“He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.”
Ex. 21:16
“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”
Eph. 6:5
“Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? Care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.”
1 Cor. 7:20-22
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Subsection
Permissive, Mosaic Laws
Baptizing Slaves
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Order of Contents
Summary of the Puritans’ View
Articles 20+
Books 2
Quotes 3+
May be Consistent with Natural Law 3
May not Sell Children 3
Freedom by Running Away 1
Kidnapping 1
History 18
. Early Church 3
. Free Church of Scotland 26
Political Segregation & Integration 1
Latin 1
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A Summary of the General View of Slavery during the Puritan Era
Intro
The following excerpt is from a major juridical work on Scottish civil law during the late 1600’s. The significance of the excerpt below is that it is right.
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James Dalrymple Stair
The Institutions of the Law of Scotland, Deduced from its Originals, & Collated with the Civil, Canon & Feudal Laws, & with the Customs of Neighboring Nations... (Edinburgh, 1681), Title 2, ‘Of Liberty’, p. 21
“1. Liberty is that natural power which man has of his own person, whence a free man is said to be suae potestatis, ‘in his own power’, and it is defined in the law to be a natural faculty to do that which every man pleases, unless he be hindered by law or force.
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5. Though liberty be the most precious right, yet it is not absolute, but limited; First, by the Will of God, and our obediential obligations to Him, and to men by his ordinance; and so though man has power of his own person, yet has he no power of his own life, or his members, to dispose of them at his pleasure, either by taking away of his life or amputation, or hurting of any member by himself, or by giving power to any other so to do, unless it be necessary for preserving the whole, but he is naturally obliged to God to maintain his life:
So likewise men may be restrained, or constrained by others, without encroachment upon the law of liberty, in the pursuance of other obediential obligations; as a husband has power to restrain his wife, from her liberty of going where she will, and may keep her within the bounds of conjugal society; so may parents restrain their children, and also constrain them to the performance of moral duties, and that without any engagement or law; we may also without any injury, restrain a furious person, or one who is inferring violence to himself, in his life or limbs, because this is not against any act of his lawful liberty, and is done as a duty in us of love and mercy:
But in matters of utility and profit, where the natural liberty is not hemmed in with an obligation, there, unless by his own delinquence or consent, man cannot justly be restrained, much less constrained upon pretense of his utility or profit; for liberty, as far preferable to profit, and in the matter of utility, every man is left to his own choice, and cannot without injury to God and Man, be hindered to do what he pleases, or be compelled to do what he pleases not, in things wherein he is free,
6. Liberty may be diminished or taken away by our delinquence in the way of punishment, for seeing it is a right in our own power; as goods and debts may be forfaulted by our delinquence, so may our liberty, in whole or in part.
7. Thirdly, our engagements do commonly import a diminution of our personal liberty, but much more, of that natural liberty of things without us; whence it is that the law allows personal execution or restraint, and incarceration of the debitor’s person, until he do all the deeds that are in his power for the satisfaction of his Creditor.
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9. Fifthly, liberty is wholly taken off by bondage, slavery or servitude, which is diametrically opposite to liberty; for as liberty is that power by which men are sui juris [in his own power], so by servitude they became alieni juris, ‘in the power of another’…
10. Bondage was introduced by the law of nations, and it is among the positive laws of nations, settled by common consuetude [custom], and it took first place in these who were taken in war, who being under the power of their enemies’ sword, did lose their liberty in lieu [in place] of their life [instead of being killed]; such also were these who sold their liberty and gave it up, and were content to be perpetual slaves, as were the Jewish bondmen, whose ears were pierced with an aul [Ex. 21], as the solemnity of their perpetual and willing servitude, the offspring of servants remained in their servile condition…
11. Bondage, though contrair to the nature of liberty, yet it is lawful; liberty being a right alienable, and in our disposal, so that the natural law constitutes us free, but puts no necessity on us, so to continue; and therefore servitude is both approven in the Old Testament; and in the New, it is cleared against that obvious objection, that being made free by Christ, we should not become the servants of men, to which the Apostle answers, ‘Art thou called, being a servant (or slave)? continue so, for nevertheless thou art Christ’s freeman’ [1 Cor. 7]:
But yet Christian lenity and mercy, has almost taken away bondage, except amongst the Spaniards, Portugals [who were Romanist] and other Christian nations bordering upon the Turks [Muslims], where, because the Turks do extremely exercise slavery, especially upon Christians, their neighbors do the like, that they may have slaves to exchange with slaves: little of slavery remains elsewhere among Christians, except the ascriptitii [naturalized foreigners], who are not absolutely slaves… but in Scotland there is no such thing.”
