Utopia, you are standing in it!

Posted by Krista J. Kesselring, 10 October 2018.

The case of James Somerset in 1772 is one of the most celebrated episodes in the history of English law. Despite the uncertainties about what, precisely, Justice Mansfield said, his decision in Somerset v Stewart was widely taken to mean that slavery would not exist in England. Even if Mansfield had only declared the illegality of the coerced removal of a slave from England, many people—including some enslaved people, in England, Scotland, and elsewhere—thought the decision affirmed that whatever the laws of other nations, whatever the laws of Britain’s own colonies, slavery had no place in England itself.[1] The 1772 decision turned, in part, on invocations by James Somerset’s counsel of Cartwright’s case, a purported decision in 1569 which declared the air of England too pure for slaves to breathe.[2]

The early case is frequently mentioned in the voluminous literature…

In recognition of the challenges in dealing with Negroes, the US Navy developed a pamphlet titled Guide To Command of Negro Naval Personnel (NAVPERS – 15092) in 1945.

The Guide notes the following:

The mission of the Naval Establishment is the protection of our country, its possessions and its interests. It includes neither social reform nor support of the personal social preferences of its personnel. In the accomplishment of this mission it is mandatory that the training and ability of all Naval personnel be utilized to the fullest.

It must be recognized that problems of race relations do exist and that they must be taken into account in plans for the prosecution of the war. In the Naval Establishment they should be viewed however solely as matters of efficient personnel utilization.

In general, the same methods of discipline, training and leadership that have long proven successful in the Naval Establishment…

Reasons for the Revolutionary War, as typically taught in American schools:

• The American people were fiercely independent. They wanted to do things for themselves. They didn’t want the British government, which was an ocean away, telling them how to live their lives.

• A combination of harsh taxes and the lack of an American voice in the British Parliament gave rise to the famous phrase “taxation without representation.”

• Americans started stockpiling guns and ammunition in violation of British laws. Their defense of such a stockpile led to the shots fired at Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

***
On June 22, 1772, nearly a century before the slaves were freed in America, a British judge, with a single decision, brought about the conditions that would end slavery in England. His decision would have monumental consequences in the American colonies, leading up to the American Revolution, the…

Granville Sharp (1735 – 1813)

Born: Durham, England
Role: Champion of human rights and the abolition of slavery in the British Empire; Classical grammarian (and contender for Christ’s divinity against heretics in that capacity)
Emphases: The Divinity of Christ; the human dignity of slaves
Protested against: Slavery; Socinianism; Catholic influence in Church and State

Most of this profile is adapted from a biographical sermon on Sharp’s life, in relation to Titus 2:11-14. As a result, it is longer and more detailed than some of the recent installments. 

When it comes to selecting a representative from the notable Christian figures involved in the British Abolition movement, there are a handful that possess a kind of “X Factor” that makes them noteworthy in the timeless sense. William Wilberforce is the most famous and pushed the relevant legislation through the British Parliament after years of setbacks and defeats. Hannah…

Residence of William Wilberforce

110 Broomwood Road, Battersea, SW11 – Tube: Clapham South (Northern Line)

Place of Worship by William Wilberforce

Holy Trinity Church, Clapham Common North Side – Tube: Clapham Common (Northern Line)

Tomb of William Wilberforce

Westminster Abbey, London – Tube:  Westminster (Circle, District and Jubilee)

Wilberforce remains today perhaps the most popular and well known abolitionist in British history, otherwise known as ‘The Voice of Abolition’ Wilberforce is more commonly associated with Kingston upon Hull, from where he was MP and it is there where you will find statues, buildings and even a museum dedicated to him. There are however locations scattered across London where Wilberforce is remembered and commemorated.

Born in Hull into a rich merchant family Wilberforce was initially a small and sickly child who suffered with numerous bouts of bad health, particularly that of his poor eyesight. At the age of…

 All Saints Church, Fulham & Poets Corner Westminster Abbey

Granville Sharp, also known as ‘The Father of the Cause’ was one of the oldest and longest running abolitionist campaigners during the late 18^th through to the early 19^th century.

Sharp as one of the founding members of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was made the first chairman of the committee when it was set up in 1787, this was down to both his previous involvement with the issues of slave welfare. Not being Quaker, like 9 of the other founding members, Granville Sharp also had greater political influence in parliament as a result. Unlike a lot of other co-founding members in the society, Sharp did not just believe in abolishing the slave trade however, he felt the whole act of slavery in itself was ‘evil’ however Sharp’s contemporaries outvoted Sharp on the matter…

This is a cross post. It was originally published on Harry’s Place on April 30th 2015, 4:34 pm