The Freedmen's Book - free ebook by Lydia Maria Child

THE FREEDMEN'S BOOK.

John G. Whittier....

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TO THE FREEDMEN.

I have prepared this book expressly for you, with the hope that those of you who can read will read it aloud to others, and that all of you will derive fresh strength and courage from this true record of what colored men have accomplished, under great disadvantages. I have written all the biographies over again, in order to give you as much information as possible in the fewest words. I take nothing for my services; and the book is sold to you at the cost of paper, printing, and binding. Whateve

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THE FREEDMEN'S BOOK. IGNATIUS SANCHO.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. This was the name of a remarkable African, who excited a good deal of interest in his day. His father and mother were stolen from Africa and put on board a slave-ship in 1729, which was one hundred and thirty-six years ago. He was born during the passage, and when the vessel arrived at Carthagena, in South America, he was baptized by the name of Ignatius. His mother died soon after, and his father, seeing no means of escape from slavery, killed himself in a fit of despair. The

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EXTRACT FROM THE TENTH PSALM.

"The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; He will never see it. Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand. The poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble. Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; thou wilt prepare their heart to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more op

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BENJAMIN BANNEKER.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. This remarkable man was born near the village of Ellicott's Mills, Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1732. That was one hundred and thirty-three years ago, when there were very few schools and very few books in this country, and when it was not as easy as it now is for even white people to obtain a tolerably good education. His parents were both black, and though they were free, they were too poor to do much for their bright boy. They sent him to a school in the neighborhood, whe

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WILLIAM BOEN.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. William Boen was born in 1735, one hundred and thirty years ago. He was the slave of a man who lived near Mount Holly, in New Jersey. His master and most of the neighbors belonged to the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers. That Society made it a rule that none of their members should hold a slave, long before the people of any other sect were convinced that slavery was wrong. But at the time William Boen was born some of the Quakers did hold slaves, though many of the

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ANECDOTE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON.

During the war of the Revolution, Primus Hall was the colored servant of Colonel Pickering, with whom General Washington often held long consultations. One night, finding they must be engaged till late, he proposed to sleep in the Colonel's tent, provided there was a spare blanket and straw. Primus, who was always eager to oblige the Commander-in-Chief, said, "Plenty of straw and blankets." When the long conference was ended, the two officers lay down to rest on the beds he had prepared. When he

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TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE.

John G. Whittier. John G. Whittier. On the western coast of Africa, a tribe called the Arradas are said to be superior to most of the other tribes in intelligence and strength of will. The son of their chief, named Gaou-Guinou, was seized by a prowling band of slave-traders, one day when he was out hunting. He was packed in the hold of a European ship, with a multitude of other unfortunate victims, and carried to the island of Hayti to be sold. This is one of the largest of the West India Island

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THE ASPIRATIONS OF MINGO.

A slave in one of our Southern States, named Mingo, was endowed with uncommon abilities. If he had been a white man, his talents would have secured him an honorable position; but being colored, his great intelligence only served to make him an object of suspicion. He was thrown into prison, to be sold. He wrote the following lines on the walls, which were afterward found and copied. A Southern gentleman sent them to a friend in Boston, as a curiosity, and they were published in the Boston Journa

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PHILLIS WHEATLEY.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa, and brought to Boston, Massachusetts, in the year 1761,—a little more than a hundred years ago. At that time the people in Massachusetts held slaves. The wife of Mr. John Wheatley of Boston had several slaves; but they were getting too old to be very active, and she wanted to purchase a young girl, whom she could train up in such a manner as to make her a good domestic. She went to the slave-market for that purpose, and there she saw a litt

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A PERTINENT QUESTION.

BY FREDERICK DOUGLASS. "Is it not astonishing, that while we are ploughing, planting, and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses and constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, and copper, silver and gold; that while we are reading, writing, and ciphering, acting as clerks, merchants, and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators, and teachers; that while we are engaged in all manner of enterprise

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THE WORKS OF PROVIDENCE.

BY PHILLIS WHEATLEY. [Written at sixteen years of age.]...

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KINDNESS TO ANIMALS.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. There are not many people who are conscientious about being kind in their relations with human beings; and therefore it is not surprising that still fewer should be considerate about humanity to animals. But the Father of all created beings made dumb creatures to enjoy existence in their way, as he made human beings to enjoy life in their way. We do wrong in his sight if we abuse them, or keep them without comfortable food and shelter. The fact that they cannot speak to tell o

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JAMES FORTEN.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. James Forten was born in 1766, nearly a hundred years ago. His ancestors had lived in Pennsylvania for several generations, and, so far as he could trace them, they had never been slaves. In his boyhood the war of the American Revolution began. The States of this Union were then colonies of Great Britain. Being taxed without being represented in the British Parliament, they remonstrated against it as an act of injustice. The king, George the Third, was a dull, obstinate man, d

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THE MEETING IN THE SWAMP.

In 1812 there was war between the United States and Great Britain; and many people thought it likely that a portion of the British army would land in some part of the Southern States and proclaim freedom to the slaves. The more intelligent portion of the slaves were aware of this, and narrowly watched the signs of the times. Mr. Duncan, of South Carolina, was an easy sort of master, generally thought by his neighbors to be too indulgent to his slaves. One evening, during the year I have mentione

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A REASONABLE REQUEST.

