美国的奴隶制（Slavery in the United States）

非 洲黑人作为奴隶，一五二零年起由西班牙人带到美洲。到一八六三年林肯宣布解放奴隶，三百多年来共有一千二百万黑人从非洲被贩到北美，二百多万黑人在来美洲 的途中死亡。一六一九年，北美第一名黑奴由荷兰人带到美洲。一八六零年，美国有四百万名黑奴，几乎全在南方。黑奴没有人的权利，一七八七年的宪法在统计人 口时，为了保持南北双方在联邦内的平衡，选举时一名黑奴按五分之三选票计，不过这是奴隶主的权利。

一 七八七年的美国宪法是有史以来最好的成文法之一，这部宪法没用种族限制公民参政，但把选举权留给了各州。由于各州的传统与习俗的差异，黑人和妇女在美国建 国之初没有选举权。直到南北战争时期，黑奴才获得自由。国会于一八七零年，通过了宪法第十五条修正案，规定“合众国或任何一州不得因种族、肤色或以前的奴 隶身份否认或剥夺公民的选举权”。此后，黑人才获得了公民的地位。但对他们的歧视通过种族隔离一直持续到二十世纪六十年代。

一 六一九年来到北美弗吉尼亚的非洲黑人，是契约奴隶，当时也有白人契约奴。契约奴在完成契约后，就自由了。从什么时侯起，黑人开始沦为永久奴隶，到现在还不 清楚。从一六四零年代起，贩卖到弗吉尼亚的非洲黑人就全都是永久奴隶了。北美第一部确认奴隶制永久性并延续到其子孙后代的法律，是一六六一年在弗吉尼亚通 过的。此后，各殖民地援引弗吉尼亚的成例，于是，非洲黑人的奴隶命运从踏上北美土地那一刻起就注定了。

一 六六二年，英王查理二世特许皇家非洲贸易公司向西印度群岛和北美贩奴。一七一三年，英王与西班牙达签下协议，由皇家非洲公司垄断南北美洲的奴隶进口，利润 两国王室各得百分之二十五。此后，英国每年向美洲输入一万五千名奴隶，其中四分之一到南美的西班牙殖民地，大多数到了北美英属殖民地。贩奴收入成了英国的 “国家利益”，奴隶贸易成了英国的皇家事业。

几千年来，世界上一直有奴隶制存在。美国的奴隶制不同。大多数奴隶制，在政治上和道义上是被社会接受的，没人对此质疑。但美国，从一开始，对奴隶制就有激烈的争论。有些殖民地曾立法阻止奴隶制，但被英国政府废弃。

一 七七六年，杰弗逊的《独立宣言》手稿中，有一段谴责英国王室的向北美贩奴的行为。原文中这样写道：“英国残酷地发动了一场反人性战争。它强暴了一个远方民 族的生命和自由权利，而他们从来没有冒犯过它。这场战争拐骗和胁迫了他们，使他们不是在运送途中悲惨地死去，就是被送往地球的另一端充当奴隶。这场由邪恶 力量发动的海盗战争，是身为基督徒的大不列颠的英王所发动的战争。他决定打开这样一个市场，在那里，人类可以被买卖。他滥用了他的立法否决权，利用这个否 决权压制了所有打算禁止和限制这种肮脏交易的立法尝试。”手稿中的这一段文字。由于南卡罗莱纳和乔治亚的反对，被删除了。尽管《独立宣言》是由杰弗逊起草 的，但《宣言》所表达的思想，却为那些开国先贤们所共有，同时为这块土地上的人民所共有。因此，对英国王室在北美推行奴隶制的愤怒也为他们所共有。

美 国奴隶制的一个特点是奴隶是黑人。因此，奴隶制问题就是种族问题。其它的奴隶制，没有种族问题，只要奴隶制终结，和其有关的社会关系就随之瓦解。美国不 同，美国奴隶是黑人。即便解放了奴隶，种族关系仍存在。黑人还是黑人。目光远大的杰弗逊早就看到了这一点，因此他主张迁移黑人，要把黑人从美洲大陆迁往别 处。杰弗逊曾在弗吉尼亚州议会提出法案要求把黑人迁出美国，提案未被通过。一八一七年，美国成立“殖民协会”，杰弗逊和麦迪逊都是会员。协会通过赎买把黑 奴从美国移民至非洲的利比里亚。这种努力精神可嘉，但于奴隶制问题于事无补。