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Articles
1500’s
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – The Common Places… (London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583)
pt. 3, ‘Of Bondage & Christian Freedom’ in ch. 5. ‘Of Peace, Bondage, Christian Liberty, of Offense, of Conscience & of the Choice of Meats’ 162-63
pt. 4
ch. 18, ‘Whether Captives ought to be put to Death or Saved’ 300
ch. 20, ‘Of Nobility’
‘Of Servitude or Bondage’ 313
‘Of Debtors’ 315
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1600’s
Gouge, William – ‘The Seventh Treatise: Duties of Servants’ & ‘The Eight Treatise: Duties of Masters’ 1622 55 & 48 pp. in Domestical Duties, pp. 589-693
“…Gouge… addressed the relationship between masters and servants, meaning by ‘servants’ both those ‘born servants, or sold as servants, or taken in war’ and those ‘being by voluntary contract made servants.’… Gouge also said that regardless of where we stand in human society, we have ‘equality’ before God. He warned, ‘If the greatest man that ever was in the world should have a servant that were the [lowest in rank] that ever was, and a case betwixt that master and that servant should come before God, God would not any whit at all lean to that master more than to the servant.'” – Joel Beeke
The French Reformed Churches – ch. 15, article 4 of the Synod of Alancon (1634) in John Quick, Synodicon, vol. 2, p. 348
Rutherford, Samuel – ‘…and How it is True, ‘Every Man is Born Free’ & how Servitude is Contrary to Nature’ in Lex Rex (1644), Question 13, Assertion 2, ff., pp. 51-53
When Rutherford speaks of slavery being against nature, he is saying that persons are not inherently from nature born slaves, such that whatever their circumstances in life, they must remain slaves. Rutherford is not saying that persons could not morally and legally be slaves, no more than when he says every man is born free by nature, that persons are not subject to the positive civil laws they are born under. Hence Rutherford’s view on slavery was consistent with the dominant puritan view of his era, that slavery could legitimately exist (though it’s not ideal), namely when, in a culpable war, those who would be put to death, are instead made slaves.
“Assertion 1. As a man comes into the world a member of a politic society, he is, by consequence, born subject to the laws of that society…
Assertion 2. Slavery of servants to lords or masters, such as were of old amongst the Jews, is not natural, but against nature:
1. Because slavery is malum naturae, a penal evil and contrary to nature, and a punishment of sin.
2. Slavery should not have been in the world if man had never sinned, no more than there could have been buying and selling of men, which is a miserable consequent of sin and a sort of death, when men are put to the toiling pains of the hireling, who longs for the shadow, and [are] under iron harrows and saws, and to hew wood, and draw water continually.
3. The original of servitude was when men were taken in war, to eschew a greater evil, even death, the captives were willing to undergo a less evil, slavery, (S. Servitus, 1 de jure. Pers.)
4. A man being created according to God’s image, he is res sacra, ‘a sacred thing,’ and can no more, by nature’s law, be sold and bought than a religious and sacred thing dedicated to God. Servitus, 1. Instit. de inutil. scrupl. I. inter Stipulantem. S. Sacram. F. de verber. Obligat.” – p. 51
Ascham, Antony – An Answer to the Vindication of Doctor [Henry] Hammond Against the Exceptions of Eutactus Philodemius, wherein is Endeavored to be Cleared what Power Man has 1. Over his own Liberty, (which is) his All; 2. Over his Own Life, for which He will Give that All (London, 1650) 18 pp.
Ascham (c. 1614–1650) was a was a reformed, puritan, British academic, political theorist, Parliamentarian and diplomat.
This is work deals with the philosophy of slavery in some length and is a reply to Hammond’s, A Vindication of Dr. Hammond’s address etc. from the exceptions of Eutactus Philodemius… (1649).
Mather, Cotton
The Negro Christianized, an Essay to Excite & Assist the Good Work, the Instruction of Negro-Servants in Christianity (Boston,, 1706) 46 pp. with catechisms for servants
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1700’s
Sewall, Samuel – ‘The Selling of Joseph’ (1700) 3 pp.
Sewall was a reformed, New England puritan.
Edwards, Jr., Jonathan – ‘The Injustice & Impolicy of the Slave Trade, & of the Slavery of the Africans, Illustrated in a Sermon’ (1791) 23 pp.
“Jonathan Edwards owned slaves, yet Thabiti Anyabwile has said in a recent paper that Edwards condemned the slave trade and denied that Africans and Native Americans were inferior to white people. His son, Jonathan Edwards, Jr., took the next logical step and advocated against slavery…” – Joel Beeke
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1800’s
McLeod, Alexander – Negro Slavery Unjustifiable: a Discourse (1802) 41 pp.
McLeod was an American, Northern, Reformed Presbyterian.
PCUSA, New School – ‘A Small Breeze-Slavery Discussion’ (1857) 15 paragraphs News-clipping
PCUSA, North, Old School – ‘Foreign Correspondence & the Slavery Question’ (1845) 4 pp. The moderator of the General Assembly was Charles Hodge
Breckinridge, Robert – A Speech in regard to the Power of the Legislature on the Subject of Slavery, of the Importation of Slaves, of Abolitionism, of British Influence, of Religious Liberty, etc. (1840) 32 pp. This speech was given on account of the resignation of Robert Wickliffe from the office of Senator, in defense of his personal character, political principles and his religious connections. Breckinridge in the speech is also defending himself from accusations made to the same effect.
