The Free Labor Movement (Article)

The Free Labor Movement (Article)

This feature of the anti-slavery enterprise appears to be gaining friends where it is thoroughly investigated. Like all other departments of philanthropy it is beset with difficulties, real and imaginary, and those of the latter class are believed to be far the most numerous. It is presumed that no earnest friend of the immediate and peaceful abolition of American Slavery doubts the necessity of making his practice and his profession agree in all practicable cases, if he would have his remonstrances produce the effects he desires. He must perceive the depreciating effect upon the force of his argument addressed to the actual holder of slaves which a voluntary participancy with him in the convenience of slaveholding would unavoidably produce .

He does not need to be informed that the money patronage which the slaveholder receive in return for the produce of the labor of his slaves greatly outweighs in many cases the verbal arguments directed against this system.

The abolitionist that reflects upon the subject in this manner sees the necessity of going to the slaveholder with hands as clean as he can possibly make them. And wherever a slaveholder, yielding to the pressure of those arguments or to independent reflection, resolves to step across the line that divides Slavery from Freedom, the abolitionists feels bound to recognize the change to extend the hand of friendship to him, not only ecclesiastically and politically, but also commercially by giving him the preference before his neighbor who persist in the opposite course.
A glance at the history of slave-breeding and cotton growing in the United States shows him they have been closely connected that the money patronage the slaveholder received in one year (1853) amounted for the article of cotton alone to near $120,000,000.

A little further investigation, and the necessity of contributing to his patronage under which he has believed himself laboring in some particulars, entirely disappears . He learns that nearly 100,000 bales of cotton have been of late annually produced by free labor in America, of this 800 bales were sent into the market last year by German planters in Texas. That from the all the accounts from these non-slaveholding planters, we learn, that they are watching with much interest the demonstration of sympathy for them in the preference that may be given to the production of their labor, and they are holding themselves ready to respond to the demand that would follow that preference.

One hundred thousand bales of free labor cotton would give one hundred millions of yards of cotton fabrics of various qualities, sufficient, it is supposed, for an ample supply to every abolitionist that has an Anti-Slavery Backbone. Then we have one cotton mill in operation in Ohio, and another in Pennsylvania under the charge of trustworthy men, in which nothing but free grown cotton is to be used; and with ordinary management, and the support which abolitionists can give them, the necessity for wearing a slave grown cotton shirt will be reduced to half a cent per yard, or two cents per shirt. Next we have the efforts that are being made for procuring flax from the hitherto unvalued flax-straw, produced in growing flaxseed, and the noble contribution to the stock of free labor productions brought into the market by the Fall River Linen Co. With these things before us, we regard the necessity for using Slave-grown cotton as simply imaginary.
The coming Anti-Slavery Convention, it is hoped, will not pass over without some attention to his subject.* For the argument in favor of this moment and other particulars see Burrett's Citizens of the World , published by G.W. Taylor of Philadelphia.

HENRY MILES,


Cor. Sec't Free Produce Ass. Of Western Vermont.


* It will be seen by the following resolutions that the convention did give attention to his important subject.

Whereas , the Non-slaveholding planters of the South deserve the sympathies of abolitionist; and, whereas, these sympathies can, in many cases be most effectually extended through the medium of commerce; therefore,

Resolved , That it is desirable to manifest our sympathies for such planters, by encouraging the culture of free labor productions, in preference to those produced by the labor of slaves.
That we regard the German Settlers in Texas, and elsewhere, who are cultivating the soil by their own free labor, as especially deserving our approbation; and the eight hundred bales of cotton produced in Texas, last year, as an indisputable argument for free labor in the South.

That we look with interest upon all well-directed efforts, in the non-slaveholding states, for raising products that may successfully compete with slave-products, and we regard it as particularly desirable that the culture and manufacture of flax, by free men should, if possible, be brought into successful competition with slave-grown cotton.

Henry Miles

9.21.1855