Thoughts on the Religious Instruction of the Negroes of this Country — Inside the Classic

Biblical and Historical Foundations

Plumer begins not with a practical appeal but with scripture and church history. He cites Jeremiah to identify Ethiopians by their skin color, then recounts the dispersion of Africans through the slave trade as a providential step toward their evangelization. The early missions of the United Brethren are detailed with specific dates and locations—St. Thomas (1732), Jamaica (1754), Antigua (1756)—and the willingness of two Brethren to sell themselves as slaves is presented as a model of zeal. This section establishes that the work is neither novel nor untried; it has a pedigree of sacrifice and success.

The Duty of Christians and Presbyterians

Plumer moves from history to prescription, laying out four positions he considers proven. First, it is the duty of Christians, especially Presbyterians, to seek the salvation of “all the destitute, and especially of the negroes of this country,” within the bounds of civil law. Second, such instruction is expedient for all parties. Third, it is entirely safe—no facts show otherwise. Fourth, it is unsafe to neglect it, because without correct teaching, enslaved people will develop “erroneous, wild, fanatical, superstitious” religious notions. He quotes Dr. Rice on the predisposition to superstition where there are no settled principles, warning that ignorance breeds dangerous enthusiasm.

Practical Arguments and Appeals

Plumer’s rhetoric becomes more urgent as he cites the “prodigious” increase of the enslaved population, predicting that the next census will show more than four million negroes and mulattoes. He asks, “What an object for Christian love and wisdom and effort!” The pamphlet itself is framed as a call to action: he recommends Dr. Jones’s pamphlet on the same subject, advising readers to “buy, read, circulate, practice it.” The tone is that of a pastoral leader marshaling evidence and emotion to overcome resistance, emphasizing that a good police is not adverse to the gospel.

The Danger of Unsupervised Religion

A recurring concern is the risk of unsupervised religious expression. Plumer argues that if enslaved people are not given orthodox instruction, they will form their own “set of religious opinions” at variance with the New Testament. He cites a discourse by Dr. Rice describing a “predisposition to fanaticism” among the ignorant, and notes that attempts to suppress religious feeling are futile—“as easy to exclude the light of the sun by a leaf of the statute book.” This section reveals a central tension: the pamphlet advocates for religious instruction partly to control and direct the spiritual lives of enslaved people, channeling their piety into approved forms.

Plumer’s pamphlet is best read as a primary document of antebellum religious and racial ideology. It reveals how evangelical Christianity could be marshaled both to justify and to ameliorate slavery. Readers should attend to the interplay of compassion and control, and to the way Plumer uses scripture, history, and social utility to build his case. The excerpts give a clear picture of his argumentative strategy, though the full text would show how he develops each point and handles counterarguments.

I found myself thinking about Plumer’s quiet insistence on order within faith, and somehow that led me back to the early patriarchs, their messy, human stumbling toward something holy. There is a similar tension there, between guidance and raw belief. It seemed worth noting, though a person could spend a lifetime just tracing the edges of it. Twelve Studies on the Making of a Nation: The Beginnings of Israel's History — A Closer Reading holds that same patient, careful gaze.