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EditorialThrough Dorris’ Eyes...
BibleRomans 14: The Weak and the Strong
1Accept him whose faith is weak, withoutpassing judgment on disputable matters.2One man's faith allows him to eat every-thing, but another man, whose faith isweak, eats only vegetables.
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gain contact with their ancestors. ABaptist missionary to the Yoruba ofNigeria in 1853 observed that theyhad words for monotheistic god, sin,guilt, sacrifice, intercession, repen-tance, faith, pardon, adoption; andthey believed in heaven and hell.Muslim slaves had even more pointsof identification with Christianity,since they were used to a religionbased on a written text, some of whichwas the same as that of Christianity(Old Testament). An American minis-ter reported in 1842 that MuslimAfricans called God Allah, and JesusMohammed. According to them, "thereligion is the same, but differentcountries have different names."("Plantation Agriculture in SoutheastUSA by Jim Jones West Chester Uni-versity of Pennsylvania, Cause inAfrican History to 1875 taught Fall1997 The Decision To Become APlanter. See also John W.Blassingame, The Slave Community:Plantation Life in the AntebellumSouth, New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1979)
1758John Tayloe II completed his great
house, Mount Airy, in RichmondCounty, Virginia. The design was in-spired by James Gibbs's (1682-1754)pattern book. (Colonial Williams-burg's online Historical Almanack.Cultural & Political Chronology1750-1783 )
1759/01/06Martha married George Washing-
ton. The marriage changed Georgefrom an ordinary planter to a substan-tially wealthy landowner. He had re-signed his commission in the militiaand so, George, Martha, Jacky (4),and Patsy (2) moved into the enlargedand remodeled Mt. Vernon. (HistoricValley Forge, Who served her?Martha Washington by the Independ-ence Hall Association)
1761Slave traders are excluded from the
Society of Friends by AmericanQuakers despite the fact that manyQuakers own slaves. (The People'sChronology 1995, 1996 by JamesTrager from MS Bookshelf)
Despite Quaker opposition to slav-ery, about 4,000 slaves were broughtto Pennsylvania by 1730, most ofthem owned by English, Welsh, andScotch-Irish colonists. The census of1790 showed that the number ofAfrican-Americans had increased toabout 10,000, of whom about 6,300had received their freedom. The Penn-sylvania Gradual Abolition Act of1780 was the first emancipationstatute in the United States. (Pennsyl-vania State History, "The QuackerProvince: 1681-1776" Pennsylvaniastate Web page, July 22, 1996)
The Quakers were the first groupin America to attack slavery. In hisbook Some Considerations on theKeeping of Negroes, John Woolmancontended that no one had the right toown another human being. In 1758the Philadelphia yearly meeting saidthat slavery was inconsistent withChristianity, and in 1775 Quakersplayed a dominant role in the forma-tion of the Pennsylvania Society forthe Abolition of Slavery, the first anti-slavery society in America. (NormanCoombs, The Immigrant Heritage ofAmerica, Twayne Press, 1972. , Chap-ter 4, All Men Are Created Equal,Slavery and the American Revolution)
Diane Richardson had a personalinterest in this topic: "Two of my an-cestors, Abraham and Isaac Op denGraeff (Updegraff), along with Pasto-rious, wrote the first protest againstslavery in the 1690s and presented itto their monthly meeting. The month-ly meeting decided that it was tooweighty of a question to be decided,and passed the protest to the Philadel-phia Yearly Meeting. They talkedabout it, but refused to make any deci-sion on it. This is pretty much whathappened to the issue for nearly 100years. Some monthly meetings cameout very strongly opposed to slavery,while others tolerated it to some ex-tent until the 1800s. It seems asthough the issue would 'take fire' at ameeting for awhile and then lapse. Iimagine some of it had to do with vis-its by traveling Quaker preachers, sev-eral of whom were strongly opposedto slavery. (from:ftp://ftp.msstate.edu/pub/docs/histo-ry/afrigen/Slavery/quakers-slavery
Chronology on the History of Slavery andRacism in the USALet’s get it right about slavery
Part VI
1715 Maryland State Constitution enforced slavery. (Lisa Cozzens the American
Revolution)
1715Black slaves comprise 24 percent of the
Virginia colony’s population, up from less than5 percent in 1671. (The People's Chronology1995, 1996 by James Trager from MS Book-shelf)
1715 Georgian Style, neoclassical style of archi-
