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The daring attempt of Perault
and his companions, to free themselves from slavery, must still be fresh in
the minds of many of the citizens of South Carolina; nor is it likely to be
soon forgotten in any slave-holding State. Although little may be heard
within the bounds of the slave-holding States of North America, of the
mental fiscal ties of the negro race, facts oft-times occur, which show that
the blacks are gifted with higher talents than they are generally allowed to
possess. Of this the Insurrection planned, a few years back, by Perault, a
negro slave in Charleston, afforded a striking example; and the ringleaders
of that deep-laid plot were allowed, on all hands, to have displayed an
elevation of mind, and a heroic fortitude, worthy of the best cause. That
insurrection is the subject of the following tale, descriptive of the
character, manners, and feelings of Slaves and their Masters.
It is left to the reader to reconcile the existing institutions of the
slave-holding States of America with the following clauses in their
Declaration of Independence, dated the 4th July, 1776:—“We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all mankind are created equal—that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights—that amongst these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights,
governments are instituted amongst men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the right in the people to alter or abolish
it..... When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the
same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is
their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for
future security."
You can read
Perault, or Slaves and their Masters here |