We are natives of this country; we ask only to be treated as well as foreigners. Not a few of our fathers suffered and bled to purchase its independence; we ask only to be treated as well as those who fought against it. We have toiled to cultivate it, and to raise it to its present prosperous condition; we ask only to share equal privileges with those who come from distant lands to enjoy the fruits of our labor.— Rev. Peter Williams , colored Rector of St. Philip's Church, New York , 1835....

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THE SLAVE POET.

Mr. James Horton, of Chatham County, North Carolina, had a slave named George, who early manifested remarkable intelligence. He labored with a few other slaves on his master's farm, and was always honest, faithful, and industrious. He contrived to learn to read, and every moment that was allowed him for his own he devoted to reading. He was especially fond of poetry, which he read and learned by heart, wherever he could find it. After a time, he began to compose verses of his own. He did not kno

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RATIE: A TRUE STORY OF A LITTLE HUNCHBACK.

BY MATTIE GRIFFITH. I want to tell you a story of a poor little slave-girl who lived and died away down South. This little girl's name was Rachel, but they used to call her Ratie. She was a hunchback and a dwarf, with an ugly black face, coarse and irregular features, but a low, pleasant voice, and nice manners. Nobody ever scolded Ratie, for she never deserved it. She always did her work—the little that was assigned her—with a cheerful heart and willing hand. This work was chiefly to gather up

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THE BEGINNING AND PROGRESS OF EMANCIPATION IN THE BRITISH WEST INDIES.

Nothing has ever been done in this world more wicked and cruel than the slave-trade on the coast of Africa. But the temptation to carry it on was very great; for hundreds of men and women could be bought for a cask of poor rum or a peck of cheap beads, and could be sold in the markets of America or the West Indies for thousands of dollars. A hundred years ago men were not at all ashamed of growing rich in this bad way. They were respected in society as much as other men. They were often members

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MADISON WASHINGTON.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. This man was a slave, born in Virginia. His lot was more tolerable than that of many who are doomed to bondage; but from his early youth he always longed to be free. Nature had in fact made him too intelligent and energetic to be contented in Slavery. Perhaps he would have attempted to escape sooner than he did, had he not become in love with a beautiful octoroon slave named Susan. She was the daughter of her master, and the blood of the white race predominated in several of h

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EXTRACT FROM THE VIRGINIA BILL OF RIGHTS.

"The election of members to serve as representatives of the people in Assembly ought to be free; and all men having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community have the right of suffrage; and they cannot be taxed, or deprived of their property for public uses, without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected; nor can they be bound by any law to which they have not assented, in like manner, for the public good." The Virginia Bill o

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FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. Captain Anthony owned two or three farms on the eastern shore of Maryland, and held about thirty slaves. One of them, a black woman named Betsy, married a free black man named Isaac Baily; and they had a numerous family of children, all of whom were, of course, slaves to Captain Anthony. When she became an old widow she lived in a hut separate from the other slaves, and was principally employed in nursing troops of babies, which her children brought into the world for the bene

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HOW THE GOOD WORK GOES ON.

In the spring of 1865 an association of colored men was formed in Baltimore for moral and intellectual improvement. They bought a building formerly used by the Newton University, for which they paid sixteen thousand dollars. In honor of their able pioneer, Frederick Douglass, they named it "The Douglass Institute." On the day of its dedication he delivered an address before the association in Baltimore, in the course of which he said: "The mission of this institution is to develop manhood; to bu

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DEDICATION HYMN.

BY J. M. WHITEFIELD. Written for the Vine Street Methodist Episcopal Church of colored people, in Buffalo, N. Y....

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A PRAYER.

John G. Whittier....

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WILLIAM AND ELLEN CRAFTS.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. William Crafts is a black man, born in Georgia. His master had the reputation of being a humane man and a pious Christian. Yet, when some of his slaves were getting old, he had no scruples about selling them away from their families, and buying a young lot. Among those sold were the father and mother of William. They were sold to different purchasers from different places, and never saw each other again. They were much attached to each other, and it was a consolation to their

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THE GOOD GRANDMOTHER.

BY HARRIET JACOBS. I had a great treasure in my maternal grandmother, who was a remarkable woman in many respects. She was the daughter of a planter in South Carolina, who, at his death, left her and her mother free, with money to go to St. Augustine, where they had relatives. It was during the Revolutionary War, and they were captured on their passage, carried back, and sold to different purchasers. Such was the story my grandmother used to tell me. She was sold to the keeper of a large hotel,

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WILLIAM COSTIN.

Mr. William Costin was for twenty-four years porter of a bank in Washington, D. C. Many millions of dollars passed through his hands, but not a cent was ever missing, through fraud or carelessness. In his daily life he set an example of purity and benevolence. He adopted four orphan children into his family, and treated them with the kindness of a father. His character inspired general respect; and when he died, in 1842, the newspapers of the city made honorable mention of him. The directors of

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EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. People of all colors and conditions love their offspring; but very few consider sufficiently how much the future character and happiness of their children depend on their own daily language and habits. It does very little good to teach children to be honest if the person who teaches them is not scrupulous about taking other people's property or using it without leave. It does very little good to tell them they ought to be modest, if they are accustomed to hear their elders use

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SAM AND ANDY.

BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. A beautiful slave in Kentucky, named Eliza, had a very handsome little boy. One day she overheard her master making a bargain with a slave-trader by the name of Haley to sell them both. She made her escape that night, taking her child with her. Her mistress, who was much attached to her, and did not want to have her sold, was glad when she heard that Eliza was gone; but her master, who was afraid the trader would think he had helped her off after he had taken the money

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JOHN BROWN AND THE COLORED CHILD.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. [When John Brown went from the jail to the gallows, in Charlestown, Virginia, December 2, 1859, he stooped to kiss a little colored child.] John Brown, on his way to the scaffold, stooped to take up a slave-child. That closing example was the legacy of the dying man to his country. That benediction we must continue and fulfil. In this new order, equality, long postponed, shall become the master-principle of our system, and the very frontispiece of our Constitution.— Hon. Charl

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THE AIR OF FREEDOM.

BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER. [Written at Niagara Falls in 1856.] I have just returned from Canada. I have gazed for the first time upon free land. Would you believe it? the tears sprang to my eyes, and I wept. It was a glorious sight to gaze, for the first time, on the land where a poor slave, flying from our land of boasted liberty, would in a moment find his fetters broken and his shackles loosed. Whatever he was in the land of Washington, in the shadow of Bunker Hill Monument, or even upon Plymou

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THE LAWS OF HEALTH.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. There are three things peculiarly essential to health,—plenty of fresh water, plenty of pure air, and enough of nourishing food. If possible, the human body should be washed all over every day; but if circumstances render that difficult, the operation should be performed at least two or three times a week. People in general are not aware how important frequent bathing is. The cuticle, or skin, with which the human body is covered, is like fine net-work, or lace. By help of a m

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NEW-YEAR'S DAY ON THE ISLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1863.

BY CHARLOTTE L. FORTEN. A few days before Christmas we were delighted at receiving a beautiful Christmas Hymn from John G. Whittier, written especially for our children. They learned it very easily, and enjoyed singing it. We showed them the writer's picture, and told them he was a very good friend of theirs, who felt the deepest interest in them, and had written this Hymn expressly for them to sing. This made them very proud and happy. Early Christmas morning we were wakened by the people knock

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EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY HON. HENRY WILSON TO THE COLORED PEOPLE IN CHARLESTON, S. C., APRIL, 1865.

"For twenty-nine years, in private life and in public life, at all times and on all occasions, I have spoken and voted against Slavery, and in favor of the freedom of every man that breathes God's air or walks His earth. And to-day, standing here in South Carolina, I feel that the slave-power we have fought so long is under my heel; and that the men and women held in bondage so long are free forevermore. "Understanding this to be your position,—that you are forever free,—remember, O remember, th

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EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH BY HON. JUDGE KELLY TO THE COLORED PEOPLE IN CHARLESTON, S. C., APRIL, 1865.

"I will not, my colored friends, talk to you of the past. You understand that all too well. I turn to the hopeful future; not to flatter you for the deeds you have done during the last four years, but to remind you that, though you no longer have earthly masters, there is a Ruler in heaven whom you are bound to obey,—that Great Being who strengthened and guided your eminent friend William Lloyd Garrison, who trained Abraham Lincoln for his great work, in honest poverty and simple-mindedness; tha

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BLACK TOM.

BY A YANKEE SOLDIER. At Rodman's Point, in North Carolina, the United States troops were obliged to retreat before Rebels, who outnumbered them ten to one. The scow in which they attempted to escape stuck in the mud, and could not be moved with poles. While the soldiers were lying down they were in some measure protected from Rebel bullets; but whoever jumped into the water to push the boat off would certainly be killed. A vigorous black man who was with them said: "Lie still. I will push off th

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LETTER FROM A FREEDMAN TO HIS OLD MASTER.

[Written just as he dictated it.] Dayton, Ohio , August 7, 1865. To my old Master , Colonel P. H. Anderson , Big Spring, Tennessee . Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard abou

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COLONEL ROBERT G. SHAW.

BY ELIZA B. SEDGWICK. [In the summer of 1863 an attack was made on Fort Wagner, in South Carolina, by the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, composed of colored troops. Their leader, Colonel Shaw , belonging to one of the best white families in Boston, was killed. When his friends asked for his body, the reply of the Rebels was, "He is buried with his niggers."]...

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ADVICE FROM AN OLD FRIEND.

BY L. MARIA CHILD. For many years I have felt great sympathy for you, my brethren and sisters, and I have tried to do what I could to help you to freedom. And now that you have at last received the long-desired blessing, I most earnestly wish that you should make the best possible use of it. I have made this book to encourage you to exertion by examples of what colored people are capable of doing. Such men and women as Toussaint l'Ouverture, Benjamin Banneker, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglas

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