tecture and interior design, popular in GreatBritain during the reigns of the first fourGeorges, or from about 1715 to 1820. Thestyle developed from the Roman Palladianstyle and was largely employed in domestic ar-chitecture and in planned sections of towns. Georgian-style architects includedScottish-English architect Robert Adam and English architects John Wood theElder, John Wood the Younger, Sir William Chambers, and James Gandon. By1785 the Georgian style was popular in the United States as a native versioncalled the Federal style. The Georgian style was superseded in England by theGreek and Gothic revivals of the 19th century. (Encarta 98 Desk EncyclopediaMicrosoft Corporation)
1717 The province of Maryland, in 1717, (ch. 13, s. 5,) passed a law declaring
"that if any free Negro or mulatto intermarry with any white woman, or if anywhite man shall intermarry with any Negro or mulatto woman, such Negro ormulatto shall become a slave during life, excepting mulattos born of whitewomen, who, for such intermarriage, [**38] shall only become servants for sev-en years, to be disposed of as the justices of the county court, where such mar-riage so happens, shall think fit; to be applied by them towards the support of apublic school within the said county. And any white man or white woman whoshall intermarry as aforesaid, with any Negro or mulatto, such white man orwhite woman shall become servants during the term of seven years, and shall bedisposed of by the justices as aforesaid, and be applied to the uses aforesaid."the other colonial law to which we refer was passed by Massachusetts in 1705,(chap, 6.) It is entitled "An act for the better preventing of a spurious and mixedissue," &c.; and it provides, that "if any Negro or mulatto shall presume to smiteor strike any person of the English or other Christian nation, such Negro or mu-latto shall be severely whipped, at [*409] the discretion of the justices beforewhom the offender shall be convicted. (Dred Scott, Plaintiff In Error, v. JohnF.A. Sanford. Supreme Court Of The United States, 60 U.S. 393; 1856 U.S.LEXIS 472; 15 L. Ed. 691; 19 HOW 393, December, 1856)
1720/05/06South Carolina slave revolt resulted in the death of three whites. (Dr. Melissa
Soldani Africans Americans in America. history Florida State University))
1721Onesimes was the property of a Puritan leader. In 1721 Onesimus developed
a cure for the smallpox virus. (The Timeline of African American Contributionsto Science, Technology and Medicine. University of California, Irvine, by Cyn-thia Clark )
1723Virginia Act directs that where any female mulatto or Indian, by law obliged
to serve till thirty or thirty one, shall have a child during her servitude, suchchild shall serve the same master to the same age. (Howell v. Netherland.Supreme Court Of Virginia, 1770 Va. LEXIS 1; Jeff. 90, April, 1770)
Virginia- The colony enacts laws to limits the increase of free blacks to thosewho are born into this class or manumitted by special acts of the legislature.Free blacks are denied the right to vote and forbidden to carry weapons of anysort. (Chronology: A Historical Review, Major Events in Black History 1492thru 1953 by Roger Davis and Wanda Neal-Davis ))
1723-82A Negro slave could not be freed in Virginia except by acts by the Governor
and the Council for "meritorious service." (see Hening, Vol. 4, p 132). Thisfunction was taken over by the legislature from 1775 on and slaves could befreed only by special act of the legislature until 1782. The permissive emancipa-tion stature of 1782 (see Hening, vol. II pp 39 & 40) allowed a person to free hisNegroes provided he, or his estate if freed by will, were responsible for the sup-port of the sick or crippled, all females under 18 or over 45, and all males under21, or over 45. (Paper Titled About General Washington's Freed Negroes part ofa fax sent by Barbara McMillan of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association to theSociety of the Cincinnati. August 26, 1994)
1727: ECONOMY: "Tobacco notes" Become Legal Tender in Virginia. Tobacco Notes attesting
to quality and quantity of one's tobacco kept in public warehouses are author-ized as legal tender in Virginia. Used as units of monetary exchange throughout18th Century. The notes are more convenient than the actual leaf, which hadbeen in use as money for over a century. (Tobacco Timeline by Gene Borio )
1727Philadelphia- The Junto, a benevolent association founded by Benjamin
Franklin, opposes slavery. (Chronology: A Historical Review, Major Events inBlack History 1492 thru 1953 by Roger Davis and Wanda Neal-Davis)
1730Slave conspiracy discovered in Norfolk and Princess Anne counties, Va.
