A Very Revealing First Hand Account of Slavery in Virginia and Washington, D.C., Commenting on the Views of Slave Owners, Fugitive Slave Catchers, a Slave Prison, a Slave Auction, and more

Salem, (Massachusetts), September 28, 1835. Tall bifolium, 15 x 6 1/4 in. (406 x 158). Four-page autograph manuscript titled "A Tour to the South" by Richard P. Waters, recounting a trip made to a southern slave state by a John A. Janis. In part: "Monday May 25th 1835 Left Philad. Bound south in the Steam Boat Philad. for Baltimore...their we had colored people on Board the Boat, this was a girl sixteen years of age, and a young man in the hands of a Slave Monger and some free people of color...We arrived in Richmond on the 26th 1/4 past 2pm put up at the Columbian Hotel...spent the evening talking with Slave Dealers on the subject of slavery. the house was full of them. they were from the farther South purchasing slaves-eather at privite or publick sale-I found them very willing to talk on the subject-more so than many Christians of the North-they say they know that it is morally wrong to hold their fellow man in Bondage...visited a Private Slave Prison by invitation of the owner. He has a partner in New Orleans, to sell there and he to purchase here. There I saw about 75 human beings confined there he told us after he gave us the invitation to the prison he had invited many gentlemen from the North there and state we should find them all happy and that Persons had gone away with a different impression of Slavery than they had before...went to a Slave auction and saw twenty persons sold men women & children. The man I saw at the prison was bought by the owner of the prison at private sale-he was about 18 years old. He was bought at Norfolk $7.00 and sold at the sum $7.50 the girl 16 years was sold at auction she had some claim to freedom not withstanding that she sold for $5.93..." Full transcription available upon request. At conclusion is a short note signed by Richard P. Waters, transmitting the account to Rev. Samuel J. May. In part: "I am requested by Mr. Janis To say that he does not wish for his name to be made public in case you think these facts of importance enough to make public, neither in the Liberator nor in an address..." Creasing from old folds, scattered emendations to text; scattered ink stains.

Very rare and revealing 1835 eyewitness account of slavery in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The author, John A. Janis, sent this narrative to Richard P. Waters (1807-1887) a Salem merchant and member of the New England abolition movement, who relayed the manuscript to abolitionist Rev. Samuel J. May for inclusion in William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator. Based on our research, we are not certain if the present account was ever published by Garrison.

Garrison (1805-1879) was a Massachusetts newspaper editor and staunch advocate of the abolitionist movement. Early in his involvement, he rejected the gradualist idea of dismantling slavery, held by many of his contemporaries, and called for its immediate and unconditional abolition. Garrison co-founded The Liberator with his friend and printer Isaac Knapp to espouse these views, hoping to bring about political change. In the paper's inaugural issue, Garrison declared "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation." (January, 1, 1831).

The uncompromising language and rhetoric in The Liberator made Garrison a dangerous enemy to the slave-holding South. He often included articles by white and Black abolitionists, as well as women in order to show the diversity of support to his views. From 1831-38, the paper adopted a masthead illustration of a slave auction. That scene took place in Washington, D.C., within view of the U.S. Capitol, ironically flying a flag that read "Liberty."

At the time of this account, port cities in states like Maryland and Virginia were major depots of the intracontinental slave trade. Cities like Baltimore and Norfolk were hubs of activity for "slave catchers", private kidnappers of northern runaways and even free Blacks who were reintroduced into the chattel system. Each year, thousands of individuals were exported across the slave-holding South, or to New Orleans, the Mississippi River's center of the trade. Several infamous firms, such as Franklin and Armfield in Alexandria, operated huge "slave pens" in cities such as Washington, D.C., and Richmond, where individuals were corralled and housed before coming up for sale. Auctions were held regularly, where Black men and women were sold based on their age, appearance, or other physical attributes, some as young as toddlers, and even infants.

Rev. Samuel J. May (1797-1871) was an American Unitarian minister, and ardent supporter of abolition, women's rights, and educational reform. Born in Boston, he was a descendant of two renowned colonial families, the Quincys and the Hancocks. His sister, Abby May Alcott was the mother of author Louisa May Alcott. May was one of the founding members of the New England Anti-Slavery society, being a close supporter of William Lloyd Garrison, the publisher of the famous Liberator newspaper. Throughout the 1830s and 40s, he was actively involved in the national abolition movement, traveling throughout the northeastern United States to local anti-slavery chapters or societies as a lecturer and agent. A friend to Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Douglass, May aided freedom seekers directly, led the Syracuse Fugitive Aid Society, and founded one of the nation's first Freedmen's Relief Associations in 1862. He was a prolific author and orator, writing a multitude of essays and speeches on reforming political and religious society until his death in 1871.