and it furnished at
least a shadow of excuse for mob violence in the North and for complete
suppression of discussion in the South. To encourage slaves to cut
the throats of their masters was far from being a rhetorical figure of
speech in communities where slaves were in the majority. Santo Domingo
was at the time a prosperous republic founded by former slaves who had
exterminated the Caucasian residents of the island. Negroes from Santo
Domingo had fomented insurrection in South Carolina. The Nat Turner
incident was more than a suggestion of the dire possibilities of the
situation. Turner was a trusted slave, a preacher among the blacks. He
succeeded in concealing his plot for weeks. When the massacre began,
slaves not in the secret were induced to join. A majority of the slain
were women and children. Abolitionists who had lived in slave States
never indulged in flippant remarks fitted to incite insurrection. This
was reserved for the few agitators far removed from the scene of action.

* Schouler, "History of the United States under the
Constitution," vol. V, p. 217.

Southern planters who had determined at all hazards to perpetuate the
institution of slavery were peculiarly sensitive on account of what was
taking place in Spanish America and in the British West Indies. Mexico
abolished slavery in 1829, and united with Colombia in encouraging Cuba
to throw off the Spanish yoke, abolish slavery, and join the sisterhood
of New World republics. This led to an effective protest on the part of
the United States. Both Spain and Mexico were advised that the
United States could not with safety to its own interests permit the
emancipation of slaves in the island of Cuba. But with the British
Emancipation Act of 1833, Cuba became the only neighboring territory in
which slavery was legal. These acts of emancipation added zeal to the
determination of the Southern planters to secure territory for the
indefinite extension of slavery to the southwest. When Lundy and Birney
discovered these plans, their desire to husband and extend the direct
political influence of abolitionists was greatly stimulated. To this
end they maintained a moderate and conservative attitude. They took
care that no abuse or misrepresentation should betray them into any
expression which would diminish their influence with fair-minded,
reasonable men. They were convinced that a clear and complete revelation
of the facts would lead a majority of the