(Major Revolts and Escapes, Lerone Bennett, Before the Mayflower)
1734The Great Awakening begins in Massachusetts. The movement spreads to
other areas, encouraging new religious fervor among both blacks and whites.This movement encourages blacks to join the Methodist and Baptist Churches.(Slavery and Religion in America: A timeline 1440-1866. By the Internet PublicLibrary http://www.ipl.org/ref/timeline/)
1739South Carolina- Three black revolts occur, resulting in known deaths to 51
whites and many more slaves. One of the insurrections led by the slave, Cato,results in death of 30 whites. (Chronology: A Historical Review, Major Eventsin Black History 1492 thru 1953 by Roger Davis and Wanda Neal-Davis )
1739/09/09Slave revolt, Stono, S.C., Sept 9. Twenty-five whites killed before insurrec-
tion was put down. (Major Revolts and Escapes, Lerone Bennett, Before theMayflower)
Cato's Conspiracy, originated in Stono, South Carolina, in 1739. England atthis time was at war with Spain, and a group of about eighty slaves took uparms and attempted to march to Spanish Florida, where they expected to findrefuge. A battle ensued when they were overtaken by armed whites. Some forty-four blacks and twenty-one whites were killed. (Slave Rebellions., The Reader'sCompanion to American History Edited by Eric Foner sources used, HerbertAptheker, American Negro Slave Revolts (1943); Eugene D. Genovese, FromRebellion to Revolution (1979) entry date 01-01-1991.)
Escapes into Spanish Florida were among the earliest successful attempts atfreedom and community, beginning near the end of the 1600s and concludingonly with Andrew Jackson's march into Florida to eradicate the "Negro forts." In1738, the Spanish governor of Florida offered freedom to British colonial slaveswho escaped to St. Augustine. While Spain had long been part of the interna-tional slave trade and had used slave labor throughout its colonies, that nationdisputed British claims to Georgia and South Carolina and wanted to keep thosecolonies as disrupted as possible. Encouraging runaways was a good way to doit. After the edict, slaves ran away in groups and singly to Saint Augustine andnearby Florida villages. Georgia advised its citizens to keep a sharp lookout forrunaways from South Carolina on their way to Florida and scout boats patrolledthe water routes near the Georgia-Florida border. Many of the Florida villagesconsisted of the remnants of Southeastern Indian tribes, gathered together forsurvival, who became known as Seminoles. (From 16 Lathan Algerna Windley,A Profile of Runaway Slaves in Virginia and South Carolina from 1730 through1787, in Graham Hodges, ed., Studies in African American History and Culture(New York: Garland Publishing Company, 1995), 27; Kenneth Porter, "Negroeson the Southern Frontier, 1670-1763," Journal of Negro History 53 (January1948):53-78 cited in The Underground Railroad In American History by the Na-tional Park Service)
1740The Slavery system in colonial America was fully developed. A Virginia law
in that year declared slaves to be "chattel personal in the hands of their ownersand possessors for all intents, construction, and purpose whatsoever." (Slaveryin America Grolier Electronic Publishing, 1995 see )
1741Series of suspicious fires and reports of slave conspiracy led to general hyste-
ria in New York City, March and April. Thirty-one slaves, five whites executed.(Major Revolts and Escapes, Lerone Bennett, Before the Mayflower) NewYorkers charge a "Negro Conspiracy" with having started fires that break outthrough March and April. Roman Catholic priests are inciting slaves to burn thetown on orders from Spain, they say; four whites and 18 blacks are hanged De-cember 31, and 13 blacks are burned at the stake. (The People's Chronology1995, 1996 by James Trager from MS Bookshelf)
Virginia - The colony amends its 1705 law declaring that blacks cannot serveas witnesses in court cases; it decides, instead, to admit "any free Negro, mulat-to, or Indian being a Christian," as a witness in a criminal or civil suit involvinganother Negro, mulatto, or Indian. (Chronology: A Historical Review, MajorEvents in Black History 1492 thru 1953 by Roger Davis and Wanda Neal-Davis)
1748Records of Washington, Parts of the District of Columbia is Part of Frederick
County which was formed from Prince Georges County. (Montgomery CountryHistorical Society)
1749Fairfax County was dominated by slave labor, the majority of slaves were
held in groups of over twenty slaves by old established families, and the largeslaveholders governed the county. Much land and many of the slaves wee heldby men who lived outside the Fairfax County. It was a slave empire in the clas-sic sense. (Fairfax County, Virginia a History. Fairfax County Board of Supervi-sors, Fairfax, Virginia, 1978 p 31-32)
