Syracuse University Forum
William Wilberforce and Harriet Tubman:
The African Slave Trade and Abolitionism
Good Afternoon…..
Thank you, it is certainly a pleasure to be here
with you all today.
I hope you all have enjoyed your lunch. I believe
we have about 45 minutes together.
Let me first start out with thanking Carrie Smith
for thinking of me and giving me this opportunity
to engage you in the following discussion. I would
also like to extend my thanks to Carrie’s Asst.
Jean for her attention to detail and putting things
in place to help me prepare for this presentation.
Okay, before we begin, I like to start with
introductions. I understand that you have recently
completed a paper on your own family origins.
This should be pretty painless. I’d like you all to
find someone in the room that you know the least.
Please introduce yourselves. Give your name,
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major or area of study, family origin, and one
NEW thing you found out as a result of your
family research.
For how many of you was that easy? For how
many was that hard?
Can we have one volunteer who will tell us why
that was easy? Can we have one person tell us
why that was hard?
From the work that I have done with DIVERSITY
TRAINING, we find that some families value
sharing ideas and feelings with others. There are
other families that are less prone to do so. So
there is really no right or wrong approach, it is a
matter of the values we are raised with.
Can we have one VOLUNTEER to take one
minute to share their FAMILY ORIGIN and ONE
NEW THING THAT YOU FOUND OUT as a
result of doing their research?
A VOLUNTEER SPEAKS/SHARES.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
We appreciate that. Let’s show our appreciation.
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By now, we all have had a chance to view the
documentary, AMAZING GRACE. It was quite
compelling. There are a number of lessons to be
learned from the work and passion of William
Wilberforce.
We now know that William Wilberforce was the
man behind the movement to abolish the
AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE in the Britain
Empire. AMAZING GRACE shows us that one
man or one woman can make a powerful
difference in the lives of people who are
disenfranchised, oppressed and enslaved.
William Wilberforce was the one who gave voice
to those who were enslaved for generations. He
was the man who changed the trajectory of
history. His accomplishment was not achieved
without struggle, without massive resistance and
to some extent without political manipulation.
Even William would admit that his long, hardwon success was not possible without his
supporters and allies. We will find that in these
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kinds of transformational endeavors no man is an
island. William had his wife, Barbara; his
university friend William Pitt who would become
the youngest Prime Minister; another friend,
Clarkson; Equianos- the former slave; and his
friend and minister, John Newton, the former
slave trader who penned the words to beautiful
song, AMAZING GRACE.
But I digress for a moment. I believe that the
greatness of this man and the greatness of his
accomplishment must be seen within the context
of the HISTORY OF SLAVERY.
Prior to the work of William Wilberforce, a
member of the British Parliament, slavery
persisted and was maintained as the status quo in
some form all across the world.
Millions of people… Africans, Europeans, Asians,
Indians, Middle Easterners, Jews, Aborigines,
Alaskans … were born and died in servitude to
another human being.
What took William Wilberforce to accomplish in
nearly twenty years, could not be achieved in over
two thousand years of slavery, indentured
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servitude, contract labor, serfdom or caste
systems from across the world.
Yes, perhaps it was time. And Yes, William
Wilberforce gave voice to the enslaved people.
He gave voice to the Africans who the slave
traders could not hear, who the merchants could
not hear, who the masters could not hear and who
the British Parliament could not hear.
Yet, slavery did not begin or end with the African
Slave Trade. It began well before the Portuguese,
the Dutch and the British brought their ships to
the shores of central and western Africa looking
for human cargo.
In recent historical times, we tend to think of
Africans when we think of slavery, but history
tells us that slavery existed in ancient times. From
the beginnings of human civilization, man
captured and relegated fellowmen into a brutal,
horrendous life of bondage. Slavery, indentured
servitude, contract labor, serfdom, and the caste
system were not reserved for black people only.
Human bondage knew no discrimination.
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From the earliest of times, there has been a top
down human hierarchy within tribal, religious,
ethnic and racial societies in every corner of the
globe. This hierarchy defined where each
individual belonged within a specific society. This
human bondage hierarchy found itself amidst the
Egyptians, Romans, Australians, Japanese,
Africans, Alaskans, and in England, Ireland, the
Caribbean, South America, Medieval Europe,
India, Asia and the Middle East.
One has to ask oneself, how does a society justify
human bondage, slavery or human rights
violations in whatever form it takes?
According to many historians, it turns out that it
was a simple matter of creating a labor force that
received little or no compensation for their work.
