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This is a 41 page paper about the stances of the Mennonites and Brethren (Tunker) churches toward slavery and race relations in the South before and during the Civil War. The stances these churches took toward slavery and race relations put them in a tough position in the Old South, when their intepretations of Scripture demanded a certain position. Did they follow through on this position, and how did their pacifist stances influence and impact their position? How political did this stance and their pro-pacifist stance get in the Old South? This paper uses primary and secondary sources to discuss the issues.
Citation preview
1
Mennonites and Tunkers: Silent Abolitionists of the Old South
By Reed Miller
Published by Reed Miller
Copyright 2009
Centreville, VA
Reed’s web site -
http://shalomcommonwealth.blogspot.com
2
The Mennonites and Tunkers(Brethren) are well known for being two
of the only Christian denominations with clear teachings against the
bearing of arms in war. The denominations' pacifist teachings extend
far back, to their beginnings as Anabaptist groups in and around
Germany during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century.
Mennonites and Tunkers believe that Christ forbid all Christians from
participating in war by teaching that the greatest commandment was to
"love thy neighbor as thyself." This belief, in fact, led members of
the denominations to flee war-plagued areas like Germany, Switzerland,
and the Netherlands in the hopes of finding a lasting peace in the
United States. Many of the Mennonites and Tunkers, of course, were
also attracted to the United States by the religious freedom there,
which was guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Once in America, however, conflict seemed to follow the earliest
of Tunker and Mennonite settlers. The Revolutionary War struck their
new nation in 1774, followed shortly by the War of 1812. The real
test of the denominations' pacifist teachings, however, came during
the Civil War, when the first national conscription acts were adopted
by the Confederate States of America and the U.S. Tunkers and
Mennonites in both the South and North were forced to petition their
congressmen for exemptions from military service on the basis of
religion. The South, however, had also long provided a special
challenge to Tunker and Mennonite doctrine which culminated in effect
during the Civil War. This special challenge was the issue of
slavery.
How, it should be asked, would denominations which believed that
people should "love thy neighbor as thyself" feel about the
3
institution of slavery? Would the denominations ban the institution
from their churches, or would they find some other Biblical
justification for slavery, as many other Christian denominations did?
Did the denominations really believe in loving their neighbors, or did
they draw a color line under which only certain neighbors were
qualified to be loved? The answer to these and other questions are
important because the answers may or may not add two groups to the
list of Americans who had the courage to speak out against slavery
during the 18th and 19th Centuries. This list of Americans is
collectively known as the abolitionists, and they worked long and hard
to make the morality of slavery an issue on the scene of national
American politics. It is the purpose of this paper, therefore, to
discover the Mennonites' and Tunkers' doctrines on the issue of
slavery, and if possible to make a judgement whether or not the
Mennonites and Tunkers should be classified as abolitionists.
The position of the Tunkers on slavery, surprisingly, was clearly
defined for church members by the time of the Civil War. The church's
position had been established by the religious denomination at least
since 1782, although it went through many changes before being
finalized in 1845. The Tunkers, by tradition, hold an annual
denominational meeting to discuss important issues which have caused
debate within individual churches during the preceding year. The
meetings are congresses at which church policy is debated, and then
decided upon by vote. It was at these annual meetings that the Tunker
position on slavery was defined. Since 1778, minutes have been kept
of the meetings, and the great majority of these records have survived
to this day.
The earliest written example of the issue of slavery being
4
discussed at an annual Tunker meeting can be found in 1782. A
decision on the issue of slavery, in fact, is the only one recorded
within the minutes that year. The minutes state, "It has been
unanimously considered that it cannot be permitted in any wise by the
church, that a member should or could purchase negroes, or keep them
as slaves."1 Furthermore, the minutes continue: But concerning Brother John Van L., who had bought a considerable time since a negro wench and the same has given birth already, during that time, to four children by fornification, it is the united and cordial counsel of the brethren that the said Brother L. shall let the old negroe wench go free from this time on ... 2
John Van L. is later advised that if the negro woman does not wish to
leave Van L.'s family, Van L. is to free her and then enter into a
contract with her for wages. The Tunkers, therefore, had indeed taken
a stance against slavery in America at least as early as 1782 when the
stance was recorded in the minutes of their annual meetings.
The negro woman's children are also not left out of consideration
by the denominational meeting of 1782. The minutes record Van L. is
to "have them schooled," and then to "give the children free at the
age of twenty-one years."3 This consideration is unusual for the
times since very few Americans advised the education of African
Americans, and some states were creating laws to prohibit it. Even if
the case of John Van L. took place in northern states which were
gradually seeking to abolish slavery from the mid-1780's on, however,
northerners rarely sought to provide freed slaves with an education.
1 ?Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the Church of the Brethren (Elgin, Il. : Brethren Publishing House, 1909), 7.
2 ?Ibid., 7.
3 ?Ibid., 7.
5
There seems to have been, therefore, an element of sympathy for the
plight of African Americans present within the Tunker denomination
which was rarely seen among other segments of the white population.
Further evidence of this sympathy will be presented throughout the
course of this paper, along with a discussion of a Mennonite sympathy
along similar lines. Finally, the paper will seek to address whether
or not the Tunkers and Mennonites in Virginia deserve to be classified
as abolitionists because of their sympathy for the plight of black
Americans, or if the denominations somehow fell short of this
classification despite their sympathy.