北 美的欧洲移民，对黑奴的态度也不一样。部分欧洲移民认为黑奴与白人间的差别太大，他们智力低劣，感情缺乏，以致于美国的立国原则和理想不适合于他们。这是 种族主义理论，但人们感到，废除奴隶制本身，仍无法解决问题。这种观点，使得林肯这样力主废奴的人，对废奴的后果也十分担心。也不少欧洲移民认为黑人是 人，就有做人的权利和尊严，并且认为奴隶制有悖基督教教义。但大多数人觉得一大批种族不同又是奴隶的人的存在，会给社会诸方面造成麻烦，很多美国人不愿给 自己找这些麻烦。这种考虑实际上是废奴运动的主要因素。因此，在英国把蓄奴在北美制度化的那一天起，每一代美国人都面临一个问题：奴隶制。

美 国独立革命中，北方各州就开始了废奴，南方各州也通过法律改善奴隶待遇。在弗吉尼亚，托马斯·杰弗逊、乔治·华盛顿及詹姆士·麦迪逊等人公开主张废奴，南 方也有人持同样观点。一七九三年，艾莱·惠特尼发明了轧花机，南方成为世界的“棉花王国”，任何废奴主张从此成了泡影。北方诸州在其境内禁止奴隶制，于是 北方奴隶被卖到了南方，但避免了解放奴隶的难题。如何处理被剥夺了人权的几百万黑奴，从此不再是全国性问题，而只是南方的问题了。

到 了一八零零年代，美国的黑奴约占美国总人口的百分之二十。对奴隶制的争论终于引起了冲突，为此英美两国闹得不可开交，最后两国同意在一八零八年禁止奴隶贸 易。在一八一二年战争赔偿中，英国归还了在美国强占的所有财产，包括几千名黑奴，因为黑奴已被全部释放了，英国为此赔了二十五万英镑。让英国感到冤枉的是 解放了奴隶还得赔款，原来国家之间，只有利益，没有天理。

路 易斯安那购买案通过后，奴隶制问题又成了全国关注的焦点。法国和西班牙治下的路易斯安那地区，奴隶制合法。收购路易斯安那后，现状没改变。密苏里州成立 时，奴隶制依然合法。当时纽约州众议员詹姆斯?塔尔梅奇建议，要是密苏里加入联邦的话，必须加入一个条款，以保证密苏里不再进口奴隶，已有奴隶的子女也要 在二十五岁后为成自由人。赞成者认为该提案合宪。因宪法规定，国会有权批准新州加入联邦，国会也有权拒绝，除非它满足国会的条件。重要的是，要是密苏里加 入联邦，蓄奴州在国会就会有更大的发言权。过去，一个蓄奴州加入联邦，会有一个自由州同时加入联邦，以保持国会的平衡。反对者认为，国会有权同意或反对一 个州加入联邦，但无权附加条件。现存各州加入联邦时是无条件的。如果现在国会有权提条件，那先后加入联邦的州就不对等，合众国就不是平等的联邦。乔治亚州 的众议员豪厄尔·科布对塔尔梅奇说，“你点燃的烈火，用尽海水也无法扑灭，只有鲜血才能熄灭。”众院批准了带有塔尔梅奇附加条件的密苏里议案，但被参院否 决。第二年的国会再行讨论，这时缅因州以自由州申请加入联邦。新国会讨论这个问题时，纽约州又有一位众议员要求密苏里同意在其境内永远不蓄奴。众院批准了 缅因加入联邦，并交参院审核。参议院将无条件吸收密苏里和缅因的申请案放在一起。伊利诺伊州参议员托马斯提出了一个妥协案：他建议，让密苏里州蓄奴，但北 纬三十六度十分以北地区加入联邦时永不蓄奴。这就是一八二零年的《密苏里妥协案》。国会采纳了该提案，门罗总统最初想否决这个议案，因国会无权在准州内废 奴，为了避免内战，他签署了该议案。奴隶制已成了一触即发的内战导火线。