Chalmers, Thomas
Appendix I, ‘Matured Expression of Dr. Chalmers’s Sentiments on the Subject of Slavery in America in William Hanna, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Chalmers, vol. 4, pp. 581-91
‘A Few Thoughts on the Abolition of Colonial Slavery’ in Miscellanies: Embracing Reviews, Essays & Addresses
Dabney, Robert
‘Slavery’ (1897) 13 pp. in The Practical Philosophy, pp. 403-16
‘Liberty & Slavery’ in Discussions, vol. 3, pp. 61-69
‘Anti-Biblical Theory of Rights’ in Discussions, vol. 3, pp. 497-522
‘Economic Effects of the Former Labor System of the Southern United States’ in Discussions, vol. 4, pp. 354-91
Hodge, Charles
Essays & Reviews (1857) 661 pp.
In this you will find Hodge taking up the interesting subjects of Regeneration, the Atonement, Theories of the Church, that the Roman Church is part of the Visible Church, the Lord’s Supper, Slavery (which he is against) and Emancipation, amongst others.
The Bible Argument on Slavery (1860), p. 837, 46 pp. from Cotton is King & Pro-Slavery Arguments. This article is different than his article on slavery in his Essays & Reviews.
The Fugitive Slave Law (1860), p. 805 ff. 30 pp.
Miller, Samuel – A Discourse for Promoting the Manumission [Freeing] of Slaves, and Protecting such of them as have been, or may be Liberated (1797) 36 pp.
Thornwell, James – Collected Writings (Richmond, VA: Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1873), vol. 4
‘Prefatory Note’, pp. 379-80
‘Relation of the Church to Slavery’, pp. 381-97 (1851) a report adopted by the Synod of South Carolina
‘The Christian Doctrine of Slavery’, pp. 398-436 (1850) a sermon on Col. 4:1
‘Speech on African Colonization’, pp. 472-78
‘Foreign Correspondence [with the Free Church of Scotland, 1847]’, pp. 500-504
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2000’s
Willborn, Nick – “Presbyterians in the South & the Slave: A Study in Benevolence,” in The Confessional Presbyterian, vol. 3 (2007) Buy
An excellent historical article chronicling Girardeau’s efforts to minister to the black slaves. Written by one who did his dissertation on Girardeau.
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Books
1800’s
Dabney, Robert – A Defence of Virginia: & through Her, of the South Buy (1867) 356 pp.
A thorough defense of American slavery. Dabney also gives the history of the rise of the slave trade (which he condemns, Virginia being the first state to outlaw it on Biblical grounds), the legal origins of slavery in America, as well as the history of emancipation in the states.
Robinson, John – The Testimony & Practice of the Presbyterian Church in Reference to American Slavery (1852) 250 pp. with an appendix citing numerous American Church statements on the issue. The work is against American slavery.
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Quotes
Order of
Rutherford
Baxter
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1600’s
Samuel Rutherford
Lex Rex... (1644; Edinburgh: Ogle, 1843), question 16
“It is agreed on by divines that servitude is a penal fruit of sin, and against nature. Institutt. de jure personarum, Sect. 1, and F. de statu hominum. I. libertas; because all men are born by nature of equal condition.
…
But to be a master, and to have a masterly and lordly power over slaves and servants is to make use of servants for the owner’s bener fit, not for the good of the slave (I. 2, de leg, I. Servus de servit. expert. Dance polit. I. 1, Tolossan. de Rep. I. 1, c. 1, n. 15, 16), therefore are servants bought and sold as goods (jure belli. F, de statu hominum I. et servorum).
2… not to be under a master as slaves are, is a blessing, seeing freedom is a blessing of God (John 8:33; Ex. 21:2, 26-27; Dt. 15:12); so he that kills Goliath (1 Sam. 17:25), his father’s house shall be free in Israel (Jer. 34:9; Acts 22:28; 1 Cor. 9:19; Gal, 4:26, 31)…
3. Subjects are called the servants of the king (1 Sam. 15:2; 2 Chron. 13:7; 1 Kings 12:7; Ex. 10:1-2; Ex. 9:20) but they are not slaves, because (Dt. 17:20) they are his brethren: “That the king’s heart be not lifted up against his brethren;” and his sons; (Isa. 49:23) and the Lord gave his people a king as a blessing, (1 Kings 10:9; Hos. 1:11; Isa. 1:26; Jer. 17:25), “and brought them out of the house of bondage,” (Ex. 20:2) as out of a place of misery…
4. The master might in some cases sell the servant for money, yea for his own gain he might do it (Neh. 5:8; Eccl. 2:7; 1 Kings 2:32; Gen. 9:25; Gen. 26:14; 2 Kings 4:1; Gen. 20:14, and might give away his servants; and the servants were the proper goods and riches of the master (Eccl. 2:7; Gen. 30:43; Gen. 20:14; Job 1:3, 15); but the king may not sell his kingdom or subjects, or give them away for money…”
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pp. 65-66 While Rutherford here summarizes the objection of an opponent, Rutherford does not object to the principles put forth.
