American Reform Tract and Book Society

This has been updated.and is now reposted. I originally posted it in November of last year.

Well, going 2 weeks since my last post is not something about which I am happy, but the one I post here tonight will lead me to a couple more entries, though I still need to finish up a bit more research and editing on them. I doubt I finish them during this holiday week, but hopefully it won't be much longer until I finish at least the next one, and then I can work on another.

I have an antique book called Walter Browning, Or,  The Slave's Protector. It does not list an author but states it was "revised by the committee of Publication," presumably referring to the committee of the publishing company. The publisher was the American Reform Tract and Book Society, who published it in Cincinnati in 1856. The title page claims that the book is "founded on fact."

I have not read it yet, though I might. I usually do not read such old books, but this one is in good shape, maybe good enough to be a reading copy, though it appears to be a children's book. Time will tell what I decide to do.

While looking through it, however, two sections caught my eye and I thought they would be worth exploring here. Each of these sections mentions something about the purpose for the book or the reasons for the society's existence, and I thought these ideas deserved attention, especially since this was published in the midst of such a turbulent decade. Anger and violence were becoming almost common responses  to the many controversies that popped up so frequently in this era. In just the year this book was published, Preston Brooks clubbed Charles Sumner over the head in the Senate, leaving Sumner seriously injured, while Kansas was earning the sobriquet "Bleeding Kansas," in part due to events such as the attacks led by John Brown and his family. See one of my early entries on this blog in which I discussed the 1850s a bit.

The 1850s as a Volcano

My eyes opened wider when I noticed that this book listed the society's President as John Rankin, a fascinating man who I believe will make a good subject for a future post or two. His association with this organization should not have surprised me, but I did not expect to see his name listed there.  I'll start writing a post on his life soon, once I do some more research to gather and organize more details on his long anti-slavery career. 

The first section of this book that I will transcribe is the Preface.

The narrative recorded in the following pages is not without foundation. In the main points at issue, it is little else than the autobiography of one whose childhood was spent in those balmy regions, whose paradise of pleasure, bears, stamped in indelible characters, the impress of broken hearts, and the mournful existence of a race doomed to wander, despised and forgotten, through the dark mazes of a life of ignominious slavery.

With the hope, perchance, of arresting the attentions of some youthful readers, and fixing them upon the reality of that which perhaps they little dream exists in our own land, the scenes, herein depicted, drawn from actual life, are presented. They shadow forth the features  of an institution whose monuments are sundered ties, bleeding wounds, blasted hopes, the lash, the shriek, the groan, the grave.

Ye who rest in the easy lap of fortune, with scarce a wish delayed, or hope deferred, cast not aside these pages with the presumption that an idle breath of fancy gave them birth. Should they create within you sighs of pity for the lowly and oppressed, or arouse you to a sense of your own long forgotten duty, the highest wish of the Author will have been gained.

At the end of the book is a section about the publisher, explaining its reason for being and for creating publications like this book. It seems strange to think they expected a "healthful" agitation on slavery at that time, though on the other hand I suppose that financial troubles being part of their issue is not surprising. Even over 150 years ago, money mattered,even for a company in the publishing industry.

Cincinnati, February 1, 1856

The AMERICAN REFORM TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY, it is believed, is the offspring of necessity, brought into existence to fill a vacuum left unoccupied by most other Publishing Boards and Institutions - its object being to publish such Tracts and Books as are necessary to awaken a decided, though healthful, agitation on the great questions of Freedom and Slavery. This is its primary object, though its constitution covers the broad ground of "promulgating the doctrines of the Reformation, to point out the application of the principles of Christianity to every known sin, and to show the sufficiency snd adaptation of those principles to remove all the evils of the world and bring on a form of society in accordance with the Gospel of Christ." To spread these principles of the Society broadcast over the land, it was at first thought a weekly newspaper was indispensable and the Christian Press was sent abroad, as on the wings of the wind, and we doubt not has done its mission for good. But, as funds were not furnished in sufficient amount to carry on a weekly issue, and add the number of Tracts and Books demanded, a year since, the Press was reduced in size, and issued only monthly. This change in policy has enabled the Society to relieve itself of a debt which, a year since, threatened its existence, and to add to the number of Tracts and Books, and, at the late annual meeting, to show assets in Stereotype Plates, Books, and Tacts, of over $2,500, including $1,184 in cash on hand, and clear of liabilities. This favorable change in the affairs of the Society, it is hoped will restore confidence, and lead the  active friends of Freedom and Reform to come forward in voluntary co-operation with the Directors, and add largely to our number of Tracts and Books, and to commission Colporteurs.