是 否在从墨西哥获得的土地上蓄奴，在一八四九年墨西哥战争结束后，引起了极大的争议。北方拒绝在新入联邦的加利福尼亚和新墨西哥实行奴隶制。南方则称，在那 里实行奴隶制是宪法赋予的权力。南方用脱离联邦来威胁北方。亨利·克雷在一八五零年提出了一项妥协案。他说，联邦是永恒的，是为后代而建的。南方无权脱离 联邦。妥协案遭到了南北双方和总统泰勒的反对。妥协案提出一周后，密西西比参议员杰弗逊?戴维斯阐明了立场。他说，该方案于南方不利，遣返逃奴法很难实 行。戴维斯说，北方要改变对南方的政策，北方必需承认南方的权利，其中一条就是南方人有权让自己的奴隶进入美国领土。他认为，国家分裂责任在北方，北方企 图控制南方，不制止这种趋势的话，有一天，北方会强大到用修宪来取消奴隶制。戴维斯警告说，这是南方绝对不会接受的。三周后，南卡罗莱纳的卡洪在参院发表 讲话，他和戴维斯一样反对克雷妥协案。一八五零年三月七日，卡洪在参院反对妥协案的讲话后的第三天，六十八岁的韦伯斯特站了出来支持妥协案，他声音很弱， 但讲话掷地有声，份量不减当年。为此，韦伯斯特失去了当选总统的机会。蓄奴主义者卡洪，于一八五零年三月三十一日去世，妥协的可能增大了。三周后，国会任 命的一个委员会完成了新的妥协草案：一、德克萨斯为蓄奴州；二、加利福尼亚为自由州；三、在从墨西哥得到的土地上不规定是否可以蓄奴；四、德克萨斯放弃对 新墨西哥东部的土地要求；五、联邦政府承担德克萨斯在合并前的所有债务，作为对德克萨斯的赔偿。

一 八五零年七月九日，泰勒总统因病去世，副总统菲尔莫尔继任。在蓄奴和新增领土问题上，菲尔莫尔坚信，只有妥协才能挽救合众国。他毫无保留地支持妥协案，并 要求内阁全体辞职，新内阁成员都是联邦的支持者，支持妥协案。一八五零年夏天，议员就各项提案分别投票。九月底，参众两院批准了妥协案的全部内容，经总统 签字生效。妥协案被称作是“火山口上的盖子”，缓解了南方退出联邦的危机，将内战拖延了十一年。

一 八五四年，伊利诺斯参议员斯蒂芬·道格拉斯为了解决新州加入联邦而造成的南北方权力失衡的困境，提出《堪萨斯—内布拉斯加提案》。提案建议改变一八二零年 设定的以北纬三十六度十分线为界的《密苏里妥协案》，让新入联邦的州的居民自己选择畜奴或自由。该提案彻底打破了美国在奴隶制问题上的平衡。道格拉斯说他 可以借着焚烧他模拟像的火光从华盛顿走到芝加哥。主张废奴的北方人耽心奴隶制蔓延到北方，他们拿起武器来到堪萨斯，希望其成为自由州。为了确保其在联邦中 的权力，南方人也来到堪萨斯，企图用武力控制选举，将其变为畜奴州。

一 八五五年三月三十日，堪萨斯进行了一次选举。毗邻的蓄奴州有很多人涌入堪萨斯。该州原先只有一千人的登记选民，但总票数竟然有六千三百二十张。几乎所有州 议员都成了蓄奴派。废奴派选民认为这是一次伪选举。堪萨斯出现了两个政治中心，蓄奴派在列康普顿，废奴派在劳伦斯。蓄奴派指责废奴派违法，声称要血洗劳伦 斯。州政府则采取了放任的态度。这种态度给劳伦斯带来了灾难性的后果。最终酿成了堪萨斯血案。《堪萨斯—内布拉斯加提案》成了内战的主要导火线。