“The Prelate [John Maxwell] objects out of Spalato, Arnisaeus and Hugo Grotius… All government and superiority in rulers is not primely and only for the subjects’ good; for some are by God and nature appointed for the mutual and inseparable good of the superior and inferior, as in the government of husband and wife, or father and son; and in herili dominio, in the government of a lord and his servant, the good and benefit of the servant is but secondary and consecutively intended, it is not the principal end, but the external and adventitious [end], as the gain that comes to a physician is not the proper and internal end of his art, but follows only from his practice of medicine.”
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“Because liberty is a condition of nature that all men are born with, and they are not to give it away — no, not to a king, except in part and for the better, that they may have peace and justice for it, which is better for them, hic et nunc [here and now].”
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“If a people, trusting in the goodness of their prince, enslave themselves to him, and he shall after[ward] turn [a] tyrant, a rash and temerarious surrender obliges not, Et ignorantia facit factum quasi involuntarium. Ignorance makes the fact some way involuntary; for if the people had believed that a meek king would have turned a roaring lion, they should not have resigned their liberty into his hand; and, therefore, the surrender was tacitly conditional to the king as meek, or whom they believed to be meek, and not to a tyrannous lord; and, therefore, when the contract is made for the utility of the one party, the law says, their place is for after wits, that men may change their mind and resume their liberty, though, if they had given away their liberty for money, they cannot recall it; and if violence made the surrender of liberty, here is slavery; and slaves taken in war, so soon as they can escape and return to their own, they are free. (D. Sect. item, ea justit. de rerum divin. I. nihil. F. de rapt. I. 3). So the learned Ferdin. Vasquez (illust. bk. 2, ch. 82, n. 15) says, “The bird that was taken, and has escaped, is free.” Nature in a forced people, so soon as they can escape from a violent conqueror, makes them a free people; and si solo tempore (says Ferd. Vasquez, bk. 2, ch. 82, n. 6) justificatur subjectio, solo tempore facilius justificabitur liberatio.”
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Richard Baxter
The English Nonconformity as under King Charles II & King James II Truly Stated & Argued (London: Parkhurst, 1689), Preface
“It is agreed on by all real Christians that man being made an intelligent, free agent, not under bruitish necessitating determination by objects, is governed by God by the moral way of law; that is by the signification of his Ruler’s will, making his duty, and not by mere natural or forcible motion: And it is agreed that God Himself is his only absolute Universal Ruler, and his laws given in nature and by revelation are the only universal laws, which no human power can abrogate or dispense with:
And that kings and magistrates are his ministers for men’s good, and have no power but from Him, and none against Him or his laws; and that it is not man but God, by whom we must all be judged to everlasting reward or punishment: And therefore that all men must obey God before men, and must not fear them that can but kill the body, but Him who is able to cast both soul and body into Hell.”
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Slavery may be Consistent with Natural Law
This is consistent with Rutherford, if one reads him carefully.
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Quotes
1600’s
Andrew Willet
Hexapla in Genesin & Exodum… (London, 1633), on Ex. 21, Question 10
“Of three kinds of liberty, and how servitude is agreeable to the Law of Nature.
But here it will further be demanded, whether servitude be agreeable to the Law of nature, and how it comes to pass, that the Lord suffered the Israelites being a free people, to be servants one unto another. For the deciding of this doubt, there is a threefold kind of liberty to be considered, a natural liberty, civil, and spiritual.
1. The natural liberty I call that, wherein Adam was created, being subdued to no bondage, neither spiritual of sin, nor corporal in any outward subjection to any creature: but as he had a freedom of will, and was made Lord of his affections within, that he needed not to have sinned, unless he would himself: so he had the dominion of the creatures given unto him. This original liberty of nature considered, servitude and bondage was brought in as a punishment of sin, and so is not simply, and of itself agreeable to the Law of nature.
2. But now since Adam’s fall, there is another kind of civil liberty, and civil servitude opposite unto it. Civil liberty is defined to be a natural faculty, for every man to do as himself likes. . . unless one be hindered by force or in right; for that is no true liberty for a man against right, to do what him likes . . . Now this servitude simply accords not with nature, as the Apostle says, If yet thou mayest be free, use it rather, 1 Cor. 7.21. showing that every one by nature desires liberty and freedom.
But after a sort this servitude is agreeable to nature, not simply, or of itself, but as other punishments are said to be natural, as tending to the maintenance of society among men which is properly natural.
