It is worth noting that in the 1770s and 1780s, some Virginians objected to slavery for reasons of state. The experience of the early years of the Revolution, when Lord Dunmore armed Virginia slaves against their former masters, confirmed for some Virginia politicians the general vulnerability of slave societies to external attack. This was an argument that came up during the Virginia Ratifying Convention of June, 1788, but it had also been articulated earlier, in the efforts of some Virginia politicians to end the slave trade.
This was clearly an argument in opposition to slavery, but its not the kind of thing that had much traction in post-ratification arguments about slavery, and so its one that historians tend to forget.
There is of course room to debate the seriousness with which this argument, or any other anti-slavery argument, existed in the minds of Virginia slave-owners. There can be no question, however, that a great many Virginia slave owners experienced a visceral fear of slave insurrection--which would tend to suggest that at times anyway, the kind of argument I am referencing here may have been felt with some conviction.
All best,
Kevin
___________________________
Kevin R. Hardwick
Associate Professor
Department of History, MSC 8001
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
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From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Martha Katz-Hyman [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2012 12:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 18th century opposition to slavery
In 1999 I did a small exhibit at Colonial Williamsburg on the early
abolition and anti-slavery movements in Tidewater Virginia & Maryland.
There was public opposition to the slave trade (this is what "abolition"
meant before about 1830), but,as Paul Finkelman notes, the discomfort with
slavery was usually expressed privately or, if publicly, in a quiet way.
In the exhibit I included, among other things, a book of silhouettes of
Quakers, abolitionist and anti-slavery tokens used as fundraisers, the
abolitionist and anti-slavery textiles sold to raise money for the cause,
and a wonderful and large early 19th century English creamware jug with 3
abolitionist/anti-slavery transfer prints that illustrated how the movement
became commercialized.
But I did not find any signifcant opposition to slavery in Virginia until
the 2nd quarter of the 19th century.
Martha Katz-Hyman
Independent Curator
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