十 八世纪末，加勒比海地区发生的黑人起义及黑奴屠杀白人的事件，在美国南方引起了普遍的惊恐。一八三一年由塔特·特纳领导的黑人起义在弗吉尼亚州爆发，起义 者在被镇压之前杀死了六十个白人。堪萨斯血案后。南方奴隶主强化了“黑人法规”，那是一些制约黑奴和自由黑人的行为的法律。南方对鼓吹废奴的书刊进行邮 检，使废奴人士和对奴隶制有疑问的人，在南方无法生存，只得迁出南方。这些人离开后，南方就只剩下清一色的蓄奴主义者了。

一 八五九年十月十五日，约翰?布朗和两个儿子及女婿在哈珀斯渡口举行了反抗奴隶制的起义。很快布朗的起义就被政府镇压了下去。但布朗起义激化了美国国内有关 奴隶制的争论。民主党人说，这次起义是共和党人精心策划的。共和党人否认，说起义是一个疯子——布朗的个人行为，但布朗起义有正当理由：结束奴隶制。南方 报纸指控布朗，说起义是战争行为。许多南方人认为，所有北方人都该对起义负责。他们认为所有北方人都想在南方搞奴隶起义，南方人最担心的就是奴隶起义。南 方采取了许多新措施以阻止类似事件发生，一些地方采取了军管。奴隶主们威胁说，一旦发现有人造反，立即对他们采取鞭刑或者绞死他们。

由 于担心奴隶造反，南方人更加团结了。奴隶主一直在谈论让南方各州脱离联邦以确保他们的生活方式。但没有奴隶的人反对分裂。布朗起义改变了这些人的想法。布 朗起义后，南方就剩下一种声音了。布朗起义在南方的反响比北方还大，南方从中看到了北方的决心和勇气，为此加快了独立的步子。奴隶制是南方农业生产的支 柱，也是他们对《独立宣言》的理解。“所有人生而平等”这句话中的所有人，实际上只是白人。布朗起义加快了内战的脚步，是内战的另一个导火线。

一 八五七年最高法院斯科特诉山弗特案的裁决是为内战的另一个重要原因。该案判决黑奴不是美国公民，并以违宪为由废除了《密苏里妥协案》。斯科特是个黑奴，一 八三三年被主人卖给蓄奴州密苏里州的一名的军医。斯科特曾随艾默森在自由州伊利诺伊州和威斯康星自由联邦领地的军营里住过四年。后来斯科特随从主人回到密 苏里州。一八三四年艾默森去世后，根据其遗嘱，斯科特成为主人遗孀的财产。一八四六年，斯科特向密苏里州地方法院提出申诉，要求获得人身自由。斯科特声 称，他曾在废奴地区住过四年，身份应是自由人。据州际间尊重州法的原则以及密苏里州“一旦自由，永远自由”的州法，斯科特获得自由人身份后回到密苏里州， 还应该是自由人。经过漫长的诉讼，一八五七年最高法院对该案裁决，裁决从宪法高度维护了奴隶制，激化了南北矛盾，断决了妥协的可能性。

美 国建国后，政治上靠的是主张州权的民主党和主张联邦权力的辉格党间的平衡来维持。一八五六年共和党诞生，平衡被打破了，伊利诺斯州的亚伯拉罕·林肯是其在 国会的声音。林肯认为奴隶制是合众国所有问题的根源，必须废除。共和党和林肯不想改变现状，但他们要让新入联邦的州成为自由州。一八五六年大选，北方人宾 州民主党人詹姆斯?布坎南当选总统，国会中共和党仍占多数。