And if it be objected, why since all men are fallen in Adam, and so brought into subjection, why all likewise become not servants: the answer is, that two things must be considered in this our corrupt state: the one is the Law of corruption, brought in by sin, the other the goodness of God: that although all men are subject by sin to the same bondage and corruption, yet the goodness of God qualifies that slavish condition of nature, as that some do enjoy an outward liberty and freedom: like as in the inward faculties of the soul, the Lord gives unto some more light of understanding, dexterity of wit, profoundness of judgement, and other natural gifts, than unto others.
3. The spiritual liberty is wrought in us by grace in Christ, which is from the subjection of sin, and malediction of the Law; that our conscience is no more terrified with slavish fear, but we are at peace with God: and beside, by this spiritual liberty, the faithful have restored unto them the dominion over all creatures: that though not in external possession, yet in a spiritual right, all things are theirs, whether the world, life, death, things present or things to come, 1 Cor. 3.22. and all things work to the best, to those that love God, Rom. 8.28.
So these may very well stand together, external servitude, and spiritual freedom: it is possible for one to bee a freeman to God, and yet a servant in the world, and another to be a bondman to sin, and yet free in the world: for there are divers objects of these two kinds of liberty and bondage; the outward freedom respects this life and state, the free use of riches, and pleasures of this life: the spiritual and internal freedom hath set before it the salvation of the soul, the favor of God, and life eternal. Christian religion then overthrows not the diversity of degrees among men: But as Christ, though he were by his spiritual right, free from all taxes and impositions, yet lest he should offend, payed poll money, Matt. 17. so Christians, though they are made free by faith in the Son, yet for the maintenance of peace and love, and avoiding of offence, in disturbing the temporal State, they are bound as well as others, to be subject unto the powers of this world[.]”
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William Gouge
Domestical Duties, 7th Treatise, Section 3
“Of the Anabaptists’ arguments against the authority of masters, and subjection of servants.
…
2. Objection. It is against nature for one to be servant, especially a bond-servant to another.
Answer. To grant that it is against that absolute and perfect nature wherein at first God created man, and that it came in by sin, yet is it not against that order and course of nature wherein God has now settled man. God has turned many punishments of sin to be bounden duties: as subjection of wife to husband and man’s eating bread in the sweat of his brow.”
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Francis Turretin
Institutes, vol. 2, 11th Topic, 2nd Question, ‘The Nature of the Moral Law’, section 19, p. 13
“XVIII. The natural law cannot be said to have undergone a change…
XIX. Nor by the introduction of slavery; while before, by the primeval law [Gen. 1], all were free. They were not otherwise free than inasmuch as they were free from criminality. When this entered [with the Fall of Adam], slavery passed upon all. For he who assails another’s liberty deservedly loses his own. Nor if the law of nature makes all men equal with regard to nature does it follow that they are equal with regard to qualities and external condition.”
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One Cannot Morally Sell One’s Children into Slavery
Quotes
1600’s
Samuel Rutherford
Lex Rex... (1644; Edinburgh: Ogle, 1843)
p. 53 rt col mid
“Show a law of nature that the father might enslave his children; by a divine positive law, presupposing sin, the father might do that; and yet I think that may be questioned whether it was not a permission rather than a law, as was the bill of divorce; but a law of nature it was not.”
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“Learned politicians, as Bartholomeus Romulus, (Defens. part 1, n. 153, and Joannes de Anania (in c. fin. de his qui fil. occid.) teach… nor is he more to accuse his son, than to accuse himself, because the father loves the son better than himself,” (D. Listi quidem. Sect. Fin. quod, met. caus, et D. L. fin. c. de cura furiosi) and certainly a father had rather die in his own person, as choose to die in his son’s, in whom he affects a sort of immortality, in specie, quando non potest in individuo [in kind when not able in the individual]; but a king does not love his subjects with a natural or fatherly love thus; and if the affections differ, the power which seconds the affection, for the conservation either of being, or well-being, must also differ proportionally.”
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p. 66 lt col bot
“What compelled people may do to redeem their lives, with loss of liberty, is nothing to the point… and that they may sell the liberty of their posterity, not yet born, is utterly denied as unlawful; yea, a violentated father to me is a father, and not a father, and the posterity may vindicate their own liberty given away unjustly before they were born, Qua omne regnum vi partum potest vi dissolvi.”
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On Slaves Gaining Freedom by Running Away
Quote
1600’s
Samuel Rutherford
Lex Rex… (London, 1646), p. 120
“…and if violence made the surrender of liberty, here is slavery, and slaves taken in war, so soon as they can escape and return to their own, they are free (D. Sect. item. ea Justit. de rerum divin. l. nihil. F. de capt. l. 3). So the learned Ferdinand Vasquez (Illustri. l. 2. c. 82. n. 15) says, ‘The bird that was taken, and has escaped, is free;’ nature in a forced people, so soon as they can escape from a violent conqueror makes them a free people; and si solo tempore (says Ferdinand Vasquez, l. 2. c. 82. n. 6) justificatur subjectio, solo tempore facilius justificabitur liberatio.”
