During the 1820s and 1830s, northern antislavery groups that demanded the immediate abolition of slavery began to emerge. Led by abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Arthur Tappan, and Theodore Weld, they instituted an aggressive print campaign against slavery. Abolitionist societies published newspapers and pamphlets that bitterly condemned slavery and called for its extinction. Needless to say, abolitionist literature was not well-received in slaveholding states, including Virginia.

In 1835, a Frederick County, Virginia, grand jury issued a criminal presentment against the Abolition Society of New York. In a lengthy and strongly worded indictment, the grand jury referred to the antislavery organization as an “evil of great magnitude” and accused it of disturbing the peace of the commonwealth and threatening the lives of its citizens by inciting slaves to rebel. The grand jury encouraged local law enforcement agencies throughout Virginia to adopt “increasing vigilance … in the detection of all fanatical emissaries, and in the suppression of their nefarious schemes and publications.” Furthermore, it called on the General Assembly to enforce present laws and enact stricter legislation against written or printed material that encouraged slave insurrection. The presentment also named Arthur Tappan, whom the grand jury considered to be the “prime mover” in the society. Tappan helped found the Abolition Society of New York in 1831, which two years later evolved into the American Anti-Slavery Society.

No criminal trial was held. It was more of a symbolic response, a release of pent-up anger and fear by the citizens of Frederick County. They were angry at these “outsiders” interfering with their institutions. They were fearful that the abolitionist publications would incite more slave revolts similar to the one led by Nat Turner in Southampton County only a few years earlier.  

In response to the threat posed by the abolitionist societies, the General Assembly enacted stricter legislation in 1836 to suppress the circulation of abolitionist publications. Anyone speaking, writing, printing, and/or circulating “incendiary doctrines” that denied the right of people to own slaves or encouraged slaves to rebel would be fined and imprisoned. Postmasters were required to give notice to local authorities if they received abolitionist publications. The local authorities were to burn the publications immediately and arrest the individual who was to receive them.

Recently, I discovered two Grayson County criminal cases in which local pro-slavery citizens attempted to use the 1836 act to silence an antislavery minister named Jarvis C. Bacon. A Wesleyan Methodist minister who moved to Grayson County in 1848 to start a church, Reverend Bacon regularly found himself in hot water with the local citizenry because of his opposition to slavery. In 1849, a grand jury issued indictments against Reverend Bacon for circulating two abolitionist publications: Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and an antislavery sermon delivered at the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, Ohio. Both trials were held in September. A jury quickly found him not guilty regarding the Douglass autobiography, but the other jury had a more difficult time reaching an agreement of not guilty regarding the sermon pamphlet. Reverend Bacon’s abolitionist reputation made it difficult for him to remain in Grayson County. He left the county and the commonwealth in 1851.

Commonwealth of Virginia versus Abolition Society of New York, 1835 and Commonwealth of Virginia versus Jarvis C. Bacon, 1849 are open for research and available at the Library of Virginia.

See the Abolitionist Map of America for a digital exploration of the anti-slavery movement in America.  For more on the Library of Virginia’s involvement with the Abolitionist Map and HistoryPin, see these earlier blog posts.

-Greg Crawford, Local Records Coordinator

The most recent episode of The Abolitionists on PBS focused heavily on Frederick Douglass.  Reading his 1845 memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, in school years ago was my first encounter with the realities of slavery, as I imagine it may be for many people. Somehow, seeing the scene in which William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent abolitionist, and Frederick Douglass first meet brought to mind again how wonderful it is to see these events and documents geographically located on the Abolitionist Map of America.  Zoom in on Nantucket, Massachusetts, and you can view the video clip from the series as well as contemporary photographs and documents. Somehow, plotting things on a map makes them more concrete, more believable, not just backstory.

As we continue this project, we are still uncovering relevant abolitionist materials at the Library of Virginia. Just yesterday, a colleague brought to my attention a collection of anti-slavery newspapers saved by Virginia Governor John Floyd (1830-1834).  At times, Floyd advocated gradual abolition since he viewed slavery as an economically flawed system. However, following the Nat Turner Rebellion in 1831, all Gov. Floyd’s official actions supported a state’s right to choose slavery. He believed that abolitionists in neighboring states were planning murder and insurrection in Virginia.

Watching The Abolitionists, I learned that Frederick Douglass eventually came to run his own abolitionist newspaper named The North Star.  The documentary points out that, if slaves knew little else about how to obtain their freedom, they knew to follow the North Star.

One obscure item I selected for the Abolitionist Map is The Nubian Slave by Charles C. Green, published in Boston in the 1840s.  Housed in the Library of Virginia Special Collections, this book pairs pages of an epic poem with full page illustrations. To tell the story of a slave in such grand style indicates that the author felt it a worthy subject; many would not have at the time. “The Escape” illustration even closely imitates the iconographic Flight into Egypt scene in Christian art, right down to the Classical treatment of the figures.  The father points towards the North Star, as though their flight into freedom was guided by divine inspiration as well as practical navigation. An owl watches over the family where an angel would typically be seen.  Drawing parallels between the enslavement of African Americans and the historic oppression of Christians would have created additional sympathy for the anti-slavery movement, especially the spiritual and moral arguments against holding slaves.

Gems like The Nubian Slave and finding copies of The Liberator in the Library of Virginia collection have made the Abolitionist Map a very interesting exploration.  I hope we can continue to use new technologies such as HistoryPin to reframe and rethink historic materials. Tune in for the final installment of The Abolitionists tonight on PBS, and enjoy get lost in the map!

-Sonya Coleman, Digital Collections Assistant

Editor’s Note:

To learn more about the Library’s involvement with the Abolitionist Map of America, see Sonya’s previous blog posts.