Georgia- Prohibitions on the importation of slaves are repealed in a lawwhich also attempts to protect slaves from cruel treatment and from being hiredout. (Chronology: A Historical Review, Major Events in Black History 1492thru 1953 by Roger Davis and Wanda Neal-Davis)
1750The English Colonies- Slaves population reaches 236,400 with over 206,000
of the total living south of Pennsylvania. Slaves comprise about 20% ofcolonies' population, over 40% of Virginia's. (Chronology: A Historical Review,Major Events in Black History 1492 thru 1953 by Roger Davis and WandaNeal-Davis)
1750 Massachusetts has 63 distilleries producing rum made from molasses sup-
plied in some cases by slave traderswho sell it to the Puritan distillers forthe capital needed to buy African na-tives that can be sold to West Indiansugar planters (see 1733). (The Peo-ple's Chronology 1995, 1996 byJames Trager from MS Bookshelf)
1751/05/15The Maryland Assembly appoints
commissioners to lay a town on thePotomac River, above the mouth ofRock Creek, on 60 acres of land to bepurchased from George Gordon andGeorge Beall. This settlement be-comes Georgetown. (DC Homepage"Office of Public Records")
1752The Gregorian calendar replaced
the Julian calendar in England and hercolonies.
1752After the death of his half-brother,
George Washington purchased his sis-ter-in-laws share in the Mount Vernonestate including 18 slaves. The ledgersand account books which he keptshow that he bought slaves whenever
possible to replenish the original 18.In the account books of Washington,the entries show that in 1754 hebought two make and a female; in1756, two males, two females and achild, etc. In 1759, the year in whichhe was married, his wife Martha,brought him thirty –nine "dower-Ne-groes." He kept separate records ofthese Negroes all his life and men-tions them as a separate unit in hiswill. Washington purchased his slavesin Alexandria from Mr. Piper and per-haps in the District in 1770 "wentover to Colo. Thos. Moore's Sale andpurchased two Negroes. (Matthew T.Mellon, Early American Views onNegro Slavery, Boston 1934, 1969)
Mount Vernon - There are 18slaves at Mount Vernon at the timeGeorge Washington acquires the es-tate there. Under Washington, thenumber grows to 200, Washington'srecord shows a concern for their phys-ical welfare, but vacillation about theirright to freedom and his willingness todispense with their services. (Chronol-ogy: A Historical Review, MajorEvents in Black History 1492 thru1953 by Roger Davis and WandaNeal-Davis)
1752/11/04George Washington a member of
Alexandria Masonic Lodge No. 22took the first step into Masonry onNovember 4, 1752 in Fredericksburg.(Charles H. Callahan, Washington,The man and the Mason, GeorgeWashington Masonic National memo-rial Association, 1913)
1755After the passage of the Trans-
portation Act in 1718, 50,000 convictswere sentenced to foreign exile in theAmerican colonies. The bulk weretransported to Maryland and Virginiafor sale as servants. By 1755, convictsformed 10% of all adult white malesin four of Maryland's most populouscounties. Although colonists agonizedabout the presence of such persons intheir midst, they neither worked tocease transportation nor returned con-victs to England unpurchased. Social-ly, convicts occupied a position justabove black slaves and just below in-dentured servants. For the most part,they were ill-treated and exploited. Asfree, white, and British, the convictsdeeply resented their lot as servile la-borers in the American colonies.(Ekrich, A. Roger. Exiles In ThePromised Land: Covict Labor In TheEighteenth-Century Chesapeake.Maryland Historical Magazine 198782(2): 95-122.)
1758Slaves on William Byrd III's plan-
tation on the Bluestone River inLunenburg County formed the earliestblack church in Virginia. (ColonialWilliamsburg's online Historical Al-manack. Cultural & Political Chronol-ogy 1750-1783)
Many Africans had little troubleadopting Christianity because itpreached many of the same beliefsthat were central to African religions--supreme being, creation myths, priest-healers, moral and ethical systems.Christianity's "life after death" wasalso attractive because it offered thepromise that they would someday re-
CommentaryEddie Becker
Dorris Ellis
As promised, and per your request, here is anotherpart of the slavery chronology that we began publishing inJuly. I will do my best to get as much of it to you as time andspace permits.
My God bless and I will see you next week.
Samuel Joyner
