The Liberator

AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE LADIES' ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY, OF PHILADELPHIA, BY ROBERT B. FORTEN, NOV. 7, 1834.

(Concluded.)

Ladies—It is for you thus to act; it is for you to give life and constant vigor to this great work. Female influence has been, and ever will be, necessary for the advancement of any good cause; and there is no subject that has ever presented itself for your consideration, that requires so much of your valuable assistance.

If you possess feelings for your country, which vibrate in unison with those of the individual now addressing you, not a hand will be idle, not a heart indifferent to the voice of freedom. Yes, the freedom of man—of country—of future ages, will command attention with a sovereign call. This is the time, for the welfare of the world and its increasing millions, for the glory of America, that you should erect altars of liberty to her honor. Tarry not. Let the genius of universal emancipation be your polar star. And, to crown this object with success, nothing should be esteemed completely done, till the infant, who is yet to lisp the name of his country, may glory as he learns to speak, that not one child can be found to pollute the shores of republican America, with the footsteps of prejudice.

You have, greatly to your credit, formed a society upon the broad and true foundation of immediate emancipation. A foundation, which, in the opinion of all those whose hearts are not steeled against the cries of the oppressed, is fully capable of supporting the grand, the immense superstructure—a foundation bearing the incorruptible monuments of truth, justice, humanity, and benevolence. Are you prepared to act up to the doctrine which your society inculcates? Are all, within the compass of my voice, prepared to make that sacrifice, which will be necessary, if you abandon your prejudices and enrol your names on the list of immediate abolitionists? If so, a channel is now open, and millions yet unborn will send forth their prayers to heaven for your exertions in their behalf.

Parents! remember this; engrave it upon the tablets of your children's memories. Strive by every means to teach them how to act in reference to this cause which involves the destinies of millions of your fellow creatures. Tell them to crush that oppression, which bears to earth beings like themselves, differing only in color. Oh! it is by this method, my honored friends, that this holy, this just cause shall stand unrivalled for its benevolence.

Look to the mother country—Great Britain. Behold her! She has set an example for America to follow. She has severed the iron chains, in all her provinces. Her Isles are free from the curse of slavery. Her slaves are slaves no more. She has rolled away the stone from the sepulchre of their long buried freedom; and they have arisen, and now stand forth among the freemen of the world. This is an event which justice sanctions, and which we, together with all sincere philanthropists, hail as a jubilee—a noble advance for the abolition cause.

Whose influence powerfully aided in carrying this doctrine into practice, and claimed for monarchical Britain a supremacy over republican America? The females. Their eloquence, their wisdom, which is not a wisdom borrowed from the dead, but that which nature has inspired them; an acute observance of the passing scene, and a deep insight into the motives of its glorious agent. Their influence was a powerful remedy for the evil. They left no effort untried, no avenue, by which an appeal could be made in behalf of their oppressed brethren, was to be found unoccupied. They crowded the houses of Parliament with their pathetic and soul-stirring appeals. They diffused the spirit of justice so freely, that none could fail to feel its truth and power. And blessed be the hands that did it, and thrice blessed be the God that gave them power; their appeals were not in vain—for the broken chains echoed liberty to the call.

Here, then, is a pattern for the Women of our country—an example of unsullied philanthropy. Is it not sufficient to stir you to a similar action? Can you—O! will you, hold back—

'When every flap of England's flag
Proclaims that all around are free.

No. You have already entered the great arena of universal freedom. You have enlisted under that standard which is far more spirit-stirring than—

The fustian banner which proudly waves
In splendid mockery o'er a land of slaves.'

Laboring, as we the people of color are, under difficulties too grievous to be borne; surrounded, as we are, by the deluge of oppression: your aid is a mountain-top upon which our ark can safely rest. No one will dare refuse to listen to your arguments. Children will claim the attention of their parents, who might have slumbered upon this question. Fathers, by the influence of their daughters, may forever destroy their bitter prejudices. There are no side-way paths for philanthropy to exert itself; but straight and unerring, it aims, by moral power and persuasive tongue, to break every yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to claim for them privileges which you all enjoy. Nothing short of this spirit can ever place you on an eminence with your sisters of Great Britain. They have driven the aristocracy of the skin forever from them, and supplanted it with the unwavering principles of justice and humanity.

