Charles Stuart to Frederick Douglass, May 8, 1854
LETTER FROM CAPT. CHARLES STUART.
LORA, Collingwood, Grey Co.,
C. W., May 8th, 1854.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS, ESQ:—On the subject of "the rights of women," my third question is,
"What are the rights of women, in re"lation to the duties and rights of the pub"lic platform, where mind meets mind, ir"respectively of sex, in the fervent pursuit "of individual or party opinions, and inde"pendently of any scriptural standard?"
If by these terms (the rights of women) be meant their rights, to intrude themselves, or be intruded, upon reviling assemblies, prefering their woman-right duty, as they deem it, to the duty of harmony in the holiest causes with others, who, like themselves, advocate these sacred causes, but who cannot conscientiously admit their woman-right dogmas, I reject it, as subversive of the highest beauty and dignity of female agency, and as injuring or destroying that holy influence, and that moral power, in which, when not abused, woman is mighty to harmonize, not to embroil—to soften and to purify every feature of society, instead of disturbing it.
In this respect, I stand by the Bible, as well as in all other questions of a moral nature; nor can I permit the opinions of the mutilators of the Bible, whatsoever or whomsoever they may be, to take a part for the whole. By the mutilators of the Bible, I mean all who reject it as a divine revelation, perfect in itself, as being peculiarly from God, and as such, the supreme standard amongst men, of all religions and moral truth. I cheerfully acknowledge, that amongst such mutilators, there are minds, as far as intention goes, of singular uprightness and of devotion to what they fully believe to be truth; but I cannot allow my full perception of those precious qualities, to draw me away from God, and from His revealed truth, especially when I find them variously compatible with Socinianism, Universalism, Popery—the slaveholding and slavery-excusing heresies of what are called the Orthodox Protestant churches—the unnecessary use of slave-produce—the woman-right intruding dogma—the idolatry of your national Union, or of any other human device which is held as the higher law —the advocacy of the peace principle involving the destruction of all civil government—the denial of the Christian Sabbath and of scripturally ecclesiastical organizations, &c.; for, in all these, I find no fundamental difference, except in amount—the moral character of all, being, I am persuaded, the same.
But while I thus judge, I am heartily thankful for the fact, that my judgment is not final. I know that I shall soon meet my adversaries, whether friends or foes, and that the Judge of all the earth will do right.
But while I thus plead for what I thoroughly believe to be fundamental and everlasting truth, and for absolute freedom from all concurrence in mutilating the Bible, I equally plead for universal union in the anti-slavery cause—each waving for the occasion every peculiarity which would disturb or enfeeble it, just as I would have all within reach, to unite in rescuing a neighbor's house and family from the flames, no one exacting from another any compromise of his opinions and principles.
No greater wrong can be done, in my opinion, to liberty, and truth, and love, by their friends, when any unquestionable object of upright benevolence is in view, such as the anti-slavery and teetotal causes, than by refusing to unite in them cordially, on account of diversities of extraneous sentiments. For instance, at any early period of my anti-slavery awakening, I became so deeply impressed with corresponding duty of abstaining from slave produce, that I began to urge all anti-slavery societies to adopt this, as indispensable to union with them. But I quickly found that many of the most fervent advocates for immediate and thorough emancipation by law, deliberately differed from this view, and that I must either give it up as a principle of united effort, or become myself a source of discord. I abandoned it at once, ever dear as it is to my own heart, and sacred in my own practice; and differing in many other things, from many of the enemies of slavery, I cordially united with them, in this one thing, making no enquiry into their motives for this, or into their principles on other subjects. This is what the anti-slavery cause now vitally wants. The enemies of impartial freedom are numerous and wealthy; they are talented and powerful; they have with them the chief ecclesiastical and military powers. Might is their ground; their poison and crime yielding ground; fruitful in hypocrisy, tears and blood. The friends of impartial freedom are comparatively few, and poor, and weak. They rose in beauty a few years ago, and their progress was glorious, until the persisting introduction of new and dividing dogmas tore them asunder, and still keeps them divided and weak. The adversaries of God and man see this, and laugh them to scorn, pointing to the triumph of tyranny and falsehood in Texas, in Mexico, and in the fugitive slave act; and seem about to add to the taunt, the vast territory, yet legally unsullied, of Nebraska.
When, oh when! will the servants of God and the friends of man in the United States, irrespective of their individual opinions, unite in the glorious effort to rescue their country from this vilest and most criminal of all earthly abominations, and to save the world from the powerfully corrupting influence of successful villany? Not Russia, not Austria, not Popery, is this day so powerfully supporting hypocrisy and tyranny, whether physical or moral, as the ruling democracy of the United States.
Without this union, his share of the guilt will be upon every one who intrudes his own, or his party's dogmas to the disruption of anti-slavery harmony. With this union, still the most glorious success is within our reach, for Jehovah is with us. But His holy pleasure is ordinarily to work by means, not by miracles. To us, is committed the glorious power of subserving that holy cause, or the terrible power of obstructing it—harmonious through grace, in righteousness, or confident in itself, administering to sin.
The mission of woman, by her physical, moral and social structure, is too noble, too pure, too peculiar to sanction her sinking herself, or permitting herself to be sunken, into a secular competitor for perishing purposes, the whole authority for which rests upon human presumptions.
The poet's words still occur to me with force—
"Hope, like the glimmering taper's light,
Adorns and cheers our way,
And still, as darker grows the night,
Emits a brighter day."
For dark and dreadful as the prospect is before us of successful villany, yet it is inextinguishably true, that "Magna est Veritas, et prevalebit," or, "Mighty is Truth, and it shall conquer."
CHARLES STUART.