CONDITION AND
PROSPECTS OF COLORED AMERICANS
CHAPTER III.
CONCLUSION
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FROM the foregoing pages, It will be seen that the
various conflicts by sea and land, which have challenged
the energies of the United States, have been signalized
by the devotion and bravery of colored Americans,
despite the persecutions heaped, Olympus high, upon
them, by their fellow countrymen. They have ever
proved loyal, and ready to worship or die, if need be,
at Freedom's shrine. The amorpatria has always
burned vividly on the altar of their hearts.
They love their native land :
"For, O! there's a magical tie to
the land of our home,
Which the heart cannot break, though the footsteps may roam;
Be that land where it may, at the line or the pole,
It still holds the magnet that draws back the soul;
'T is loved by the free man - 't is loved by the slave,
'T is dear to the coward - more dear to the brave;
Ask of any the spot they like best on the earth,
And they'll answer, with pride,'t is the land of our birth."
Let it not be
inferred, however, that became many colored soldiers
were, from the force of circumstances, assigned a
subordinate position by themselves during the war, that
their more immediate descendants are to remain satisfied
with a half-way excellence. But, like Crispus
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Attucks, leading on Boston citizens to resist
tyranny, in 1770, - MAjor Jeffrey, Latham and
Freeman, each gallant and brave, — Jordan B.
Noble, the drummer of Chalmette Plains, — and the
many others, in more or less responsible departments,
during their country's trial hour, so, henceforward, in
our battle for equality, each should aim to be
incorporated with the mass of Americans, — unite, when
possible, as affinities may lead, with the various
political, literary, benevolent, ecclesiastical,
business and social, organizations of the land, and so
prove valiant and consistent soldiers in Freedom's army,
without arranging ourselves in a colored section.
There is, however, a historical propriety in setting
forth the services of those colored Americans, who, in
the "day of small things," have labored earnestly for
the welfare of humanity. If others fail to
appreciate the merit of the colored man, let us cherish
the deserted shrine. The names which others
neglect should only be the more sacredly our care.
Let us keep them for the hoped-for day of full
emancipation, when, in the possession of all our rights,
and redeemed from the long night of ignorance that has
rested over us, we may recall them to memory,
recollecting, with gratitude, that the stars which shone
in our horizon have ushered in a glorious dawn.
The light which radiated from the prison-cell of
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, in Baltimore, is yet diffusing
itself over the land. The past, present and future
agitation of the slavery question in these United States
owes itself to that
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man, and the hour when he nobly dedicated his life to
the emancipation of the slave, and the elevation of the
nominally free colored Americans.
"I Can Wait," were the memorable words of John Q.
Adams, when his mouth was gagged on the floor of
Congress. The world will bear witness, that we
have waited; and, O! how patiently! We have learned
"How sublime a thing it is
To suffer and be strong;"
but, though familiar with, we
shall never grow reconciled to, the treatment: -
"Our hearts, through ofttimes made to bleed,
Will gush afresh at
every wound.
The Revolution
of 1776, and the subsequent struggles in our nation's
history, aided, in honorable proportion, by colored
Americans, have (sad, but true, confession) yet left the
necessity for a second revolution, no less sublime than
that of regenerating public sentiment in favor of
Universal Brotherhood. To this glorious
consummation, all, of every complexion, sect, sex and
condition, can add their mite, and so nourish the tree
of liberty, that all may be enabled to pluck fruit from
its bending branches; and, in that degree to which
colored Americans may labor to hasten the day, they will
prove valid their claim to the title, "Patriots of the
Second Revolution."
The Anti-Slavery war waged for the last twenty-five
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years has indeed been prolific in noble words and deeds,
and is remarkable for the succession of victories,
always the reward of the faithful and persevering.
To compare the present with the past — those dark hours
when the bugle blast was first sounded among the hills
and valleys of New England, — we can hardly believe the
evidence daily presented of the onward progress of those
mighty principles then proclaimed to the American
nation. The treatment of the colored man in this
country is a legitimate illustration of "hating those
whom we have injured," and brings to my recollection
that chapter in Waverly where Fergus MacIvar
replies to his friend, when being led to execution —
"You see the compliment they pay to our Highland
strength and courage. Here we have lain until our
limbs are cramped into palsy, and now they send six
soldiers with loaded muskets to prevent our taking the
castle by storm." The analogy is found in the
omnipotent and omnipresent influence of American
pro-slavery in crushing every noble and praiseworthy
aspiration of the persecuted colored man. As in
nature, the smiles of summer are made sweeter by the
frowns of winter, the calm of ocean is made more placid
by the tempest that has preceded it, so in this moral
battle, these incidental skirmishes will contribute to
render the hour of victory indeed a blissful
realization.
So sure as night precedes day, war ends in peace, and
winter wakes spring, just so sure will the persevering
efforts of Freedom's army be crowned with victory's
perennial laurels!
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