Robert Carter: The First Emancipator

I recently heard a lecture by Professor Andrew Levy in which he shared the remarkable story of one of George Washington’s contemporaries, Robert Carter III. You may not have heard of Robert Carter (l certainly hadn’t!) and yet this man did something truly profound. Professor Levy is the author of The First Emancipator, in which he reveals the unprecedented acts of a figure previously lost to history. 

So, what exactly was this astonishing act? In the last decade of the 18^th century, Carter freed over 500 slaves, the largest number of slaves ever freed by an American slaveholder until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. While George Washington may be famous as the only founding father to free his slaves, he was not the first, and he may well have been inspired to do so by Robert Carter.

Robert Carter III was the grandson of the famous King Carter, the patriarch of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Virginia, if not the entire Thirteen Colonies. When his father died, Robert inherited three generations of properties, including 65,000 acres of land, and over 100 slaves, all of which he increased substantially over his lifetime.

Carter became troubled, however, by the existence of slavery and began to change the status quo on his plantations. This manifested itself in several ways. Unlike common practice, he very rarely allowed his slaves to be beaten, and when there was a disagreement between his slaves and someone else, Carter always favored his slaves’ version of the events.

In 1787, when the U.S. Constitution was being drafted, the country was debating whether or not slavery should be banned in the new nation.  After all, Thomas Jefferson did declare that “all men are created equal.” Yet, the prevailing popular opinion was that this was the worst possible moment to ban slavery. People disagreed about slavery’s morality and, perhaps more to the point, it was argued that abolishing slavery was simply not practical or possible without devastating economic and social consequences.

Meanwhile, Robert Carter, effectively turning a deaf ear to the national debate, was making plans for freeing his slaves through what he called his “Deed of Gift.” The Deed of Gift listed the names of Carter’s slaves, on which plantation each person worked, and the designated time when each was to receive his or her respective freedom. The instructions for emancipation within the Deed were to be executed in batches, with one group of slaves being freed after another, rather than all at one time. This process of emancipation required a great deal of planning and effort on Carter’s part. He had to go to each courthouse in the counties where his plantations were located and arrange his slaves’ legal status as free men and women.

It was an incredibly risky undertaking as well. The Deed of Gift had the potential to ruin the Carter family’s substantial livelihood, selling cash crops like tobacco (which is quite labor-intensive to harvest). Robert Carter, however, was able to emancipate his slaves and also adapt his business model to make money by renting out his land to his now-freed slaves and other tenants.

Robert Carter’s audacious Deed of Gift was not only difficult to execute but extremely unpopular among his fellow landowners. His actions made a lie of the notion that freeing slaves was a practical impossibility. Many neighboring landowners tried to fight Carter in court, and argued that freeing slaves would create a “public disturbance.” However, Carter was one of the most powerful men in Virginia, and he was determined to execute his plan on his own terms and on his own timetable. Carter wanted the Deed of Gift to be “a quiet revolution.” He tried to execute it with as little notoriety as possible. He accomplished this, but still sent shockwaves through American society with this “inconvenient truth.”  His revolution was so quiet, however, that he was lost to history until Professor Levy wrote his book, The First Emancipator.

Robert Carter offers us two great legacies. First, he showed the United States that emancipation was possible at a time when popular opinion found it highly convenient to believe that it was not. Second, it is arguable that the actions of Robert Carter inspired the decision of George Washington to free his own slaves and set the great example we have all come to know.

Find out more about the book here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/books/chapters/0807-1st-levy.html?pagewanted=all

The Treasure Trove Next Door

And we're off!  Blog post number 1!

Imagine discovering an untapped archeological treasure trove containing hundreds of thousands of precious national heirlooms chronicling the story of America from Ferdinand and Isabella all the way to George Washington and Susan B. Anthony. As it happens, there is just a place in Morristown, New Jersey.

At Morristown National Historical Park, home to the Jacob Ford Mansion where George Washington had his headquarters during the winter of 1779—1780, more than 300,000 manuscripts and 15,000 printed documents are housed in what is known as the Lloyd W. Smith Archives Collection. Smith, a Wall Street executive from the first half of the 20^th century, was a passionate collector of historic papers and records, and wanted to create a kind of primary source history of the United States. In 1957, two years after Smith's death, his documents became the backbone of a new repository in his name.

Ms. Sarah Minegar, the chief archivist of the Collection, has been a classroom teacher as well as a longtime student of history. “I feel the close study of primary documents makes me a more perceptive and conscientious historian,” she says. Because Minegar considers it a privilege that she lives her daily life in such close proximity to history, she actively seeks to share her experience and knowledge. “I feel compelled to be the best steward of history I can,” she says.

One way she accomplishes this goal is through a high school program she created and introduced this year, Archival Ambassadors. This week-long summer course is designed to allow students entering 10^th, 11^th, or 12^th grade to “explore history from the source,” and to learn proper methods for dealing with historic materials. When examining primary sources, the students are asked to “interrogate the documents” to find out important information, such as the speaker, audience, subject, and purpose. “This gives the students a chance to... really dig into the uninterpreted, raw history.”

Even the occasional forgery makes for a great story, too. One letter, supposedly written by George Gordon (aka Lord Byron), the famous poet, was acquired with the rest of the collection and was put on display periodically. Earlier this year, when another institution was planning on doing an exhibit on Lord Byron, the letter was pulled out to be examined. Surprisingly, the letter was proved to be a “faux.” Dr. Jude Pfister, curator of the museum at the Morristown National Historical Park, realized that this discovery opened the door to a new and worthwhile conversation about the motivations and circumstances behind forgeries like this one. He explained in an interview with radio station WCBS, “We don’t have the real thing, but in and of itself, there’s just as much of a story.”

Young historians and researchers don't necessarily have to be in the summer program to gain access to the extraordinary materials in the collection. After being issued a Research Card, one can call ahead to schedule time at the Archives at (973)539-2016. The Archives are usually open from 1:00 to 4:00pm Tuesdays through Thursdays. In general, researchers look at microfilm rather than the manuscripts themselves, which are rarely pulled from the vault. No food or beverages are allowed in the research room itself to protect the documents and equipment. There are lockers to keep coats, bags, and lunch, along with a break room nearby.

Many historians pick the usual places, like the New York Historical Society and the National Archives, to do their primary source research. They overlook the rich, comparatively untapped resource residing at Morristown National Historical Park. Ms. Minegar and Dr. Pfister are hoping to change that.

For more information, please go to http://www.morristownnhplibrary.blogspot.com/ and http://www.primarysourceseminar.blogspot.com/

Welcome

Hi there.

Welcome to the blog of A Kid's Eye View of American History.  My name is Hunter Stires.  I'm 14 years old and a huge history buff.  I'll be posting a lot of fun stories, interesting tidbits, and accounts of my experiences exploring the realm of U.S. and World History.

I hope that I can bring a new perspective and show you how awesome history really is.