面 对强大的共和党，南方人知道，若是不让奴隶制进入新州的话，他们就无法在联邦内与共和党抗衡。他们建议征服古巴和中美州，使其成为畜奴州，以此来维持南北 平衡。北方人则认为，不彻底废除奴隶制，奴隶制就会向新入联邦的州蔓延。于是，一八六零年大选就成了关键，若是民主党人尤其是北方的民主党人当选的话，内 战有可能延缓。但是，主张废奴的林肯脱颖而出当选为总统。于是，内战无法避免。尽管，林肯和华盛顿及杰弗逊一样对奴隶制持反对态度，但他希望慢慢地废除这 个制度。林肯废奴是出于自由的理念，他极端歧视黑人。林肯当选总统后，南方各州相继脱离联邦，成立邦联，美国分裂。在北方是叛乱，在南方是二次独立。

内 战不仅是美国历史上的一个转折点，而且是奴隶制度史上的最后一次大流血。这场双方都豁出去了的战争，前后经过了四个腥风血雨的年头，南北双方一共有六十二 万人丧生。而美国从独立战争到越战，死亡军人总数只有六十四万八千人。当时差不多每个家庭都失去了亲人。失去了四分之一男性人口的南方，妇女们甚至改变对 男性的审美观，因为四肢健全没有伤疤的男人几乎不存在。

战 后，南方的经济完全枯竭，土崩瓦解。无论南方人还是北方人、黑人还是白人蒙受了同样的苦难。因为缺乏食品，南军和北军，四处掠夺，甚至犯下暴行。内战彻底 改变了美国。北方的胜利，永远解决了各州独立的问题，最重要的是解决了长期以来让美国政治不稳定的奴隶制问题，也为此付出了巨大代价。内战中，北方耗费了 一百十六亿美元，南方也差不多。内战的绝大多数战场在南方，南方因此遭到了巨大的破坏。数百座城镇被摧毁，象亚特兰大那样的大城市，被北方军完全摧毁。为 此，亚特兰大人至今心有不甘。北方军所经之地，农场被毁，房屋被烧，牲畜和农作物不是被抢就是被毁。南方的交通损毁更大，北军摧毁了南方绝大多数铁路，少 数未被北军夺去的南方火车也是破坏严重无法使用。船只被摧毁，道路、桥梁一片狼籍。南方已没有能力进行重建。有钱人把钱都存放在南方邦联的银行里，战后成 了废纸。南方欠下的战争债务根本无法偿还。四百万解放了的奴隶自由了，但只有少数能自立，他们需要工作和培训。

黑 人虽然在内战中获得了自由，但要到一八七零年，国会才通过了宪法第十五条修正案，正式给予黑人选举权。各州在制订州法时对黑人参选设置了种种障碍，黑人参 政在现实中很难。十九世纪末，南方各州制定了公民参选必须付人头税及通过文化考试的州法，使大多数黑人无法参选。一八九六年，最高法院在普莱西诉弗格森案 中认定种族“隔离”合法、和种族“平等”一样都不违宪。接着，南方各州推出了各种种族隔离政策，公共设施、餐馆、旅馆、医院、剧场、车站等，都以种族划 线，白人、黑人各用各的，互不侵犯。直到二战时种族隔离才有所改变。二十世纪六十年代，种族歧视和种族隔离才最后被废除。

对 一个国家来说，一旦确立了它的立国原则，就会随之产生与那些原则相应的生活生产方式与价值观。一旦这些东西被确立，就很难改变。美国的宪法是所有成文法中 最好的之一，它利用社会中的各种对立的组织原则去平衡各个利益集团。但是，这一切仍无法改变十九世纪初，南放奴隶制这样一种生活生产方式。为此，南北双方 最终开战，北方的胜利靠的是其雄厚的工业基础和人力资源。但战争的残酷，不亚于人类史上任何一次战争。美国从内战中学会了如何避免内战，南北战争很可能是 美国唯一的内战。尽管，几代美国人因为命运，恰好遇上了这场战争，很多人因此丧生。但是，当美国从这场战争走出来之后，开始走向了工业化，走上了成为世界 一流强国的道路。真正的美国从这场血腥的内战中诞生。