The offer of $100, for the best manuscript for an Anti-Slavery S.S. Book brought to our hands forty-eight competitors, and, although the prize was awarded to but one, there are a number worthy of publication; and thus, many useful books will be added to our list, if the means for publishing are provided. Besides these "competitors," we have other manuscripts for Tracts and Books, which we wish to publish without delay.

It is the aim of the present Directors to use all possible economy, and bring out a larger series of 
Tracts, and especially to increase the number of Sabbath School Books, so that Sabbath Schools may 
be furnished with Christian Anti-Slavery Literature, in connection with other subjects, without unnecessary delay.

At the late annual election, there was some change in the Officers (though not In the Principles) of the Society, it may be satisfactory to give them. They are  as follows:
President: Rev. John Rankin, Ripley, O.
Vice-Presidents:
A. A. Guthrie, Esq., Putnam, O.;
Rev. G. G. W. Perkins, Chicago, Ill.;
Rev. E Goodman,        " "          ";
Rev. J. Blanchard, Galesburgh, Ill.;
Rev. J. A. Thome, Cleveland, O.;
Rev. C. B. Boynton, Cincinnati, O.

Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer:
Dr. Geo. L. Weed

Recording Secretary:
A. S. Merrill

Directors:
Rev. H. M. Stores, Congregational;
Prof. M. Stone, Baptist Theo. Sem'y,
Rev. H. Bushnell, Congregational,
Rev. R. H. Pollock, Associate Prebyt'n,
Rev. J. J. Blaisdell, Presbyterian,
Levi Coffin, Friend
Dr. J. P. Walker,
Wm.  Lee,
A. E. D. Tweed,
A. S. Merrill,
G. S. Stearns,
S. C. Foster.

In this Board of Directors, the active Friends of Freedom and Reform, and all others have a guaranty that the funds contributed will be judiciously expended, and the Society, now in a prosperous condition, will go forward, adding to its Tracts, Books, and Stereotype Plates, and its influence for good spread throughout the land.

This will be accomplished just in accordance with the amount of funds received; and contributors should recollect that the free-will offering, inclosed and sent by mail, will accomplish more than the same sum called for by an Agent.

The "Society Record" will hereafter be published monthly and sent free to all contributors and friends who will send us their address.

Geo. L. Weed,
Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer

Ripley and Oberlin: Two Homes of Abolition in Ohio

As I have been working on my post on John Rankin, I have found a few neat links. Here is a really nice blog post I really liked and thought I would go ahead and share even before my Rankin post is organized and done.

http://www.oberlinheritagecenter.org/blog/2012/12/a-tale-of-two-abolitionist-towns/

A Bit of Foraging

Covington Journal  June 29, 1861

A Massachusetts writes to the Taunton Gazette from Newport News Point, May 28th: "There was some foraging yesterday; my squad of six brought in thirteen chickens, five hens, one rooster, seven eggs, and three fugitive slaves."

One Northerner's Opinion about the Reason for the War

The Covington Journal of June 8, 1861 printed this story.

"An Albany, N.Y.,  newspaper says a clergyman of that place, while recently discussing our present national troubles, used the following language:

"I disapprove of the principles of the Revolutionary war. It was waged against lawful authority. I regard the war of 1812 as still worse. The Mexican War I opposed with all my heart; but the present war I approve.It is a holy war. It is a war for the extinction of slavery.

Underground Railroad Driving Tour

This sounds like something interesting to do this summer. Clermont County is just across the river from my home county, Campbell County, Kentucky.


