[1] Baxter believed in natural liberty and
the equality of man, and justified slavery only on the ground of
"necessitated consent" or captivity in lawful war. For these reasons
he felt that they that buy slaves and "use them as Beasts for their
meer Commodity, and betray, or destroy or neglect their Souls are
fitter to be called incarnate Devils than Christians, though they be
no Christians whom they so abuse."[2] His aim here, however, is not to
abolish the institution of slavery but to enlighten the Africans and
bring them into the Church.[3] Exactly what effect Baxter had on this
movement cannot be accurately figured out. The fact, however, that his
creed was extensively adhered to by the Protestant colonists among
whom his works were widely read, leads us to think that he influenced
some masters to change their attitude toward their slaves.
[Footnote 1: Baxter, _Practical Works_, vol. i., p. 438.]
[Footnote 2: Baxter, _Practical Works_, vol. i., p. 438-40.]
[Footnote 3: _Ibid_., p. 440.]
The next Puritan of prominence who enlisted among the helpers of the
African slaves was Chief Justice Sewall, of Massachusetts. In 1701
he stirred his section by publishing his _Selling of Joseph_, a
distinctly anti-slavery pamphlet, based on the natural and inalienable
right of every man to be free.
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