Thomas Jefferson: “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.”
This is actually a translation of a Latin phrase that Thomas Jefferson used: Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. It has also been translated as, …
slavery
Alexander Hamilton’s Letter to John Jay Regarding Arming Slaves for Battle
Dear Sir, Col Laurens, who will have the honor of delivering you this letter, is on his way to South Carolina, on a project, which …
The First American Abolition Society was Formed in Philadelphia. Thomas Paine, Benjamin Rush, & Ben Franklin were Among its Mostly Quaker Membership
The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage was the first American abolition society. It was founded April 14, 1775, in …
Slave Trade Captain, John Newton, has Miraculous Conversion Experience at Sea. He Would Later Write “Amazing Grace”
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…” So begins one of the most beloved hymns of all times, a staple in the hymnals of many denominations, …
“The Selling of Joseph: A Memorial” is Published by Judge Samuel Sewall (One of Jefferson’s Sources for an Early Draft of the Constitution)
One of the overlooked sources for Jefferson’s early draft was a now largely forgotten pamphlet written by Judge Samuel Sewall in 1700 titled , “The …
1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery
Slavery is not simply a historical phenomenon.. It persists to this day in modern forms, such as trafficking. Quakers have opposed it from very early …
Britain’s King Charles II ratifies Habeas Corpus Act allowing Prisoners right to be imprisoned to be examined by a court
The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of Parliament in England (31 Cha. 2 c. 2) during the reign of King Charles II. It …
Johnson v. Parker: Black Slave Owner Becomes First Legal Slave Owner in America After Winning Suit to Keep Parker, also Black, as His Slave for Life
Anthony Johnson (AD 1600 – 1670) was an Angolan who achieved freedom in the early 17th century Colony of Virginia. Johnson was captured in his …
Richard Frethorne’s Letter to His Parents
Richard Frethorne, perhaps little more than a boy when he arrived, was an indentured servant in Virginia for two years before his death there in …
Indenture between the four Adventurers and Robert Coopy of North Nibley
When the Virginia colony was founded in 1607, the majority of unfree laborers in the colony were indentured servants, men and women who signed a …