John Woolman | An antislavery sermon printed by Benjamin Franklin

John Woolman

Considerations on Keeping Negroes; Recommended to the Professors of Christianity, of Every Denomination. Part Second. Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin & D. Hall, 1762

8vo (185 x 158 mm). Woodcut titl-epage ornament (Miller, Appendix B, 29); evenly toned, dampstaining, very short tear to leaf C7, marginal wormhole affecting leaves D1–2, the rear endpaper and wrapper. Contemporary blue paper wrappers, stitched with open spine; staining and wear, early now-faded annotations, in original condition. Housed in a custom brown leather-backed slipcase and chemise.

An important antislavery tract by the itinerant Quaker minister John Woolman, printed by Franklin and Hall. This is the second of two antislavery works by Woolman. The first tract, similarly titled, was published in Philadelphia by James Chattin in 1754.

In this work, Woolman discusses racial bias, human rights, equality, The Golden Rule, and white America's complicity in perpetuating an unjust system. He also argues against creating a false distinction between African-born slaves, who were captured and sold into slavery, and African-American slaves, who were born into it. While many of Woolman's arguments are theological, based around scripture, he also draws on moral principles independent of theology.

Franklin left scant few writings about his views on race, and his early thoughts largely dwell on slavery's effects on white society, rather than on its moral implications. However, it is apparent that he became increasingly concerned with issues surrounding slavery as he grew older, and especially near the end of his life. During his career as a printer, he published several antislavery tracts (the first in 1729), but he also owned slaves and advertised their sale in The Pennsylvania Gazette. In the late 1750s, Franklin came into contact with Anthony Benezet, an ardent Quaker abolitionist who had married Franklin's wife's cousin. It is likely that Benezet introduced Franklin to Woolman, among other abolitionists.

Franklin's views on slavery seemingly started to change in the 1770s, perhaps because of an "emerging recognition of the incongruity between slavery and the American colonist's bid for freedom" (Lapansky-Werner, p. 288). What is clear is that, after returning from Europe in 1785, he was an ardent abolitionist. Soon after, in 1787, Franklin was elected president of The Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, and for improving the condition of the African race, and in his writings he "appeared to concentrate on the effect of slavery on the slave, asserting that the system was an 'atrocious debasement of human nature that stunts intellectual faculties and … social affections'" (Lapsansky-Werner, p. 292). While the reasons behind Franklin's abolitionist turn remain an enigma, it seems likely that his associations with Quaker abolitionists like Benezet and Woolman, and his printing of tracts like Considerations on Keeping Negroes, must have had a hand in preparing the ground for his later, full-throated condemnation of slavery.

REFERENCES

Miller 785; ESTC W37537; Evans 9314; Hildeburn 1863; Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner, "At the End, an Abolitionist?" in Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, ed. Page Talbott (New Haven: Yale University, 2005)