Description:

Connecticut Newspaper Announces Hanging of African American to Save Him from Slavery

This issue includes a curious notice about the plan to hang a young African American man "to preserve him from the greater evil of being sold as a slave for life." The notice is signed "HUMANITAS" and may have been inserted by a member of the growing anti-slavery movement in Connecticut.

[SLAVERY]. The New-Haven Gazette, and the Connecticut Magazine, May 3, 1787. New Haven, CT: Josiah Meigs. 8 pp. (81-88), 8.75" x 10.375". Disbound; staining throughout; some scattered spots.

Excerpt
"To be hanged, A Likely young Negro, about 18 Years of age. He is hanged for no fault, but for want of employ, and to preserve him from the greater evil of being sold as a slave for life.
"HUMANITAS." (p7/c2)

Historical Background
This notice was reprinted in at least two newspapers in 1839 as an example of the progress the nation had made. In the anti-slavery newspaper Charter Oak, published in Hartford, Connecticut, the editors wrote, "Fifty Years Ago. In these degenerate days it is sometimes useful to review the past and compare the present with our former state." The same article evidently appeared in the New Haven Herald, from which Niles' National Register of Baltimore copied it.

More than sixty years later, the article was reprinted in the New York Times on August 30, 1903, in a letter to the editor under the headline "Advance of Humanity."

All of the reprints seem to miss the anti-slavery tone and sarcasm of the "notice" and instead take it as historical fact. Although the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society was not organized until 1838, several anti-slavery activists emerged in Connecticut during the American Revolution, including Congregational ministers Levi Hart and Jonathan Edwards Jr. In 1790, they and others formed the Connecticut Society for the Promotion of Freedom and the Relief of Persons Unlawfully Holden in Bondage. In 1794, the society promoted a bill for the total abolition of slavery in Connecticut, which came close to being adopted.

Although The New-Haven Gazette, and the Connecticut Magazine did include advertisements for the sale of slaves or offering rewards for the return of runaway slaves, this notice seems to have a different tone, especially with the pseudonym "Humanitas" attached.

Additional Content
This issue also includes an excerpt from Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia regarding quadrupeds in America and Europe (p1/c1-p2/c1); an article on the "Eloquence of an Indian Chief" (p2/c1-3); regimental orders for disbanding federal troops (p3/c3); and a variety of notices and advertisements, including one that General George Washington would attend the upcoming Federal Convention in Philadelphia (p7/c2)

The New Haven Gazette, and the Connecticut Magazine (1784-1789) was a weekly newspaper in New Haven, Connecticut. It began as the New Haven Gazette, published by Josiah Meigs (1757-1822), Daniel Bowen, and Eleutheros Dana (1761-1788). In April 1786, Bowen left the partnership to publish the New Haven Chronicle. Dana left the partnership in August 1787, and Meigs continued to edit the newspaper alone.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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