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On Kidnapping for the Purpose of Slavery
Quote
1600’s
Richard Baxter
Christian Directory (Soli Deo Gloria, 1990), 1:462
“To go as pirates and catch up poor negroes or people of another land, that never forfeited life or liberty, and to make them slaves, and sell them, is one of the worst kinds of thievery in the world; and such persons are to be taken for the common enemies of mankind; and they that buy them and use them as beasts, for their mere commodity, and betray, or destroy, or neglect their souls, are fitter to be called incarnate devils than Christians, though they be no Christians whom they so abuse.”
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On the History of Slavery
On the Post-Reformation
Articles
Beeke, Joel – ‘The Seeds of Anti-Slavery in Reformed, Puritan Doctrine’ (2010) 3 pp.
Vink, Markus – ”The World’s Oldest Trade’: Dutch Slavery & Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean in the Seventeenth Century’ in Journal of World History, vol. 14, no. 2 (Univ. of Hawaii, 2003), pp. 131-77
Goldenberg, David M. – Black & Slave: the Origins & History of the Curse of Ham Pre (De Gruyter, 2017) 340 pp. ToC
ch. 8, ‘The Dual Curse in Europe’, pp. 121-46
Appendix III, ‘The Curse of Cain: 17th-19th Centuries’, pp. 238-52
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Books
Whitford, David M. – The Curse of Ham in the Early Modern Era: The Bible & the Justifications for Slavery in St. Andrews Studies in Reformation History Pre
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On Early America
Articles
Anyabwile, Thabiti – Jonathan Edwards, Slavery & the Theology of African Americans (2012) 10 pp.
“Jonathan Edwards owned slaves, yet Thabiti Anyabwile has said in a recent paper that Edwards condemned the slave trade and denied that Africans and Native Americans were inferior to white people. His son, Jonathan Edwards, Jr., took the next logical step and advocated against slavery…” – Joel Beeke
Ritchie, Daniel – ‘Radical Orthodoxy: Irish Covenanters & American Slavery, circa 1830-1865’ in Church History, 82 (2013), pp. 812-47
PCA Historical Center – ‘Alexander McLeod’s Stand Against Slavery (1800)’
McLeod (1774-1833) was a Reformed Presbyterian minister.
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Books
Haynes, Stephen R. – Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery Pre
Moore, Joseph S. – Founding Sins: How a Group of Antislavery Radicals Fought to Put Christ into the Constitution Pre (NY: Oxford University Press, 2016) 214 pp. ToC
See the review by Alan D. Strange in Ordained Servant (March, 2021).
Goldenberg, David M. – Black & Slave: the Origins & History of the Curse of Ham (De Gruyter, 2017) 340 pp. ToC
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On Britain
Article
Ritchie, Daniel – ‘Abolitionism & Evangelicalism: Isaac Nelson, the Evangelical Alliance & the TransAtlantic Debate over Christian Fellowship with Slaveholders’ in The Historical Journal, 57 (2014), pp. 421-46
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Book
Murray, Hannah-Rose & John R. McKivigan – Frederick Douglass in Britain & Ireland, 1845-1895 (Edinburgh University Press, 2022)
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On Scotland
See also the section on the Free Church of Scotland below.
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Articles
Whyte, Iain – ch. 1, ‘From James Montgomery to James Macbeth: the Development of Scottish Antislavery Theology & Action, 1756-1848’ in eds. William H. Taylor & Peter C. Messer, Faith & Slavery in the Presbyterian Diaspora (Lehigh Univ. Press, 2016), pp. 15-42
Whyte, Iain – ch. 14, ‘Theology, Slavery & Abolition 1756–1848’ Abstract in eds. David Fergusson, Mark Elliott, The History of Scottish Theology, vol. II: From the Early Enlightenment to the Late Victorian Era (Oxford University Press, 2019)
Ritchie, Elisabeth – ‘Slavery in Scotland: Then & Now’ Covers 1700 to the Free Church of Scotland, and today, with a 78 item bibliography
‘Slavery & the Slave Trade’ (n.d.) 34 paragraphs with further resources at National Records of Scotland
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Books
Whyte, Iain – Scotland & the Abolition of Black Slavery, 1756-1838 Ref (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) 278 pp.