Underground Railroad in Clermont County, OH

Marvellous Changes

The March 23, 1861 edition of the Covington Journal offers up a few opinions on a pair of the more prominent Republicans and soon-to-be Cabinet members in the following article.

In the rapid mutations which many of our public men have undergone within a month or two past, none is more marvelous than that which presents Seward and Chase as conservative politicians.

For twenty years Mr. Seward has been unceasing in his efforts to build up a sectional party based upon opposition to slavery. He has by his teachings made an irrepressible conflict where in fact there was no cause or reason for such a conflict. He has arrayed one section of the Union against the other section. By appealing to the passions and prejudices of the North he has installed a governmental policy which has forced seven Southern States to the last resort of an oppressed people.

Salmon P. Chase is undoubtedly a man of ability. But with all his ability he is distinguished for nothing but his opposition to slavery.

Sine the year 1845, when he was presented by the negroes of Cincinnati with a silver pitcher on which occasion he declared that the negro "was entitled to every original right enjoyed by any other member of the community," he has been noted for nothing but his incessant demands for office and his ultra views upon the slavery question.


Have these men really changed their opinions? Is it to be supposed that at the moment of their greatest triumph they will repudiate the opinions which have given them place and power? Mr. Seward, after having seen the Executive and Legislative Departments of the Government pass into the hands of his sectional party, has uttered some very guarded and indefinite expressions about "saving the Union;" but if he has at any time or on any occasion given as much as a hint that he would concede an iota to the just demands of the South, the fact has escaped our notice. In 1848 he declared that "slavery must be abolished." And we undertake to say - basing the assertion upon his record of twenty years past - that it is his fixed purpose to aid by all the powers under his control in the attainment of that end. If at times he has seemed to halt in his purpose, it has been only for the purpose of renewing his strength and making the attainment of his ultimate object the more certain.

But Chase, a Radical of Radicals, is also a conservative man - so we are told. About the time Chase took charge of the Treasury Department some confiding individual in Washington had a conversation with him and was "gratified to learn that he was quite conservative in his views." This loose opinion was made the subject of a telegraphic dispatch, which is being copied with apparent avidity by the "Union" papers of Kentucky. On this unsubstantial basis lays the claim set up for S.P. Chase's conservatism.


When we are asked to trust to the moderation and forbearance of such men as Seward and Chase we must beg be excused.

Pardons for people who helped slaves escape in KY?

The article I am linking here is from May of 2010, and I don't know how I missed it the first time, but I find it interesting and a good idea.

The timing is actually not bad for me, as I'm currently reading Creating a Confederate Kentucky, a very fine book by Anne Marshall, and this article mentions how Kentucky's role in the Civil War was "ambivalent," a description much more understandable when considered alongside Marshall's book. Also the concept of offering pardons for this type of crime, yet no  descendants of those convicted of these offenses offers an interesting perspective on how the war and slavery are remembered in current times.

This article does not mention the names of all 44 who were to be pardoned, and I have not yet found out if the pardons have yet occurred, but I will look into it more and see what I can find.(One quick question: did the people undertaking this project ever list all of the names or publicize them somehow? If not, then it is no wonder at all that no descendants have expressed interest in this work.)

Also, I do wonder if it is accurate for the writer of the article's headline to use the word "abolitionists." I tend to think of that word as being for those who wanted slavery eliminated, but does it also count for those who simply helped (or tried to help) slaves escape? Is it safe to assume that these people (I've seen them called "operators" on the Underground Railroad) favored the abolition of slavery? Is helping a slave escape the same as wanting the entire institution prohibited? I'll have to think about that some more while wondering if I'm being too finicky in asking these questions.

I also recommend reading the New York Times' Editorial on this story. The article linked above includes a link to it as well, but I am also linking it in case that makes it easier to find. It is worth the click.

(And again, it is interesting to find this commentary in the New York Times, a newspaper frequently referred to in Marshall's book for its observations and thoughts about Kentucky in the late 1800s. The use of the phrase "Modern Kentucky" in the editorial quickly caught my attention, presumably because I'm reading the book about Kentucky of the past.)

