David Cooper (abolitionist)
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David Cooper (December 12, 1724 – April 1, 1795) was an American farmer,
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, pamphleteer and an author of abolitionist ideals in the latter 1700s. A native of New Jersey, he lived the greater part of his life in and around
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
, New Jersey. Cooper was vocal on the issue of slavery and was devoted to the abolitionist movement before, during and after the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. As a devoted Christian and Quaker, he made numerous comparisons between abolition and Biblical thought in his writings, orations and orations. By submitting pamphlets and petitions, Cooper appealed to and encouraged
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
and the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
to make efforts to abolish slavery. He is noted for writing a 22-page anti-slavery tract addressed to the "Rulers of America", which was distributed to members of Congress, a copy of which Washington signed and kept in his personal library.


Personal life

David Cooper was born in
Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state.
located along the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
, close to Philadelphia, on December 12, 1724. His father was John Cooper; his mother, Ann Clarke. David married Sybil Matlack Cooper. They had at least two children who survived their childhood: Amos Cooper and Martha Allinson. David's father, John, received a sizable inheritance from his grandfather. John Senior died in 1730, when David was six. Subsequently, David and his siblings were raised by their mother who was a devoted Quaker. The community he was raised in was also largely devoted to the Quaker ethic. David's maternal grandfather, Benjamin Clarke, was among the first Quaker abolitionists in
colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
. David in turn received an inheritance from his late father, which included a plot of land; he used his inheritance to launch a successful business, for which he felt he was blessed. David's older brother, John, died in 1728 at the age of ten. A year later David's parents gave birth to another son whom they also named John, who lived to adulthood. i.e. John Cooper, David's younger brother, became a notable figure during the American Revolution, and was the author of the New Jersey Constitution of 1776. He was also elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, but it is unclear whether he attended or not. On October 22, 1777, in the aftermath of the
Battle of Red Bank The Battle of Red Bank was a battle fought on October 22, 1777 during the American Revolutionary War in which a British and Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the left bank (or New Jersey side) of the Delaware River just south of Phil ...
, the Coopers were driven from their homes in Woodbury when the British took control of the entire area on their way to Philadelphia, with
General Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
occupying the home of David's brother John, using it as his temporary headquarters. Smith, 2014, pp. 24–25 In his memoirs, Cooper documents his early life, family history, marriage, the birth of his children, his involvements with the Quakers, and the various struggles he faced with his faith. He also recounts his work as a New Jersey representative in 1761, along with an account of his participation at Quaker Meetings. He wrote the manuscript during his final years, for his children, when his health was failing, so that they would have a personal record of his life and work after he had died. David Cooper died in 1795, at age 70, in Gloucester County, New Jersey.


Quaker and abolitionist

Brought up in a household that condemned slavery, David came to regard slavery as an institution contrary to natural law. His sense of the injustice of slavery, which largely arose from the injustices and inhumanity involved with the Atlantic slave trade, became evident in his 1772 correspondence with
Granville Sharp Granville Sharp (10 November 1735 – 6 July 1813) was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle black ...
, a leading and outspoken English abolitionist. Smith, 2014, p. 25 As a dedicated Quaker and a staunch abolitionist Cooper petitioned Congress three times in his effort to advance abolition legislature and abolish slavery, lobbied President
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, and wrote about these prospects at length in his diary and other writings. He also directed his criticism of slavery against the British Crown, Quakers were pacifist and were opposed to violence during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. For eight years, beginning in 1761, Cooper served in the State of New Jersey as an elected member of the New Jersey House of Assembly. In 1772 he wrote and published ''Mite cast into the treasury: or, Observations on slave-keeping'', which was coauthored by
Anthony Benezet Anthony Benezet, born Antoine Bénézet (January 31, 1713May 3, 1784), was a French-American abolitionist and educator who was active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the early American abolitionists, Benezet founded one of the world's firs ...
another leading abolitionist. As a Christian and Quaker, Cooper made numerous references and parallels to Biblical thought throughout his book. In the introduction Cooper definitively summarized his position regarding prejudice and slavery:
"The power of prejudice over the minds of mankind is very extraordinary; hardly any extremes too distant, or absurdities too glaring for it to unite or reconcile, if it tends to promote or justify a favorite pursuit. It is thus we are to account for the fallacious reasonings and absurd sentiments used and entertained concerning negroes, and the lawfulness of keeping them slaves" Cooper, 1772, Introduction, p.1
In 1785 Cooper, along with other Quakers, like Samuel Allinson, submitted petitions to the Legislature for purposes of enacting emancipation legislation. The bills failed but the Legislature instead passed a law the next year that helped expedite
manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...
s, which stipulated that slave owners provide education for their slaves. The law also added penalties for any abuses to slaves, while also outlawing the slave trade.


Address to ''Rulers of America''

