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Show 96 nESPOTIS;\1 overthrow the existing ... system of des.J?otism .. This system of Lynch law which sprung mto extstencc amonO' the barbarous settlers of the backwoods, where no Ja~v existed, and which was inven~cd by then~ as a substitute for law, has of late been mtroduced mto the oldest and most civilized of the slave s~a~es, ~nd has been made to supersede the regular ~dmuustrat.IOn of justice in a variety of the mos~ senat~s and .mlportant cases. The t.error of this tnbunal IS suffic10nt to preserve a dead stlcncc at the s_<>~th, an~ to produce an apparent unanimity of op~mon. 'I.h?re are no doubt numbers who still entcrtam the opmwns of Washington, of Henry, and of Jeflerson upon the subject of slavery; but no one dares m pubhc or m pnvate to utter those opinions. No ~me known or suspected to be an abolitionist,-and th1s word at the Sou~h obtains a vQry extensive signific~tion,--:can. rcs1de or even travel in the slave states w1thont tmmment d~nger. Such, under a system of despotism, is the hb· erty even of those called free. SECTION IV. Slavery in its influence upon Equality. Equality it has been stated, may be considered undy three points of view, Political Equality, Socwl Equaity, ancl Equality of 1Vealth. . d end· Political and social equality are essentJally ep bent upon equality of wealth. '!'he truth of t~r~ ~se servation is confirmed by universal expcnence. 1 1 ys who possess the pr.opcrty of a. c:ountry, have l~e~~usucceedcd in obtammg the poliucal pow•;: . l revotiops of property have always produced po lllca lotions. . f E 1 nd So Look for example to the history o ng a . IN Al\1ERICA. 97 long as the wealth of that country consisted principally m land, and that land was possessed by a few fCudal and ecclesiastical barons, the ,vhole political power of the country was in their hands. 'rowns having sprung into. existence, inhabited by artisans and traders, whose mdustry created a new species of '~eal~h, these t?wns pre~ently attained a representatiOn m the natiOnal legislature. 'rheir influence at first. was trifling; but it 1.1as steadily increased with t!1e mcre~se of manufacturmg and commercial wealth, t1ll now 1t has become almost predominant. 1'he history of France furnishes proof to the same pomt. So long as the nobility, the clergy and the magistrature, possessed the lar!ier portion of property, they found no difficulty m mamtammg their political superiority. But no sooner had the progress of events thrown a preponderancy of wealth into the hands of the tiers etat, than they began to devise means for obtaining political power. Hence the French Revolution· which, after immense struggles, resulted in putting th~ go_vernment into the hands of the more wealthy propn~ tors. . The unfortunate adoption of too narrow a bas.ts led, m the end, to the present imperial usurpation, whtch, however, could not stand for a moment, did not the French property holders support it as a means of defence against those who have no property. If m the Northern States of the American Union there exists a degree of political equality of which the world offers no other example on so larO'c a scale the equal distribution of property througl~out thos~ states, IS not less striking and remarkable. It !S an ob~crvation as curious as it is important, that m countnes in which industry is respectable and where the fruits of labor are secure, property a] :vays tends towards an equal distribution. Every man possesses as a means of acquirement his own labor· and though there be a very consider~ble difference in the capacity, the industry, the good fortune of individuals ye~ ~h.ts dtiference has its limits i and diversities of ac~ qulsltwn are still more limited; for in general the in- 9 |