The Slaves Among the Fire-Eaters

Here is another article from the Youth's Companion, this one from December 18, 1863. It refers to the Capture of Port Royal by the Union in November 1861. I found this one especially interesting since I had just read and reviewed Firebrand of Liberty, Stephen Ash's fine book about a couple of regiments of African-American soldiers who had been raised in this area.

The "General Sherman" referred to is Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman. 

Slave quarters at Port Royal, courtesy Library of Congress

                      
From a Correspondent in South Carolina

   DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS - Port Royal is the general name for a collection of the "Sea Islands," viz.: Port Royal, Hilton Head, St. Helena, Ladies', Paris, Cossaw, and several smaller islands. The forts on Hilton Head Island which commanded the entrance to Port Royal harbor were held by the rebels until Nov. 7, 1861, when Commodore Dupont arranged his ships of war and bore down upon the forts in "single file." Each ship delivered a broadside, and then sailing round in a circle came up and delivered another, and so on until the forts gave up the contest. Our troops at once took possession of them under Gen. Sherman. 
   That night, Nov. 7th, was a memorable one. All along the sandy roads of these island could be seen the planters abandoning their houses; some still driven in their best carriages by colored coachmen; others hastening away in boats; all carrying with them whatever they could, and such of their slaves as could be induced or forced in their haste to go. All were fleeing from the "Yankees" they despised so much; nor did they stop until they found themselves safe on the mainland. They left their furniture, and cattle, and some of their poor horses, and most of their slaves.
   It must have been a dismal night for them, but it was a happy one for the negroes. The hope of freedom was strong in the hearts of the latter. Their masters had tried to make them believe that the "Yankees" were enemies, and would sell them in Cuba and treat them with cruelty. 
   We have often been told, you know, how much the slaves loved their masters, and how contented they were with their condition. Let us see now how they manifested that love.
   When their masters ran, the negroes were ordered and urged to go with them, but they had various excuses, when excuses would avail, for not going, and when excuses would not avail, they concealed themselves. 
   The planters on Hilton Head Island succeeded in taking their negroes with them, but in a short time the slaves all ran from their masters and came back again. 
   After the owner of the plantation on which I live ran away, he used to send his son (a doctor) and others to get away the slaves remaining here, but they, not loving their masters as much as was supposed, concealed themselves in the woods, determined not to be caught. 
      Notwithstanding all the efforts of the planters to prejudice them against the "Yankees" they greeted the Union soldiers with delight, knowing that they could not be worse off than they were in slavery.
   They could not find words to express their joy at the appearance of the teachers from the North. They flocked around them and gave them presents of eggs and "pea-nuts" (or "ground-nuts" as they call them), and such little things as they had. Such is the negroe's love of slavery.
   Yours, Truly
 (no further text)

General T.W. Sherman, courtesy Library of Congress

Patriotic Cover: Persuasive Eloquence of the Sunny South

During the Civil War, and even in later wars, such as World War II, one way of displaying American patriotism was through the use of patriotic covers, which were envelopes with a patriotic scene on the front of it. These were envelopes to be used to deliver the mail, as well as a patriotic message. (In current times, one similar collectible item is a "first day" cover, an envelope issued to commemorate a historic place or event, with a stamp and a cancellation mark from the post office on it, though these are issued to be collectible, not to be used as the patriotic covers were).

Not only did these covers display pro-American messages, but they also could show support for the United States by insulting or belittling the opposing side, such as the Confederacy or the South in general. In the one displayed below, entitled "The persuasive eloquence of the Sunny South," an African American is shown tied to a pole, with a whip coming down on his back, serving as an expression of not only anti-slavery sentiments, but also as a commentary about the Confederacy and the printer's perspective of Southern culture and life.

They were simply another form of war propaganda, and not intended to claim any sort of objectivity, since their intended audience was not looking for "fair and balanced" portrayals.

King & Baird, of Cansom Street in Philadelphia,were the printers of this particular cover.I have not been able to determine a date when this one was created, but it could have been at any point during the war.

Also, I did find this blog entry that has more interesting examples and discussion of patriotic covers from the Civil War era.