For further reading:

HistoryPin blogged about their software being used on the Abolitionist Map:  http://blog.historypin.com/2013/01/07/historypin-and-american-experience-on-the-upcoming-abolitionists-series/

Our PBS contact, Casey Davis, wrote about her experience on the project and app creation: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/blog/2013/01/13/abolitionist-map-america-project/

To view just the LVA pins on the Abolitionist Map: http://www.historypin.americanexperience.org/channels/view/275029/#/home

Unlike most white, well-educated, religiously-motivated abolitionists, Brown did not believe in solely non-violent means to end slavery.  After the Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850, Brown founded a militant anti-slavery brigade with the Biblically-inspired name “League of Gileadites.”  Their mission was to prevent the recapture of escaped slaves by any means necessary.  Rising tensions in Kansas compelled Brown to go to the aid of the anti-slavery settlers there, including five of his adult sons.  Pro-slavery forces known as “Border Ruffians” interfered with voting, imprisoned abolitionists, harassed free settlers, and eventually seized the town of Lawrence.  On 24 May 1856, Brown led a small group of armed men against their pro-slavery neighbors at Pottawatomie Creek, killing five.  This catalyzed a civil war in Kansas, and created the public image of “Osawatomie Brown”—a nickname awarded for Brown’s heroic, if unsuccessful, defense of an anti-slavery settlement—as a recipient of both admiration and hatred.

Brown raised funds based on his new-found notoriety, trained his men, and planned their next move—the Raid of Harpers Ferry, Virginia.  On 16 October 1859, John Brown led 18-men—13 whites and five blacks—into Harpers Ferry.  The plan was to seize the 100,000 rifles in the federal armory, arm local slaves, and march south, fighting only in self-defense.  Brown’s men seized the armory with little trouble.  However, things went awry when a free black man working as baggage master attempted to warn an incoming train of the danger at hand.  Sadly, he was shot by Brown’s men.  After the death of the baggage master, Brown allowed an eastbound to leave Harpers Ferry and spread word of the raid.  Rather than the army of freed slaves for which they hoped, the pro-slavery forces began to gather.  When the town’s militia surrounded John Brown’s force, they made their last stand at the railroad engine house, afterwards known as John Brown’s Fort.  On 18 October, United States Marines under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee stormed the engine house.  Ten of Brown’s men were killed, including two of his sons, and seven were captured and tried with Brown.

Media coverage of the failed raid showed the idyllic town of Harpers Ferry, where order was swiftly restored by federal troops, and portrayed John Brown as a fiery-eyed idealist, sympathetic in his advanced age and unshakable faith.  Severely wounded and taken to the jail in Charles Town, Virginia, John Brown stood trial for treason against the commonwealth of Virginia, for murder, and for conspiring with slaves to rebel.  On 2 November, in a mere 45 minutes, a jury convicted him and sentenced him to death.  Brown readily accepted the sentence and declared that he had acted in accordance with God’s commandments.  Responding to persistent rumors and written threats, Henry A. Wise, governor of Virginia, called out state militia companies to guard against a possible rescue of Brown and his followers. On 2 December 1859, Brown was hanged in Charles Town.

After the execution, Brown became a divisive figure in national politics.  Southerners rejoiced in putting down a violent rebellion while Northerners tolled church bells for a martyr and won more converts to the abolitionist cause.  Governor Wise, whose records are housed at the Library of Virginia,  received multiple threats from enraged, anonymous citizens which can be viewed on the Abolitionist Map of America as well as the Library of Virginia’s Death or Liberty exhibit.  Publications such as Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly replayed the drama in American households. Broadsides for vigils or community organizing demonstrate the far-reaching effects of John Brown, better seen through the use of mapping technologies on the Abolitionist Map of America.  These events polarized the nation, making John Brown’s campaign a success in the long view.

The moral conflict between freeing slaves and the shocking violence Brown committed continues to make him a compelling historical figure. How would we react to this type of principled violence today? Freedom fighter or terrorist?

-Sonya Coleman, Digital Collections Assistant

Editor’s Note:

To learn more about the Library’s involvement with the Abolitionist Map of America, see Sonya’s previous blog post.

To learn more about records related to John Brown’s raid at the Library, see John Brown’s Raid:  Records and Resources at the Library of Virginia.

This unique challenge arose through the LVA’s early involvement in HistoryPin, an interactive website to which we upload geotagged photographs and other archival materials.  Each image is accompanied by descriptive metadata, but users can also add their own “stories,” allowing for multiple and personal interpretations of history.  Audio and video clips can also be pinned. Click here to see the Library’s  HistoryPin collections.

PBS’s trademark documentary series, American Experience, has partnered with HistoryPin to use this digital platform to tell the story of abolitionists.  The Library of Virginia was selected to contribute to this exploration of the anti-slavery movement in America—the Abolitionist Map of America.  Dozens of museums, libraries, and archives have contributed to populating the map.  PBS will also upload several video clips from their upcoming documentary series The Abolitionists, which will air on Tuesdays, January 8-22, 2013.  A mobile app and walking tours of Boston, Charleston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia allow users to explore the Abolitionist Map in multiple ways.

The abolitionist materials assembled by the LVA include broadsides, personal letters, state correspondence, illustrations, book excerpts, legal documents, and more. Most have been pinned to the location of publication, recipient’s address, or the library itself.  The LVA pins range from those in Richmond, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.  Approximately 600 pins populated the Abolitionist Map of America at last count, and it is still growing.  Explore the pinned content, add your comments, and more here.

Let the selections from our collection inspire you to watch The Abolitionists tonight on PBS!  It focuses on Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimké.  We’ll be watching and highlighting some of our “pins” on the next two Tuesdays.  Stay tuned!

-Sonya Coleman, Digital Collections Assistant