Excerpt from On Slavery Is it not plain that there is a providence in all this? We have a duty to perform, we are loaded with responsibility for our enslaved brethren, as well as for our kindred who hold slaves, and so Heaven has righteously decreed that we shall think and act upon it. Truly, we ought not to avoid the subject. It is unworthy of Americans to shrink from inquiry as to our condition, our prospects, and our duty. Let us meet the subject like men. Truth will not harm us certainly not if we obey it. Shame on the man who thinks or admits that the free institutions in which we glory, cannot stand the test of truth and free inquiry. What is a slave? A slave is a person held in slavery. We are never to forget that the slaves are human beings. Their black complexion and degraded condition often incline us to overlook this fact. We talk about the African race, but the slaves are of the human race. If all other proofs were set aside, the unmistakable evidence that they partake in the consequences of Adams fall, would settle the question. God selected their ancestors as one of the four men who were preserved in Noah's Ark, to repeople the desolated earth, after the deluge, and Jesus Christ came to seek them among the lost sheep for whose salvation he laid down his life. They are our brethren by descent from the same parent, by being found in the same general depravity, and by sharing in the mercy of the same Savior. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.