"Chattel slavery never existed In this
country Local legislation recognized the
right to the service or labor Of African
slaves and this right was guaranteed in
the constitution to form the union OF
states binding persons outside OF the linn
its of the local law to restore fugitive
slave on demand of the owner 1t is true
that this right to the service or labor eN-
tended to the power to transfer the slave
by sale, but the laws OF dll lue STATES
protected the life and person of the slave,
so as to make it a crime to kill or
MAIN a slave punishable in like case
of a. white man. The slaves were. there
fore, not chattels, but property to the
extent of lifelong right to their service
or labor There is so much in your aru-
Gle TO commend, and the spirit with which
it is written is so truly southern that
l have been prompted TO depart from
my habit in thus treating OF pohtlcal
question Very respectfully yours,
"JEFFERSON DAVIS,
"BeauvoIr Miss, July IS, 1855
beg to supplement. with this statement
by Mr. Davis, your admirable and timely
article on this subject, with the hope that
1t may contribute somewhat toward furth-
ering the correction of an error which he
truly characterized as "one from which
most evil consequences have flowed
T. X. OGLESBY,
Atlanta, Ga. June IS, 1903