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W henever, as has often happened, their character has been a ssailed, in foreign countries and by foreign writers, on account of the i nstitution o f slavery among us, the justness of that vindication has b een a dmitted by the candid, which transfers to a foreign government the origin of the e v i l . N o r are the United States, as a s overeign p ower, responsible for the continuance of slavery w ithin t heir l imits, p osterior to the establishment of their Independence; because b y neither the articles of confederation, nor by the present c onstitution, h ad they p ower to put an end to it by the adoption of a n y system of emancipation. B u t from that e poch the responsib i l i t y o f the several states i n w h i c h slavery was tolerated, commenced^ and on them devolved the momentous duty of considering w hether the e vil o f A f r i c a n slavery is incurable, or admits of a s afe a nd practical remedy. In performing it, they ought to reflect, t hat i f when a given remedy is presented to their a cceptance, i n stead of a due examination and deliberate consideration of i t, t hey p romptly r eject i t , and manifest an impatience whenever a s uggestion i s made of any plan to r emove t he e vil, t hey w i l l e xpose t hemselves to the reproach of yielding to the illusions of self-interest, a nd o f insincerity i n the professions which they so often make of a d esire to get r i d of slavery. It is a great misfortune, growing o ut of the actual condition of the several states, some b eing exempt a nd o thers liable to this e v i l , t hat they are too prone to misinterpret the views and wishes of each other i n respect to it. T h e N o r t h a nd the South and the West, when they understand each other w e l l , m ust be each convinced, that no other desire is entertained t owards the others by any one of them, than for their welfare and p rosperity. I f the question were submitted, whether there should b e either immediate or gradual emancipation of a ll the slaves i n the U nited S tates, without their removal or colonization, painful as i t i s to express the opinion, I have no doubt that it would be unwise to emancipate them. F o r I believe, that the a ggregate o f the evils w hich w ould be engendered i n society, upon the supposition o f s uch general emancipation, and of the liberated slaves remaining p romiscuously among us, would be greater than a l l the evils o f s lavery, g reat as they unquestionably arc. T h e several States of the U n i o n were sensible of the responsibility w hich accrued to them, on the establishment of the independence o f the U n i t e d States, i n regard to the s ubject o f s l a v e r y .     A n d m any of them, beginning at a period prior to the termination o f the Revolutionary war, by successive but distinct acts of L e g i s lation, h ave effectively provided for the abolition of s lavery, w ithin t heir r espective jurisdictions. More than t hirty y ears ago an attempt was made i n this Commonwealth, to a dopt a s ystem of g radua l e mancipation, s imilar to that which the i llustrious F r a n k l i n h ad m a i n l y c ontributed to introduce, i n the year 1779, i n the_state f ounded by the benevolent P e n n . A n d , among the acts of my l ife, w hich I l ook back to w ith m ost satisfaction, is that of my having cooperated, w ith o ther zealous and intelligent friends, to procure the

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