As the ancient and European empires grew
beyond their own borders, they needed more
bodies to make, grow and harvest goods. The
greed and wealth of the upper classes or upper
castes, demanded that the defenseless masses
would create wealth for them under severe
brutalization, fear, and death. Inevitably, the rich
became richer, and the poor became poorer.
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In biblical times, the Egyptians enslaved the Jews.
From daylight to dusk, thousands of Jews were
made to stomp mud and straw with their feet to
make clay for the bricks that were used to build
the mansions for the royalty and homes for the
masters and military officials.
The women were enslaved and selected to satisfy
the sexual pleasure of wealthy men or the land
barons that chose her. Fathers and would-be
husbands, were left to grieve the loss of their
young daughters and wives-to-be. Families were
separated and devastated.
The Roman slaves and the serfs of the High
Middle Ages were no better off. They were bound
legally, economically and socially to the
landowners and nobles. They not only worked the
fields, but in mining, forestry, land and river
based transportation, military, and crafts. The
greatness of a land baron was measured by the
number of ”souls” that he owned.
Similar forms of feudalism were evident in Spain,
Ancient Mesopotamia, China, Japan and Muslim
India.
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Slavery and serfdom were prevailing human
conditions. The severity or degree of brutality and
inhumane treatment may have varied from
geographic location to geographic location, but the
men, women and children who were faced with
the reality of a LIFE SENTENCE to the rigors
and humiliation of human bondage could not
escape it.
Can you imagine yourself, your parents and
siblings, your children, grandchildren, and great
grandchildren and your descendants beyond being
faced with the reality that the simple provisions of
food, clothing and shelter would be hard earned
from a legacy of slavery, serfdom, servitude or
labor barely compensated?
In America and Britain, and most of the civilized
world, we can not imagine it. Yet slavery,
serfdom, servitude and labor not fairly
compensated are our legacy and history. Each of
us is touched by them in some way, either directly
or indirectly. We only need to look back at our
own family origins. To a great extent our family
origins help to shape our understanding of
ourselves and how we relate to the world.
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This was no less the case for William Wilberforce.
Wilberforce was born into this world as a sickly
child and nearly blind in 1759. He was a son of a
wealthy merchant. His father died when William
was nine years of age. For a time he was raised by
relatives who were staunch supporters of John
Wesley of the Methodist Movement. Religion
weighed heavily in the development of the young
William.
In his twenties, he converted to Evangelical
Christianity. As a young man, he grew to cling to
the stories and sermons of a frequent guest
minister, The Reverend John Newton.
William would later write, “I revered him as a
parent when I was a child.”
Reverend John Newton had been the captain of a
slave ship. He later denounced the slave trade and
became a great influence in its eradication. He
considered the slave trade unlawful and wrong.
A decade before his death, he said, “… we are
delaying from year to year to put a stop to our
part in it, the blood of the many thousands of our
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helpless, much injured fellow creatures is crying
against us”.
These words and sentiments rang loudly in the
ears of a young William Wilberforce. If you recall,
John Newton was the old man in the documentary
that was barefooted mopping the floors in the
church. He tells William that he is writing his
account of the slave trade and wants William, “to
damn them with it.”
The blind John Newton suggests that he is
haunted in his mind’s eye by 20,000 beautiful
black faces. He can still hear their grunts and
noises. He had visions on them corralled like
animals in the bottom of his ship named the
GREYHOUND.
Years after he resigned his commission on the
Greyhound, Newton wrote the words:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
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Reverend Newton urges William to see the cause
through. In the scene, Newton dismisses William
to go and abolish slavery.
Wilberforce was greatly concerned by what he
perceived as the degeneracy of British society.
With the encouragement and support of the
Reverend, his wife, allies and anti slavery activists,
William a Member of the British Parliament, and
philanthropist, led the movement to abolish the
slave trade.
His voice was clear and he was a staunch advocate
for the complete abolition of slavery from 1784 to
1826. Wilberforce committed over forty years of
his life to a cause to bring human dignity and
respect the oppressed Africans.
William Wilberforce died three days after
hearing of the passage of the Slavery Abolition
Act of 1833. Finally, the resistance had also died.
In his death, he, too, like the Reverend John
Newton could bear witness to the AMAZING
GRACE.
**********
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The story of William Wilberforce is a great
example of how family origin can shape a person’s
passion and life’s work. We can see this same
trend in the lives of abolitionists, here, in the
United States.