Pettinger, Alasdair – Frederick Douglass & Scotland, 1846: Living an Antislavery Life Pre (Edinburgh Univ. Press, 2019) 305 pp. ToC
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On Ireland
Articles
Ritchie, Daniel
‘Radical Orthodoxy: Irish Covenanters & American Slavery, circa 1830-1865’ in Church History, 82 (2013), pp. 812-47
‘Transatlantic delusions and pro-slavery religion: Isaac Nelson’s evangelical abolitionist critique of revivalism in America and Ulster’ in Journal of American Studies, 48 (2014), pp. 757-76
‘War, religion and anti-slavery ideology: Isaac Nelson’s radical abolitionist examination of the American civil war’ in Historical Research (2016), pp. 1-25
‘”The Stone in the Sling”: Frederick Douglass & Belfast Abolitionism’ in American Nineteenth Century History, vol. 18, no. 3 (2017), pp. 245-72
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Book
Ritchie, Daniel – Isaac Nelson: Radical Abolitionist, Evangelical Presbyterian & Irish Nationalist Abstract (Liverpool University Press, 2018)
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The Early Church
Articles
Schaff, Philip – ‘Social Reforms. The Institution of Slavery’ 6 pp. in The History of the Christian Church, ‘Third Period’, section 20, pp. 115-20
Sommar, Mary E. – ch. 3, ‘Slavery in the Early Church’ in The Slaves of the Churches: a History Pre (Oxford Univ. Press, 2020) Covers the first three centuries
Mowczko, Marg – ‘The Early Church & Slavery’ (n.d.) 6 paragraphs
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Book
Goldenberg, David M. – The Curse of Ham: Race & Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity & Islam (Princeton University Press, 2003) 465 pp. ToC
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The Free Church of Scotland & Slavery
Primary Sources
Articles, Speeches & Letters
Hammond, J.H. – ‘Letter of… Governor Hammond to the Free Church of Glasgow on the Subject of Slavery’ (Columbia, SC: A.H. Pemberton, 1844) 5 pp. The moderator of the presbytery was Thomas Brown.
Hammond appears to have been the governor of South Carolina, and his letter is heralded as one of the best, brief defenses of Southern slavery. The letter is addressed to Rev. Thomas Brown, and his presbytery.
Letter from the Executive Committee of the American & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society to the Commissioners of the Free Church of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1844) 8 pp.
Slavery in the Gentile Churches during the Apostolic Age & the Present Duty of the Free Church of Scotland: especially addressed to the students of the Free Church of Scotland Ref (Edinburgh: C. Ziegler, 1846) 23 pp.
Thompson, George & Henry C. Wright – The Free Church of Scotland & her Accusers: the Question at Issue; a Letter from George Thompson to Henry C. Wright… (Glasgow: Gallie, 1846) 11 pp.
Douglass, Frederick
‘The Free Church of Scotland & American Slavery: An Address Delivered in Dundee, Scotland, on January 30, 1846’ 19 paragraphs in Dundee Courier, Feb. 3, 1846 at Yale MacMillan Center
During his tour of Scotland in 1846, Frederick Douglass (c. 1817 or 1818–1895), the former slave and anti-slavery campaigner, demanded that the Free Church ‘send back the money.’ The Free Church was founded in 1843 and was deprived of public money. It raised some funds from slave-owning Presbyterian churches in the United States.
Many people felt that the Free Church was therefore sympathetic to the slave-owners and opposed to the emancipation of the slaves. ‘Send back the money’ became a popular rallying cry at Douglass’s meetings in Scotland.
‘The Free States, Slavery & the Sin of the Free Church: an Address Delivered in Paisley, Scotland, on March 19, 1846’ 5 paragraphs in Renfrewshire Advertiser, March 28, 1846 at Yale Macmillan Center Here is a fuller transcription of the speech.
‘Send Back the Blood-Stained Money: An Address Delivered in Paisley, Scotland, on April 25, 1846’ Renfrewshire Advertiser, May 2, 1846 in eds. Blassingame, John, et al., The Frederick Douglass Papers: Series One—Speeches, Debates & Interviews (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979), vol. 1, p. 240
Thornwell, James – ‘Foreign Correspondence [with the Free Church of Scotland]’ (1847) in Collected Writings (Richmond, VA: Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1873), vol. 4, pp. 500-504
Macbeth, James – No Fellowship with Slaveholders: a Calm Review of the Debate on Slavery, in the Free Assembly of 1846, addressed respectfully to the Assembly of 1847, & to the Members & Kirk Sessions of the Free Church (Edinburgh: Johnstone, 1846) 29 pp.
Various – pp. 92-95 of The British & Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, vol. 1, New Series (London: Bolton, 1846), June 1
Includes speeches by William Chalmers and Frederick Douglass.
Nelson, Isaac & the Free Church Anti-Slavery Society – Slavery Supported by the American Churches & Countenanced by Recent Proceedings in the Free Church of Scotland: a Lecture Ref (Edinburgh: C. Ziegler, 1847) 20 pp.