Who can inquire into the practical philanthropy, which displayed itself in the character of those women, without being fired by their worth, and made emulous by their example? Who can delineate their character, without naturally enforcing principles, alike endeared to the moralist, patriot, and philanthropist?

In imitation of their philanthropy, you must apply a portion of your time and property to an extension of the benefits of universal freedom.

I pray you consider what your own interest and love of country prescribe to you. I ask no more of you than to follow the dictates of your own consciences. You are not now forced to explore your way through any untrodden region of fancy or of speculation. You have abundant facts of recent record, and examples strong, to prove that the people of color, as responsible beings, demand at once, immediately, their rights and privileges.

In the British colonies, eight hundred thousand human beings, who once groaned under the weight of slavery, now stand erect, and breathe the fresh air of freedom. Where is the mind to conceive, the pen or tongue to describe the happiness that must be derived from this act? The lash is broken—the lash, whose sounds were once heard from the rising to the setting of the sun, mingling with the cries of the distressed sufferers, is thrown away, never again to rend and lacerate the flesh of those whom God has made in his own image;

The eye of age grown dim with toil of years
So filled with joy, and eloquent with tears

What now remains here? What trophy shall we erect to America for her deeds? Bones and sinews still! Shall this ever be the case, to the utter disgrace of our country? Shall a want of action on the part of the females—on your part—retard or stay the star of emancipation in its course? Shall that gloom, which has for years shrouded the minds of the slave, grow darker and darker? Look to this—look to it, you that have such a controlling influence over your countrymen, and save your country. For destruction cowers to mark what deeds are done.'

This is your duty: it imperatively demands your instantaneous aid and support. When surrounding your fire-sides, let this subject engage your attention. Let it be a nourishment for the youthful mind, so that when it begins to exert itself, prejudice may not mingle with and spoil its operations. Instil the principles of abolition in youth, so that when in age, nothing can eradicate them.

The men, too, have their Anti-Slavery Societies; and I should be as unjust to my own feelings as to them, if I did not unite in cheering them onward in their high career. But it is female influence that holds sway over this nation, and to their efforts, I look earnestly and without fear, for a universal change in the present aspect of society.

Young and aged, unite in the consummation of this great work! Let your children be foremost with the wiser heads, to direct them to the right road. Be not like sign-posts that point out the way, but stir not a single inch themselves. Urge them on—point them to the glorious example of Great Britain, and it will excite them to a determination to uphold the system of immediate emancipation. I appeal to your honest feelings, not to allow the present and eventful time to pass over without making a strenuous effort in behalf of suffering humanity. I beseech you to elude the cunning of slaveholders and their apologists and hold forth that doctrine which is of God—'As ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.'

This is a doctrine, of which all christians must approve, and which unhesitatingly finds its way to the heart. It is a doctrine of the holy Bible: who but the profligate mind can spurn it?

Tell me, History, thou reverend chronicler of the grave! whether thy pages record greater barbarities than those which characterize American slavery? It annihilates the rights of man—it subverts the whole fabric of religion, and the brightest rays of truth and justice in vain shine upon our minds when slavery has shut our eyes against them.

Too much cannot be said in praise of your Society—it will, it must command respect; for it sets forth the living truths of the gospel—it is built upon the rock of truth—it holds prejudice mute—it sets at naught the wicked devices of men, and fastens its hopes to the very portals of heaven. Still it requires its members to act in unison with its principles. You must all understand its meaning ere you join it. It promulgates the doctrine of life and liberty, and grants to the freeman all the benefits necessary to render him truly free. Be not deceived. I think not that there is the least toleration of the gradual system in it, for it believes slavery to be an enormous sin, and requires it therefore to be immediately repented of. It appeals to the nation to pause, and rend the veil of darkness from their eyes, which hides them from the horrid deformity of slavery. It appeals to the females to give wings to their idle prejudices, and to rally in behalf of the poor, the dying slaves.

O! Mothers—Christian mothers—women of America! let not this appeal be in vain!