{"id":2963,"date":"2017-10-10T13:31:22","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T13:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/?p=2963"},"modified":"2017-10-10T13:31:22","modified_gmt":"2017-10-10T13:31:22","slug":"the-price-of-blood-frederick-douglass-speaks-to-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/2017\/10\/10\/the-price-of-blood-frederick-douglass-speaks-to-scotland\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The price of blood\u2019 : Frederick Douglass speaks to Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

A guest post for Black History Month by Eleanor Rideout, IS Helpdesk Assistant<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Frederick Douglass by Samuel J Miller, 1847-52. Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Noted African-American anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass had embarked on a tour of Ireland and Great Britain, reaching Scotland in 1846. He was speaking against the evils of slavery generally, but a decision made by the Free Church of Scotland became the focus of his work here.<\/p>\n

The separation of the Free Church from the Church of Scotland meant that funding needed to be found. One source was fellow Presbyterian Churches, including those in the American South. Money was accepted from slaveholders, which did not go unnoticed by abolitionists.<\/p>\n

Douglass\u2019s reputation as a powerful speaker is confirmed by two anonymous letters from a woman living in Dundee, addressed to Free Church leader Thomas Chalmers, which are held at New College Library, Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

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Anonymous to Thomas Chalmers, 1 April 1846. MS CHA 4.321.41-42.<\/p><\/div>\n

The writer\u2019s style is impassioned, swerving between criticism of slaveholders, concern for her own soul, and description of events recently witnessed:<\/p>\n

\u201cThey would not give the churches and few<\/u> comparatively speaking gave their ears<\/u>. Because it was said that the strangers witnessed<\/u> too hard things against your Church. If the Men tell the Truth you should not be angry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDear Dr C. What are you going to do in the matter of taking money from the slaveholders in the America about which I heard a great deal last week & meetings \u2013 two of which I attended \u2013 as I used to be very much interested in the Slave question\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPart of my ordinary as Rev. T Boston would say, or rather my extraordinary for in thought word and deed I am of late a Backslidder [Backslider], ah for Grace to grow in grace. You see how I wander \u2013It is the Poor Captive slave I wish now to speak for. I would you would be a tongue to such dumb ones. Then soon soon the Lord will look down and deliver. For to them belongeth Power, Dominion, Strength, Mercy. And then will their tongues become glories to praise, to bless to laud the King of Glory \u2013 and they too shall not forget you \u2013as we all have too long forgotten them. Neglect is infliction. <\/em><\/p>\n

O how much I know of my Masters will yet do it not I wish whiles the Lord would set<\/u> me and take me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She also uses rhetorical flourish herself to try and persuade Chalmers:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was sins of ignorance I was reading today 4 Lev. I see there the Lord will not let such pass. It was for such the blessed Jesus prayed when on the cross Father forgive them. Now I believe firmly you did not see at the time that taking money from slaveholders was the price of blood \u2013 verily your Church hath been guilty. Do not think I am glad to set aught against you because you have far outstript us in the way of voluntary<\/u> giving. No I was glad and I myself made crape [cr\u00eape] the year of the disruption that I might give what I had for ribbon, to your Free Church<\/u>, Free Church what have you to do with the House of Bondage. Hath the Truth made you Free \u2013 then Freely give.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It is interesting to be able to read her words along with the published transcripts of the speeches made by Frederick Douglass, also held at New College Library :<\/p>\n

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Free Church Alliance with manstealers: send back the money, great anti-slavery meeting in the City Hall, Glasgow. Glasgow: George Gallie, 1846. M.d.9\/10.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAll was going on gloriously \u2013 triumphantly; the moral and religious sentiment of the country was becoming concentrated against slavery, slaveholders, and the abetters of slaveholders, when, at this period, the Free Church of Scotland sent a deputation to the United States with a doctrine diametrically opposed to the abolitionists, taking up the ground that, instead of no fellowship, they should fellowship the slaveholders. According to them the slaveholding system is a sin, but not the slaveholder a sinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deputation had an excellent opportunity of aiming an effectual blow at slavery, but they turned a deaf ear and refused to listen to the friends of freedom. They turned a deaf ear to the groans of the oppressed slave \u2013 they neglected the entreaties of his friends- and they went into the slave states, not for the purpose of imparting knowledge to the slave, but to go and strike hands with the slaveholders, in order to get money to build Free Churches and pay Free Church ministers in Scotland. [Cries of \u201cshame\u201d and applause.]\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI verily believe, that, had I been at the South, and had I been a slave, as I have been a slave \u2013 and I am a slave still by the laws of the United States- had I been there, and that deputation had come into my neighbourhood, and my master had sold me on the auction block, and given the produce of my body and soul to them, they would have pocketed it and brought it to Scotland to build their churches and pay their ministers.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Free Church money was not returned the strong impression made on listeners by Frederick Douglass\u2019s words can be seen clearly in these letters. With the 200th<\/sup> anniversary of his birth in 2018 his great contribution to the abolitionist cause is likely to be celebrated more and more.<\/p>\n

Eleanor Rideout<\/p>\n

With thanks to Alasdair Pettinger whose article \u2018The Bloody Gold\u2019 drew attention to this letter: http:\/\/www.bulldozia.com\/projects\/index.php?id=616<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A guest post for Black History Month by Eleanor Rideout, IS Helpdesk Assistant Noted African-American anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass had embarked on a tour of Ireland and Great Britain, reaching Scotland in 1846. He was speaking against the evils of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[199],"tags":[19,243,135,170,182],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42UaT-LN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2963"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2971,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963\/revisions\/2971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/newcollegelibrarian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}