Slavery and the Framing of the U.S. Constitution

The question of prohibiting the African slave-trade by a provision in the national Constitution caused much and warm debate in the convention that framed that instrument. A compromise was agreed to by the insertion of a clause (art. I., sec. 9, clause 1) in the Constitution, as follows: "The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax, or duty, may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person." The idea of prohibiting the African slave-trade, then warmly advocated, was not new. In 1774 the Continental Congress, while releasing the colonies from other provisions of the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION , had expressly resolved " that no slave be imported into any of the United States." Delaware, by her constitution, and Virginia and Maryland by special laws, had prohibited the importation of slaves. Similar prohibitions were in force in all the more northern States; but they did not prevent the merchants of those States from carrying on the slave-trade elsewhere, and already some New England ships were engaged in a traffic from the African coast to Georgia and South Carolina. These States were forgetful of or indifferent to the pledges they had made through their delegates in the face of the world by their concurrence in the Declaration of Independence, and seemed fully determined to maintain not only the slave system of labor, but the nefarious slave-trade. North Carolina did not prohibit the traffic, but denounced the further importation of slaves into the State as " highly impolitic," and imposed a heavy duty on future importations.

On the demand of Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, who entered into the negotiations for a preliminary treaty of peace, at a late hour, a clause in the treaty (1782) was interlined, prohibiting, in the British evacuation, the " carrying away any negroes or other property of the inhabitants." So this treaty of peace, in which no word had, excepting indirectly, indicated the existence of slavery in the United States, made known to the world that men could be held as property.

The legislature of Connecticut, early in 1784, passed an act that no negro or mulatto child born within that State after March 1 that year should be held in servitude longer than until the age of twenty-five years.

Plantation Slaves in the South

In 1788 the captain of a vessel in Boston seized three colored persons, took them to the West Indies, and sold them there for slaves. This event caused the legislature of Massachusetts to pass a law to prevent the slave-trade in that State, and for granting relief to the families of such persons as may be kidnapped or decoyed from the commonwealth. The law subjected to a heavy penalty any person who should forcibly take or detain any negro for the purpose of transportation as a slave, and the owner of the vessel in which such kidnapped man should be carried away incurred, also, a heavy penalty. The insurance on the vessel was made void; and the relatives of the person kidnapped, if the latter were sold into slavery in a distant country, were allowed to prosecute for the crime.

On May 12, 1789, a tariff bill having been reported to Congress, and being under discussion on the question of its second reading, Parker, of Virginia, moved to insert a clause imposing a duty of $10 on every slave imported. " He was sorry," he said, " the Constitution prevented Congress from prohibiting the importation altogether. It was contrary to revolutionary principles, and ought not to be permitted." A warm debate ensued. It called forth the opposition of South Carolinians and Georgians particularly. Jackson, of Georgia, made a vehement speech in opposition, in the course of which he said he hoped the proposition would be withdrawn, and that if it should be brought forward again it would comprehend " the white slaves as well as the black imported from all the jails of Europe—wretches convicted of the most flagrant crimes, who were brought in and sold without any duty whatever." This was an allusion to the indentured white servants who were sold by the captains of vessels on their arrival here to pay the cost of their passage, a practice which had been put a stop to by the Revolutionary War, but partially revived. The motion was finally withdrawn.

The Nation Continues to Grapple with the Slavery Issue

In 1804 a provision was inserted into the act organizing the Territory of Orleans, that no slaves should be carried thither, except from some part of the United States, by citizens removing into the Territory as actual settlers, this permission not to extend to negroes introduced into the United States since 1798. The object of this provision was to guard against the effects of an act recently adopted by the legislature of South Carolina for reviving the slave-trade after a cessation of it, as to that State, for fifteen years, and of six years as to the whole Union. This was a consequence of the vast increase and profitableness of cotton culture, made so by Whitney's cotton-gin.

On Feb. 15, 1804, the legislature of New Jersey, by an almost unanimous vote, passed an act to abolish slavery in that State by securing freedom to all persons born there after July 4 next ensuing, the children of slave parents to become free, masculine at twenty-five years of age, feminine at twenty-one.