In 1783 Cooper wrote a 22-page declaration condemning slavery, which was published in a leading Quaker abolitionist tract, addressed to the U.S. government; the Address was entitled ''A Serious Address to the Rulers of America, on the Inconsistency of Their Conduct Respecting Slavery''. Morgan, 2000, pp. 291–292 Hayes, 2017, p. 235 The pamphlet was a treatise written in strong and unforgiving terms, accusing American slaveholders of "treason" against the natural rights of man, and of making a "mockery" of the Declaration of Independence. Nash, 1990, p. 117 Throughout his ''Serious Address'' Cooper appealed to Americans' "regard for the honour of America", regarding equality and liberty against British tyranny, as contradictory with the practice of American slavery. Furstenberg, 2011, p. 264 The ''Serious Address'' contained numerous references and parallels to the revolutionary ideals expressed in the  Declaration of Independence of 1776,  Congressional Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms, of 1775;  Congressional Declaration of Rights and Grievances of 1774 and other such declarations from the various states. Alongside of his arguments Cooper made references to quotations taken from these documents. Davis, 1999,, pp. 281, 333 Cooper published the tract with the intention that it be read aloud in the various colonies at a time when the Quakers were not in the best favor due to their non-violent and passive involvement in the American Revolution. As a result, Cooper decided to publish his tract anonymously, concealing its Quaker origins. Kershner, 2018, p. 86 One year before his death,
Anthony Benezet Anthony Benezet, born Antoine Bénézet (January 31, 1713May 3, 1784), was a French-American abolitionist and educator who was active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the early American abolitionists, Benezet founded one of the world's firs ...
presented copies to George Washington and members of Congress along with a copy to each member of the New Jersey Assembly. Jackson, 2010, p. 136 Cooper's tract asserted that the '' Golden Rule'' was a natural law from Christ that outlawed slavery. In one passage, Cooper addressed his remarks, in religious tones, to America's critics over the gap between liberty and slavery, that the new nation was making strides to end slavery on the basis of natural freedom endowed by the creator. Washington would later sign his name to a copy and keep it in his private library. Thomas Jefferson also received a copy, which is now in possession of the Library of Congress.
"Now is the time to demonstrate to Europe, to the whole world, that America was in earnest, and meant what she said, when, with peculiar energy, and unanswerable reasoning, she pled the cause of human nature, and with undaunted firmness insisted, that all mankind came from the hand of their Creator equally free. Let not the world have an opportunity to charge her conduct with a contradiction to her solemn and often repeated declarations; or to say that her sons are not real friends to freedom".
Benezet, who helped Cooper with his ''Serious Address'', admired Cooper's work and sent a copy to John Pemberton, a good friend and publisher in London, on September 10, 1783. In a postscript Benezet had written, "I also enclose a piece lately published on slavery & c. viz. A ''Serious Address''." Cooper had written his Address anonymously, signing it ''A Farmer'', to protect the ''
Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
'' from any responsibility of its controversial message, and was displeased with Benezet that he had published his authorship and revealed his real identity. Writing Cooper, Benezet asked if one of his pamphlets could be "stiched together" with Cooper's and published. His request was not well received by Cooper. In a letter of June 15, 1783, to Samuel Allinson, Cooper expressed his concerns about anonymity, protesting that Benezet "...knows how careful I was of having the author suspected. ... I regret he saw it", concluding, "I might near as well have put my name to it". He sent one to each member of Congress, and to our own Assembly at Burlington, and is about writing to our Governor." Benezet had also given a copy to George Washington. Cooper and some of his Quaker contemporaries continued with their efforts to bring about abolition. Writing in 1779, Cooper advocated the boycott of any goods produced by slave labor.


Concept of emancipation and abolition

Cooper's concept of emancipation and abolition is delineated in his writings, and in other pamphlets published by Quakers during the latter half of the eighteenth century, with the idea of ''gradual emancipation'' being the central idea. Cooper disagreed with lifelong bondage and felt that masters should give their slaves a home and education and that slaves should be granted their freedom at a given age, in accordance with natural law. His ideas of abolition closely paralleled those surrounding
indentured servitude Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...
in the American colonies where servants were required to serve for a given length of time, usually about seven years, and would be under the authority and discretion of their master. Like many slaves, they could not marry, own property, or leave the master's property without his permission. Cooper likened the institution of indentured servitude with his ideas of gradual emancipation. Cooper and many of his Quaker contemporaries established the amount of time for slaves to serve would be until they reached a "proper age". Cooper's ideas first became public in 1772 when he published his ''A Mite cast into the Treasury..., where he asserted that, "every individual of the human species by the law of nature comes into the world equally entitled to freedom at a proper age." Sometime later he fixed this age to be eighteen for women, and twenty-one for men. Also, when Cooper made reference to female slaves, he explained "...till she came to the age of a woman, at which time she was pronounced free by the law of nature, and precepts of Christ." Therefore, he believed that all of humanity was a dependent under the rule of an authority before growing into maturity. In his ''Mite cast'' Cooper also criticizes the slave trade, asserting that slaves were treated like "brute animals" with no regard for the idea that they, also, were creatures of God.


See also

*
Anthony Benezet Anthony Benezet, born Antoine Bénézet (January 31, 1713May 3, 1784), was a French-American abolitionist and educator who was active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the early American abolitionists, Benezet founded one of the world's firs ...
,  
Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...
  and  
Warner Mifflin Warner Mifflin (August 21, 1745 – October 16, 1798) was an American abolitionist and an early advocate of reparations for slavery. Born and raised in Virginia, Mifflin established himself as a planter in Delaware in 1769. As a member of the Soci ...
– prominent abolitionists in Cooper's day * Quakers in the abolition movement *
Pennsylvania Abolition Society The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage was the first American abolition society. It was founded April 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and held four meetings. Seventeen of the 24 men who attended initia ...
*
List of abolitionist forerunners Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846), the pioneering English abolitionist, prepared a "map" of the "streams" of "forerunners and coadjutors" of the abolitionist movement, which he published in his work, ''The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accompl ...


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

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Further reading

* * * *
John P. Kaminski, 1995, ''A Necessary Evil?: Slavery and the Debate Over the Constitution'', p. 26


External links


Entire text of : ''A Serious Address to the Rulers of America, on the Inconsistency of their Conduct respecting Slavery''

Online Books by Anthony Benezet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, David 1725 births 1795 deaths American abolitionists American Quakers Politicians from Woodbury, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Writers from New Jersey 18th-century American politicians Quaker abolitionists