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(Part 4 of 7)
THE SILENT LELAND: 1803-1830
Leland's 1802 dichotomy of physical and
spiritual enslavement appears to be reflective of a larger shift in
his views, as he largely ignored the issue of slavery from 1803 to
1830. (32) His silence regarding slavery took place at a time in which
the issue became increasingly prominent in American life. During these
years, Leland the Baptist gradually gave way to Leland the
Jeffersonian politician, as the weight of his writings and speeches
grew more political and less religious, although religious liberty
remained his favored subject. (33)
THE AMBIVALENT LELAND: 1831-1836
Leland once again took up the subject of
slavery in a speech delivered at North Adams, Massachusetts, in March
1831. By this point, slavery had become a prominent, and troubling,
political issue in American life. Whereas in 1802 Leland had referred
to African American bondage as "personal slavery," in 1831 he framed
slavery in the context of "The Negro Question." (34) Freedom for
slaves was still uppermost in Leland's mind. Some antislavery forces
were working to establish a free colony for former slaves in Africa.
(35) In 1831, he labeled colonization as "sacrilegious," for "America
is the country they [slaves] know." (36) Many abolitionists and free
blacks agreed with Leland. (37)
Leland endorsed a political plan for
emancipation that called for the United States government to form
states for freed slaves, in which freemen would sustain and educate
themselves, (38) Yet, Leland realized that slave owners would have
little financial incentive to relinquish voluntarily their slaves, and
he called upon a restless generation of youth to rally around the
cause of emancipation. "If any of the slave-holders will neither give
nor sell their slaves, here will be a great door opened for missionary
labors. The pious youth, who are waiting for a gap, will now have a
loud call to go and preach to the hard-hearted masters, and flatter
them to give, and threaten them if they will not." (39)
Five years later, in the midst of growing
political turmoil, Leland again addressed the slavery issue, this time
at great length. His words signaled ambivalence toward slavery,
including the first indication of hostility toward abolitionists:
The abolitionists of late have come forward, and seem to demand the
unconditional manumission of all of them [slaves], without
prescribing any rational mode for their future subsistence. If
these prophets can prove their commission, like Moses, or have any
reason to believe that God will feed the liberated slaves with
manna, it is hoped that the slaveholders will obey, and not harden
their hearts: otherwise their exertions seem calculated to alienate
the slave-holding states from the others, and make the condition of
the slaves more miserable.., the measures of the abolitionists are
reprobated by every friend to his country. (40)
Although Leland continued to advocate freedom
for slaves, his enthusiasm for emancipating African Americans was more
tempered than in earlier years. (41) Gone were the harsh words for
slave owners and his previous view that most slave owners treated
slaves brutally. Instead, he portrayed slave owners as rational,
ordinary, and compassionate individuals who were victims of
unpatriotic abolitionists. Many slaveholders, Leland was convinced,
"in heart are opposed to slavery, and would gladly set their slaves
free, if they could be provided for." (42)
In 1831, Leland had advocated abolitionist
activities. In 1836, he denounced abolitionists as troublemakers.
Leland long had insisted that the slavery issue, albeit complicated,
should be resolved immediately for the good of the country. In 1836,
he chided as foolish immediate efforts to end slavery. Decades
earlier, he had spoken pointedly of the brutality of slave owners. In
1836, Leland cast slave owners as hapless victims of the seditious
activities of abolitionists.
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The Anti-Abolitionist Leland |
