The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-11
".

Il had been hoped that the Missouri Com
promise would put an end TO the agitation
Of the slavery question, but the third decade
Of the nineteenth century had not expired
before b Abolitionists were again at work
with renewed energy. From one of them,
David Walker, the son Of a free negress by
a slave, came a pamphlet which justly ex-
cited the spprehensions Of the Shareholders,
caused lev legislation against the free
negro and added a new crime to the statute
books in several States. Walkers PAM
phlet, which he called AN Appeal" com
prised four articles, called respectively Our
Wretchedness in Consequence of Slavery"
Our Wretchedness in Consequence OF. Ig-
norance," Our W~retchedness in Conse-
quence OF the Preachers Of the Religion Of
Jesus Christ and Our Indebtedness. in
Consequence OF the Colonization Plan It
was circulated through the mail at the
authors expense, and fifty copies found
their way to Savannah md fell into the
hands of the Mayor, who sent one of them
to the Governor, by whom il was at once
transmitted to the Legislature. The mes
sage was received on.the last day of the
session, but ere the Legislature adjourned
a bill was framed and passed by which a
quarantine of forty days was imposed on
vessels having free negroes on board, all
intercourse with sue vessels by free ne
groes or slaves was forbidden. the intro
duction OF slaves into Georgia for sale was
prohibited and the circulation Of pam
phlets Of evil tendency among domestics
was made a capital crime, while the teach
ing Of free negroes or slaves TO read or
write was made a penal offence. In Vir-
GINA a somewhat similar bill was passed in
the House of Deputies, but the Senate re-
jected il. In Louisiana, on the other hand;
a law was enacted f~orbidding free negroes
to enter the State and commanding all who
had entered il since 1925 to leave within
sixty davs.
In a third and revised edition of his PAM
phlet Walker distinctly advocated an in
surrection Of the slaves as soon az this might
be practicable n dwelt at length upon the
numbers and bravery of the blacks. Mr..
McMaster has no doubt that had the appeal
continued to be circulated seque
Of the most serious kind might have fol-
lowed, but in June. 1880, Walker died, and
within a few months his production became
one OF the rarest OF an~ti-slavery pamphlets.
Before. however, the excitement caused
by Walker began TO subside the first num-
Der Of the Liberdtor, which was destined TO
be the most powerful OF all anti-slavery
publications, was issued by William LLOYD
Garrison in Boston. For the first few
weeks Of 1891 the p was received with
some favor by the anti-slavery press, but
in the South il was attacked from the start,
and after the adoption of the illustrated
headpiece was denounced as incendiary
- ~ rawar1a1 NJ ana ~ kka okl.R 49,.
OF the Southampton massacre. The leader
OF this instruction was Nat Turner. a
slaveliving In Southampton county. Va, who
could read and write, M was known in the
neizhborhood as a preacher who exercised
no small influence owe the blacks. What
means he used TO incite his fellow slaves is
not known, but just before the break Of
day on August %, 1891. Turner. with twenty
o. thirty follcwers, begar an attack on the
whites dwelling near Cross Keys. The
house OF a widow was first visited and the
family OF five whites murdered. hefamiIy
of Turner'S master furnished the next VIC
tins, and ere the day closed ffty-hve per-
sous-meu, women and children-had been
killed. TROOPS were o o hurried to the
scene OF the outbreak from every direction
and although some show OF resistance was
made by a body OF negroes some 200 In
number. they we're quickly surrounded
and shot down or captured, only a few
finding refuge in the Dismal swamp. How
far reaching the instruction might be no
one knew, and in the excited state OF the
people reports Of ley plots came from
North Carolina, Delaware and the Eastern
Shore OF Maryland. Turner's insurrection
was attributed by pro-slavery men and
newspapers to Walkers Appeal" and CARR
sons Libcrdtov. although no evidence was
forthcoming that Turner OF apy OF his fol-
lowers ever saw a copy Of either OF these
publications. In Raleigh, ". c., the Grand
jury returned a true bill against Garrison
r