A Slave Cabin

The rapid extension of settlements in the Southwest after the War of 1812-15, and the great profits derived there from the cultivation of cotton, not only caused the revival of the African slave-trade, in spite of prohibitory laws, but it gave occasion to a rival domestic slave-trade, of which the national capital had become one of the centers, where it was carried on by professionalslave traders. They bought up the slaves of impoverished planters of Maryland and Virginia, and sold them at large profits in the cotton-growing districts of the South and West. This new traffic, which included many of the worst features of the African slave-trade, was severely denounced by John Randolph, of Virginia, as " heinous and abominable, inhuman and illegal." This opinion was founded on facts reported by a committee of inquiry. Gov. D. R. Williams, of South Carolina, denounced the traffic as " remorseless and cruel "; a " ceaseless dragging along the streets and highways of a crowd of suffering victims to minister to insatiable avarice," condemned alike by " enlightened humanity, wise policy, and the prayers of the just." The governor urged that it had a tendency to introduce slaves of all descriptions from other States, "defiling the delightful avocations of private life" " by the presence of convicts and male-factors." The legislature of South Carolina passed an act forbidding the introduction of slaves from other States. A similar act was passed by the Georgia legislature. This legislation was frequently resorted to on occasions of alarm, but the profitable extension of cotton cultivation and the demand for slave labor overcame all scruples. Within two years after its passage the prohibitory act of South Carolina was repealed. The inter-State slave-traffic was carried on extensively until slavery was abolished in 1863. A Richmond newspaper, in 1861, urging Virginia to join the Southern Confederacy, which had prohibited the traffic between them and States that would not join them, gave as a most urgent reason for such an act that, if it were not accomplished, the " Old Dominion " would lose this trade, amounting annually to from $13,000,000 to $20,000,000.

Interior of a Slave Cabin

When Admiral Cockburn began his marauding expedition on the American coast in the spring of 1813, he held out a promise of freedom to all slaves who should join his standard. Many were seduced on board his vessels, but found themselves wretchedly deceived. Intelligence of these movements reached the plantations farther south, and, in the summer of 1813, secret organizations were formed among the slaves to receive and cooperate with Cockburn's army of liberation, as they supposed it to be. One of these secret organizations met regularly on St. John's Island, near Charleston. Their leader was a man of great sagacity and influence, and their meetings were opened and closed by singing a hymn composed by that leader—a sort of parody of Hail Columbia. The following is the last of he three stanzas of the hymn alluded to:

.. Arise! arise ! shake off your chains!

Your cause is just, so Heaven ordains ;

To you shall freedom be proclaimed !
Raise your arms and bare your breasts,

Almighty God will do the rest.
Blow the clarion's warlike blast ;
Call every negro from his task ;
Wrest the scourge from Buckra's hand,

And drive each tyrant from the land !
Chorus.
" Firm, united let us be.
Resolved on death or liberty!

As a band of patriots joined,

Peace and plenty we shall find."

They held meetings every night, and had arranged a plan for the rising of all the slaves in Charleston when the British should appear. At one of the meetings the question, " What shall be done with the white people?" was warmly discussed. Some advocated their indiscriminate slaughter as the only security for liberty, and this seemed to be the prevailing opinion, when the leader and the author of the hymn came in and said: " Brethren, you know me. You know that I am ready to gain your liberty and mine. But not one needless drop of blood must be shed. I have a, master whom I love, and the man who takes his life must pass over my dead body." Had Cockburn been faithful to his promises to the negroes, and landed and declared freedom to the slaves of South Carolina, no doubt many thousands of colored people would have flocked to his standard. But he was content to fill his pockets by plundering and carrying on a petty slave-trade for his private gain.

Developing Conflict over American Slavery

On March 13, 1824, articles of convention between the United States and Great Britain were signed at London, by diplomatists appointed for the purpose, providing for the adoption of measures to suppress the African slave-trade. The first article provided that the commanders and commissioned officers of each of the two contracting powers, duly authorized to cruise on the coast of Africa, of America, and of the West Indies, for the suppression of the slave-traffic, were empowered, under certain restrictions, to detain, examine, capture, and deliver over for trial and adjudication by some competent tribunal, any ship or vessel concerned in the illicit traffic in slaves, and carrying the flag of either nation. This convention was signed by Richard Rush for the United States, and by W. Huskisson and Sir Stratford Canning for Great Britain.

