Back to Top
Top Nav content Site Footer
University Home

University Archives

Black Abolitionist Archive

Speaker or author: Martin, J. Sella (John Sella), b. 1832

Newspaper or publication: Liberator

Sermon delivered during a celebration of the anniversary of the emancipation of the British West Indies. The speaker emphasized the error in moral judgment made by a country that condoned laws like the Fugitive Slave Law. He compared the plight of the slaves in the U.S. with that of slaves in ancient Egypt. He noted that the poor whites were not treated any better than the slaves were regardless of their skin color. The war for freedom was, to the speaker, a holy war for human liberty.

Description of file(s): PDF 15 page, 4,523 word document (text and images)

Date published: 1862-08-01

Subjects: Abolitionists--United States; African American abolitionists; Antislavery movements--United States; Slavery; United States--History--19th century

Keywords: British; Charles Sumner; Civil rights; Constitution; Daniel Webster; Declaration of Independence; Egypt; emancipation; England; Frederick Douglass; fugitive; Fugitive Slave Law; George Thompson; Jews; John C. Fremont; liberty; politics; poor whites; Wendell Phillips; West Indies; William Craft; women

People: Craft, William; Douglass, Frederick; Fremont, John C.; Phillips, Wendell; Sumner, Charles; Thompson, George; Webster, Daniel

Publication type: Newspapers; Speeches

The material featured on this site is subject to copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. The documents may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium, provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The source of the material, the University of Detroit Mercy Black Abolitionist Archive, must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged.

Back to Top