‘American Slavery’ in The Free Church Magazine (Aug., 1853) in The Free Church Magazine, New Series, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Johnstone & Hunter, Jan-Dec, 1853), pp. 383-84
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Books
Thompson, George & Wright, Henry – The Free Church of Scotland & American Slavery: Substance of Speeches Delivered, with an Appendix containing the Deliverances of the Free Church on the Subject of Slavery 1844-1846 & other Valuable Documents (Edinburgh: Scottish Anti-Salvery Society, 1846) 103 pp. ToC
Free Church Alliance with Manstealers: Send Back the Money; Great Anti-Slavery Meeting in the City Hall, Glasgow, containing Speeches Delivered by Messrs. Wright, Douglass & Buffum, from America, & by George Thompson… (Glasgow: George Gallie, 1846) April 21, 1846 58 pp. no ToC
Thompson, George & Henry C. Wright – The Free Church of Scotland & American Slavery. Substance of Speeches Delivered in the Music Hall, Edinburgh, during May & June 1846… with an Appendix containing the Deliverances of the Free Church on the Subject of Slavery, 1844, 1845 & 1846, & other Valuable Documents (Edinburgh: Scottish Anti-Slavery Society, 1846) 104 pp. no ToC Appendix
Dick, David – In Favour of the Free church & also of the Abolition Cause: or on American Slavery & the Free Church of Scotland, inclusive of the Wrongfulness of All Modern Slavery Ref (Edinburgh: Alexander Colston, 1848) 43 pp.
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Secondary Sources
Articles
Shepperson, George – The Free Church & American Slavery in The Scottish Historical Review, vol. 30, no. 110, pt. 2 (Oct., 1951), pp. 126-43
Brown, Nikki – ‘‘Send back the Money!’ Frederick Douglass’s Anti-Slavery Speeches in Scotland & the Emergence of African American Internationalism’ Scotland’s Transatlantic Relations, Project Archive (2004), pp. 1-10
Ritchie, Daniel
‘Antislavery Orthodoxy: Isaac Nelson & the Free Church of Scotland, c. 1843-65’ (2015) 25 pp. from The Scottish Historical Review
”Justice Must Prevail’: The Presbyterian Review & Scottish Views of Slavery, 1831-1848′ in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 69, no. 3 (July 2018), pp. 557-84
‘John Knox House & the Legacies of Slavery’ (2015) 10 paragraphs at Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery
Whyte, Iain – ‘The Free Church & American Slavery’ in ch. 14, ‘Theology, Slavery & Abolition 1756–1848’ in eds. David Fergusson, Mark Elliott, The History of Scottish Theology, vol. II: From the Early Enlightenment to the Late Victorian Era (Oxford University Press, 2019), pp. 193-96
Leverett, Rob – ‘Frederick Douglass, The Free Church of Scotland & Thomas Chalmers’ (2019) 31 pp. with a 31 item bibliography
Abstract: “In attempt to widen his influence and expose the cause of abolitionism to an international audience, Douglass traveled to the British Isles for a period of nineteen months for a series of speaking tours which not only increased his prominence but also involved Douglass within the debates within Britain and especially within the newly formed Free Church of Scotland.
While the vast majority of British evangelical Christians proclaimed slavery a sin, the debate remained regarding how Christians and churches needed to treat Christian slave-owners and those profiting from the slave trade. A special concern was the ecumenical relationships between Protestant churches in the South and their counterparts within Britain and Ireland. British Christians began to ask how they ought to regard Southern Christians with whom they shared confessional and theological convictions while Southerners insisted upon their right to hold and promote slavery.”
‘Black History Month Feature – Frederick Douglass in Scotland’ (2021) 30 paragraphs at ChurchofScotland.org
‘Scotland’ 15 paragraphs at ‘Frederick Douglass in Britain & Ireland’
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Book
Whyte, Iain – Send Back the Money!: The Free Church of Scotland & American Slavery Pre Buy (Cambridge: James Clarke, 2012) 176 pp. ToC
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On Political Segregation & Integration
Article
Mason, Bradly – ‘Then & Now: The Conservative Presbyterian Race Debate in 1964’ (2018) 67 paragraphs
The American Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. After this, in the same year, a debate took place through The Presbyterian Guardian, a conservative presbyterian journal originally started by J. Gresham Machen (who was for segregation).
C. Herbert Oliver argued against segregation; Morton H. Smith argued for it, and R.J Rushdoony and E.J. Young offered similar shades of the same view. Other churches and persons are quoted, giving an interesting window into that period of the American, conservative, presbyterian scene
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Latin Article
1600’s
Voet, Gisbert – Select Theological Disputations, vol. 4 (Utrecht, 1667), 50. ‘A Syllabus of Questions on the Decalogue’
‘On Lords & Servants’ 796
‘On more manifest and direct species of theft: of kidnapping, robbing sacred things, simony, embezzlement, cattle-stealing, pillaging of crops, the violent robbing of mobile things, piracy, on a band of robbers, rioting’ 815
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“But because the Lord loved you… the Lord… redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
Dt. 7:8
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Related Pages