On March 6, 1857, Roger B. Taney, chief-justice of the United States, and a majority of his associates in the Supreme Court, uttered an extra-judicial opinion, that any person who had been a slave, or was a descendant of a slave, could not enjoy the rights of citizenship in the United States. Five years afterwards (1862) Secretary Seward issued a passport to a man who had been a slave to travel abroad as " a citizen of the United States." Six years later still (July 20, 1868) the national Constitution was so amended that all persons, of whatever race or color, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. By the same amendment every civil right was given to every such person. And by a subsequent amendment (1869) it was decreed that " the rights of any of the citizens of the United States, or any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude should not be abridged."

Scene in a Southern Slave Town

By a provision of the national Constitution the foreign slave-trade in the United States was abolished, and Congress declared it to be " piracy." Encouraged by the practical sympathy of the national government, the friends of the slave-labor system formed plans for its perpetuity, which practically disregarded the plain requirements of the fundamental law. They resolved to reopen the African slave-trade. Africans were kidnapped in their native country, brought across the sea, and landed on our shores as in colonial times, and placed in perpetual slavery. In Louisiana, leading citizens engaged in a scheme for legalizing the traffic, under the guise of what they called the African Labor-supply Association, of which James B. De Bow, editor of De Bow's Review, published in New Orleans, was president. His Review was the acknowledged organ of the slave-holders, and wielded extensive and powerful influence when the flames of the Civil War were kindling. In Georgia, negroes from Africa were landed and sold, and when a grand jury at Savannah was compelled by law to find several bills against persons engaged in the traffic, or charged with complicity in the slave-trade, they protested against the law they were compelled to support. " We feel humbled," they said, " as men, conscious that we are born freemen but in name, and that we are living, during the existence of such laws, under a tyranny as supreme as that of the despotic governments of the Old World. Heretofore the people of the South, firm in their consciousness of right and strength, have failed to place the stamp of condemnation upon such laws as reflect upon the institution of slavery, but have permitted, unrebuked, the influence of foreign opinion to prevail." The True Southron, published in Mississippi, suggested the " propriety of stimulating the zeal of the pulpit by founding a prize for the best sermon on free-trade in negroes." This proposition was approved, and pulpits exhibited zeal in the cause. James H. Thornwell, D.D., president of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Columbus, S. C., asserted his conviction that the African slave-trade formed the most worthy of all missionary societies. Southern legislatures and conventions openly discussed the subject of reopening the slave-trade. The Southern Commercial Convention, held in Vicksburg, Miss., May 11, 1859, resolved, by a vote of 47 to 16, that " all laws, State or federal, prohibiting the African slave-trade ought to be abolished." It was warmly advocated by several men who became Confederate leaders in theCivil War. The late JOHN SLIDELL, of Louisiana, urged in the United States Senate the propriety of withdrawing American cruisers from the coasts of Africa, that the slave-trade might not be interfered with by them. When, in the summer of 1858, it was known that the traffic was to be carried on actively by the African Labor-supply Association, the British cruisers in the Gulf of Mexico were unusually vigilant, and in the course of a few weeks boarded about fifty American vessels suspected of beingslavers. The influence of the slave-holders was brought to bear so powerfully upon the administration that the government protested against what it was pleased to call the " odious British doctrine of the right of search." The British government, for " prudential reasons," put a stop to the practice and laid the blame on the officers of the cruisers.

Plantation Scene

On April 7, 1862, a treaty was concluded between the United States and Great Britain for the suppression of the African slave-trade, and signed at the city of Washington, D. C. By it ships of the respective nations should have the right of search of suspected slave-ships; but that right was restricted to vessels of war authorized expressly for that object, and in no case to be exercised with respect to a vessel of the navy of either of the powers, but only as regards merchant vessels. Nothing was done under this treaty, as the emancipation proclamation and other circumstances made action unnecessary.