William Lloyd Garrison and slavery in the new millenium
abolitionism is a word that carries much weight in the united states. that fact that slavery is just over two hundred years old does not help but inflame the remnants of the jim crow laws throughout the post civil war south. the sad truth of our present world is that slavery is still very much in existence, throughout all the civilized world not excluding the americas. an excerpt from the honorable mr. garrsons first public speech rallying for support against slavery in the United States.
"This, I am aware, is a delicate subject, surrounded with many formidable difficulties. But if delay only adds to its intricacy, wherefore shun an immediate investigation? I know that we, of the North, affectedly believe that we have no local interest in the removal of this great evil; that the slave States can take care of themselves, and that any proffered assistance, on our part, would be rejected as impertinent, dictatorial or meddle-some; and that we have no right to lift up even a note of remonstrance. But I believe that these opinions are crude, preposterous, dishonorable, unjust. Sirs, this is a business in which, as members of one great family, we have a common interest; but we take no responsibility, either individually or collectively. Our hearts are cold—our blood stagnates in our veins. We act, in relation to the slaves, as if they were something lower than the brutes that perish.
On this question, I ask no support from the injunction of Holy Writ, which says: —"therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." I throw aside the common dictates of humanity. I assert the right of the free States to demand a gradual abolition of slavery, because, by its continuance, they participate in the guilt thereof, and are threatened with ultimate destruction; because they are bound to watch over the interests of the whole country, without reference to territorial divisions; because their white population is nearly double that of the slave States, and the voice of this overwhelming majority should be potential; because they are now deprived of their just influence in the councils of the nation; because it is absurd and anti-republican to suffer property to be represented as men, and vice versa. Because it gives the South an unjust ascendancy over other portions of territory, and a power which may be perverted on every occasion …
Now I say that, on the broad system of equal rights, this monstrous inequality should no longer be tolerated. If it cannot be speedily put down—not by force, but by fair persuasion; if we are always to remain shackled by unjust Constitutional provisions, when the emergency that imposed them has long since passed away; if we must share in the guilt and danger of destroying the bodies and souls of men, as the price of our Union; if the slave States will haughtily spurn our assistance, and refuse to consult the general welfare; then the fault is not ours if a separation eventually take place..."
these words carry much brevity in the face of slavery in our modern society. in america as of 2009, it is estimated that seventy-five percent of all agricultural workers in america are illegal migrants. these people come from the poor indigenous and mestizo communities of mexico and central america, some as far as south america. the conditions that afford them minimal pay, to send back to their respective countries, are the same conditions that our forefathers faced as immigrant workers and indentured servants during the early days of america. from the trafficking of young slave teen women to the forced acts against young adolescent slave boys. from the forced labor and inhuman work conditions brought upon migrants who do not speak the native tongue, so are unable to speak up against the abuses they face.
it is up to the developed world to step up and lend a helping hand to end the injustice of slavery and all its manifestations. the obligation is placed on the developed world because we claim freedom the loudest in the name of liberty, yet we turn the most apathetic and blind eye towards the plight of those enslaved. we end with another excerpt from mr. garrisons speech that was quoted earlier:
"Every Fourth of July, our Declaration of Independence is produced, with a sublime indignation, to set forth the tyranny of the mother country, and to challenge the admiration of the world. But what a pitiful detail of grievances does this document present, in comparison with the wrongs which our slaves endure! In the one case, it is hardly the plucking of a hair from the head; in the other, it is the crushing of a live body on the wheel—the stings of the wasp contrasted with the tortures of the Inquisition. Before God, I must say, that such a glaring contradiction as exists between our creed and practice the annals of six thousand years cannot parallel. In view of it, I am ashamed of my country. I am sick of our unmeaning declamation in praise of liberty and equality; of our hypocritical cant about the unalienable rights of man. "
abolitionism is a word that carries much weight in the united states. that fact that slavery is just over two hundred years old does not help but inflame the remnants of the jim crow laws throughout the post civil war south. the sad truth of our present world is that slavery is still very much in existence, throughout all the civilized world not excluding the americas. an excerpt from the honorable mr. garrsons first public speech rallying for support against slavery in the United States.
"This, I am aware, is a delicate subject, surrounded with many formidable difficulties. But if delay only adds to its intricacy, wherefore shun an immediate investigation? I know that we, of the North, affectedly believe that we have no local interest in the removal of this great evil; that the slave States can take care of themselves, and that any proffered assistance, on our part, would be rejected as impertinent, dictatorial or meddle-some; and that we have no right to lift up even a note of remonstrance. But I believe that these opinions are crude, preposterous, dishonorable, unjust. Sirs, this is a business in which, as members of one great family, we have a common interest; but we take no responsibility, either individually or collectively. Our hearts are cold—our blood stagnates in our veins. We act, in relation to the slaves, as if they were something lower than the brutes that perish.
On this question, I ask no support from the injunction of Holy Writ, which says: —"therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." I throw aside the common dictates of humanity. I assert the right of the free States to demand a gradual abolition of slavery, because, by its continuance, they participate in the guilt thereof, and are threatened with ultimate destruction; because they are bound to watch over the interests of the whole country, without reference to territorial divisions; because their white population is nearly double that of the slave States, and the voice of this overwhelming majority should be potential; because they are now deprived of their just influence in the councils of the nation; because it is absurd and anti-republican to suffer property to be represented as men, and vice versa. Because it gives the South an unjust ascendancy over other portions of territory, and a power which may be perverted on every occasion …
Now I say that, on the broad system of equal rights, this monstrous inequality should no longer be tolerated. If it cannot be speedily put down—not by force, but by fair persuasion; if we are always to remain shackled by unjust Constitutional provisions, when the emergency that imposed them has long since passed away; if we must share in the guilt and danger of destroying the bodies and souls of men, as the price of our Union; if the slave States will haughtily spurn our assistance, and refuse to consult the general welfare; then the fault is not ours if a separation eventually take place..."
these words carry much brevity in the face of slavery in our modern society. in america as of 2009, it is estimated that seventy-five percent of all agricultural workers in america are illegal migrants. these people come from the poor indigenous and mestizo communities of mexico and central america, some as far as south america. the conditions that afford them minimal pay, to send back to their respective countries, are the same conditions that our forefathers faced as immigrant workers and indentured servants during the early days of america. from the trafficking of young slave teen women to the forced acts against young adolescent slave boys. from the forced labor and inhuman work conditions brought upon migrants who do not speak the native tongue, so are unable to speak up against the abuses they face.
it is up to the developed world to step up and lend a helping hand to end the injustice of slavery and all its manifestations. the obligation is placed on the developed world because we claim freedom the loudest in the name of liberty, yet we turn the most apathetic and blind eye towards the plight of those enslaved. we end with another excerpt from mr. garrisons speech that was quoted earlier:
"Every Fourth of July, our Declaration of Independence is produced, with a sublime indignation, to set forth the tyranny of the mother country, and to challenge the admiration of the world. But what a pitiful detail of grievances does this document present, in comparison with the wrongs which our slaves endure! In the one case, it is hardly the plucking of a hair from the head; in the other, it is the crushing of a live body on the wheel—the stings of the wasp contrasted with the tortures of the Inquisition. Before God, I must say, that such a glaring contradiction as exists between our creed and practice the annals of six thousand years cannot parallel. In view of it, I am ashamed of my country. I am sick of our unmeaning declamation in praise of liberty and equality; of our hypocritical cant about the unalienable rights of man. "
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