Dialogue of Slavery [1]
By Ransom G. Williams
Annotations by Jessica Abell
Edwin. I heard a gentleman say it was so bad as American[2] slavery. What is American slavery, dear father?
Mr. Williams. I will tell you, my son. All slavery is bad enough, but American slavery is the worst of all.
Edwin. Is it worse than Algerine[3] slavery?
Mr. Williams. Much worse, because this is called a free country. Suppose you were compelled to work every minute on a holiday, you would think it very hard. They had better not have told you it was a holiday. Now we call this land of liberty. It is worse then to enslave men here, then it is to enslave them in a country that is not called free. Slavery is bad every where, but it is very bad in a country called free.
Edwin. I should like to know more about slavery.
Mr. Williams. I shall be pleased to tell you . A horse is a slave. His owner may sell him, dispose of his body and his labor; he can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire any thing, but what must belong to his master. And these are the very words of the laws of the state of Louisiana with regard to slaves.
Edwin. A man is treated then like a horse, and must go and come at his master’s bidding, just as brute animals do, must he?
Mr. Williams. Yes, my child, and a man is treated worse than if he were a horse. Slavery is more cruel to men and women and children, than it is to inferior animals, for brutes have no minds. Their bodies only suffer. But slaves have souls, and they are kept in heathenish darkness.
Edwin. I heard some one say the slaves are chattels. What are they?
Mr. Williams. Chattels are goods. Slaves are considered like furniture, books, domestic animals, and are sold at auction or private sale like a bale of cotton, a hogshead of molasses, a box of sugar, a horse or a pig. This is slavery, and American slavery is to do all this in a land of ‘Liberty and Equality.’
Williams, Ransom G. “Dialogue on Slavery.” Slave’s Friend 3, no. 12 (December 1838): 4–5.
Hill, Byrd, et al. Advertisement Card for the “Great Negro Mart” in Memphis, Tennessee. 1960 1859, https://www.si.edu/object/advertisement-card-great-negro-mart-memphis-tennessee%3Anmaahc_2014.63.17.
Contexts
The Slave’s Friend is a children’s abolitionist periodical/pamphlet produced from 1836-1838 by Ransom G. Williams for the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). The periodical was a mix of poetry, stories, anti-slavery writings and woodcut prints to speak to children. These writings were written for young children to understand the wrongs of slavery.
Resources for Further Study
[1] Originally published in The Slave’s Friend periodical/pamphlet.
[2] All emphasis in original.
[3] Algerine Slavery is slavery that occurred in North Africa. People of all colors and religions were enslaved by Barbary Pirates.