For those of you who have studied American
Slavery, notably known as the PECULIAR
INSTITUTION, will recognize the names of John
Brown, Thomas Garrett, William Still, Fredrick
Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman
Davis. If you were raised in Central New York,
you may be familiar with the names of Gerritt
Smith, Jeremiah Loguen, George and Rebecca
Barnes, Madelyn Joselyn Gage, and William
Seward. Some might say that Abraham Lincoln,
the former president of the United States, the
Great Emancipator, is the most well known
abolitionist.
But let us not forget the unnamed abolitionists,
free blacks and whites, who were the station
masters along the Underground Railroad, and
provided food, clothing, shelter and safe havens
for thousands of freedom seekers before the Great
Emancipation.
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Like William Wilberforce, each one of these
abolitionists had a story. Each story was nurtured
by their family origins and the historical era in
which they were raised. From their religious,
racial, humanitarian and political roots, they
advocated for the freedom of the African slave.
They all risked their lives, reputations and
livelihoods for what they believed to be a Godgiven birthright. Every person was equal to the
next, and no man had the right to make another
his property.
Of course, there were other debates about how
ending slavery would level a devastating blow to
the American economy, particularly in the
Southern States. The question of the NEGRO did
not always yield simply to moral grounds. The
fiercest resistance came from the planters and
plantation owners who derived their wealth from
slave labor. They would not relinquish slave labor
easily or without a fight. The American Civil War
was a testament to that.
Prior to and during the war, the abolitionists
continued their movement to assist escaped slaves
in their search for freedom. The Underground
Railroad was the main gateway to freedom and
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the Promised Land. By foot, waterways, horse and
wagon, and train, freedom seekers traveled by
night to reach Upstate, Central and Western New
York, and Canada.
My great, great grand Aunt Harriet was the most
famous Conductor of the Underground Railroad.
She was chestnut colored and stood about five feet
tall. Her short stature betrayed her personal and
physical strength, and her faith in God dwarfed
both of those things. She escaped slavery on her
own. She left Maryland to live as a free woman in
Philadelphia. Aunt Harriet later moved to St.
Catharines, Canada to live free beyond the
reaches of the Fugitive Slave Law.
Several years later, she returned to the South to
rescue her family. She was also known to make
numerous journeys to the South to rescue
hundreds of freedom seekers and bring them
north to Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada.
Later, she bought a home in Auburn, New York
from William Seward, Abraham Lincoln’s
Secretary of State. Her home and property on
South Street Road became a safe haven for family,
friends and any black person who had fallen on
bad times, who was ill or elderly. She firmly
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believed that God would provide whatever was
needed for them to survive. And He did.
Unlike, William Wilberforce, Aunt Harriet was
born a slave. She was not a politician or a
philanthropist, but she was equally committed to
abolish slavery.
Harriet Tubman Davis answered the call of
service and joined the Union Army. We believe
she was the only woman to do so. She went
behind enemy lines to bring Negroes out of the
Confederate South. She then convinced scores of
black men to don the uniform of the Union Troops
and fight for the freedom that they deserved.
There, at the Combahee River in South Carolina,
she became known as General Tubman.
She returned from the Civil War to her home on
South St. Road. She married a Civil War veteran,
Nelson Davis, who was twenty years younger than
she. They had a good marriage and made a
loving, safe and secure home for themselves and
others. Uncle Nelson died of Tuberculosis after 20
years of marriage. Aunt Harriet was buried near
his gravesite in the Fort Hill Cemetery.
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Harriet Tubman Davis was referred to by
everyone that knew her as Aunt Harriet. Black or
white, she was everyone’s Aunt Harriet. Although
she could not read or write and was not well
spoken, she was a great story teller, and had a
great sense of humor. And above all, she passed
down to her relatives the importance of taking
care of one another and helping others whenever
possible.
**********
So, the question might be asked of me, “How did
the work of my famous great, great grand Aunt
impact me?”
Today, I believe that Aunt Harriet would be
telling me:
To become more aware of oppression and human
rights violations in my community and the world,
and do something about it.
To move outside of my comfort zone to see and
hear the stories of those who may need my help,
And do something about it.
To work within my faith community to do good
for others.
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To take care of my family, and to keep my home
open for those who may need a helping hand.
To keep the faith, and know if you are doing
God’s work, he will provide.
To be mindful that the vestiges of human rights
violations persist, even today, and what are you
doing about it.
To my great, great grand Aunt Harriet it would
all be about, “Don’t tell me what it is about, tell
me about what you are doing to help”.
Michele Jones Galvin
Great, Great Grandniece of Harriet Tubman
Syracuse University – Sims Hall
April 21, 2009
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