The Duty of the Free States; Or, Remarks Suggested by the Case of the Creole (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1842 Excerpt: ...the slavery of the United States It belongs equally to the free and to the slave-holding portion of the country. It is our institution, as truly as if it were planted in the midst of us; for this District is the common ground of the nation. Its institutions exist solely by authority of the nation. They are as truly expressions of the national will, as any acts of Congress whatever. We all uphold the slave code, under which men are bought and sold and whipped at their masters' pleasure. Every slave auction in the District is held under our legislation. We are even told, that the prison of the District is used for the safe-keeping of the slaves who are brought there for sale. In the former part of these remarks, I said that the Free States had no participation in this evil. I forgot the Distiict of Columbia. There we sustain it as truly as we support the navy or army. It ought then to be abolished at once. And in urging this action, we express no hostility towards Southern institutions. We do not think of the South. We see within a spot under our jurisdiction, a great wrong sustained by law. For this law we are responsible. For all its fruits we must give account. We owe then to God, to conscience, to rectitude, our best efforts for its abolition. We have no thought of limiting Southern institutions. It is our own unjust, unhallowed institution which we resolve no longer to maintain. Can the Free States consent to continue their partnership in this wrong? They have not even the poor consolation of profiting by the crime. The handful of slaves in the District may be of some worth to a few masters, hut are utterly insignificant in their relation to the country. They might be bought by the government and set free at less expense than is incurred in passing many...