First, however, it is necessary to trace the steps of a Mennonite
and Tunker immigration into Virginia which may have affected the two
denominations' views of slavery. A large immigration of Tunkers into
Virginia began in 1775 or 1776, just after a Tunker named John Garber
was sent from Pennsylvania to Virginia to "scout out the land."4 The
immigration was caused by the fact that the Tunkers were trying to
escape religious persecution in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where state
laws had been passed against people dissenting from the Anglican
faith. An old Tunker letter records that by the year 1787, at least
45 families had migrated from Pennsylvania and Maryland into the
Shenandoah Valley.5
Mennonite immigration into Virginia followed much the same route
as Tunker immigration, but began at a far earlier date. The
Mennonites began immigrating from Pennsylvania into Virginia in 1728.
Their immigration was apparently sparked by William Penn's death in
4 ?D.H. Zigler, A History of the Brethren in Virginia (Elgin, Il. : Brethren Publishing House, 1908), 30.
5 ?Ibid., 41-42.
6
that same year. When Penn died, his sons had inherited his land, and
immediately restricted the availability of land grants within
Pennsylvania. Large tracts of land, however, were still available in
the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and this attracted Mennonites to
immigrate into the state.6 The Mennonite immigration lasted into the
first quarter of the 18th century. It is also clear, however, that
for both the Mennonites and Tunkers, a small immigration explosion
occurred just after 1785, when the Virginia General Assembly passed
the "Statute of Religious Freedom."7 By the year 1800, therefore,
both the Mennonites and Tunkers had substantial populations within
Virginia.
At the annual Tunker meetings during and after the immigration,
the issue of Tunkers owning slaves once again became a topic of
discussion. This is perhaps not surprising, since a large portion of
the Brethren denomination in the United States had just migrated into
a state with a slave economy. Since the invention of the cotton gin
in 1793, in fact, slavery had become more widely accepted in Virginia
and the rest of the South, as slave-owners felt more blacks were
needed to feed the increased capacity of the textile industry.
Although Virginia itself was a tobacco state, it too had adopted a
greater acceptance of slavery because tobacco was a labor-intensive
crop. Any further justifications offered for slavery such as the
cotton demand, consequently, were welcomed by many Virginians.
More importantly for this discussion is the fact that the South's
justifications for slavery may have had an influence on the Mennonites
6 ? Harry A. Brunk, History of Mennonites in Virginia 1727-1900 (Staunton, Va. : McClure Printing Co., 1959), 10.
7 ?Zigler, Brethren in Virginia, 36.
7
and Tunkers who immigrated to Virginia. Although it had already been
decided that the Tunkers would not own slaves, for example, the
question of whether they could or not was again raised at an annual
Tunker meeting held in Blackwater, Virginia in 1797. In the minutes
of the 1797 meeting, the official Tunker position on slave-owning is
again restated, but with one important change. The minutes reiterate
that: "It was considered good, and also concluded unanimously, that no
brother or sister should have negroes as slaves; and in case a brother
or sister had such, he (or she) has to set them free."8 The minutes,
however, go on to record that the time at which the slave children in
a Tunker's possession are to be set free has been changed from the
1782 minutes regarding slavery. The minutes record that: "if they
(the slaves) have children, they shall stay with the brother as
servants until they are twenty-five years old; he is to have them
taught reading and writing, and then bring them up in the fear of the
Lord, and when they enter on their twenty-sixth year, to let them go
out free with a good suit of clothing (frei kleid)."9 The release age
of slave children, therefore, has been changed from 21 years old in
1782 to 25 years old in 1797.
Although it can never be proven absolutely, the change of release
age may have reflected the influence of southern sentiment upon Tunker
thought. The changing of the release age from 21 to 25, after all,
would allow southern planters to keep their slaves an extra four
planting seasons. The change may even have been a ploy, therefore, to
make the Tunker church more attractive to southern planters. Some
proof of this hypothesis does exist, and it comes from the minutes of
8 ?Brethren Minutes, 18.
9 ?Ibid., 19.
8
the same Tunker meeting during which the release age of slaves was
changed.
At that same meeting in 1797, a question was asked not just about
the release age of slaves, but about what to do with slave-owning
citizens who desired to become members of the Tunker church. The
minutes of the meeting record the answer: And in the case a person is drawn by the grace of God, who has negroes, and desires to be received into the church, then it is to be laid before him before being received by baptism into the church, that it is the brotherly and united counsel that brethren and members having negroes for slaves, and thinking that they could not at once emancipate them, may hold them so long as the nearest church may deem that they had earned the money (the slaves cost), and then, according to the counsel of the church, to let their slaves go out free ... "10
The issue of the release age of slaves and the issue of what to do
with slave-owners requesting church membership appear to be
interconnected at the 1797 meeting. The issues both are written upon,
in fact, in "Article 1" of minutes, as if they were one and the same
issue. It is entirely possible, therefore, that a southern slave-
owners had applied to become members of the Brethren denomination, but
had objected to the release age of 21 as being too early. The
Tunkers, upon hearing this objection, yielded to southern sentiment by
making the release age later. They hoped that this would make the
Tunker denomination more attractive to potential southern members.
Further evidence of the possibility the release age was changed
to make the Tunker denomination more attractive to southerners can
again be found in the meeting of 1797. The answer given to the
question on what to do about slave-owners wishing to join the church,
10 ?Ibid., 19.
9
after all, states that the owners may keep their slaves "so long as
the nearest church may deem that they had earned the money (the slaves
cost), and then, according to the counsel of the church, let their
slaves go out free ... "
The Tunkers, in other words, were trying to accommodate slave-owners
who did not want to automatically release slaves who were over 25 upon
the slave-owner's entry into the church. This new measure
accommodated these slave-owners by allowing them to keep their slaves
until they had regained the money originally spent on the slaves. A
measure requiring an automatic release of slaves, of course, would
have turned away many a southern planter from the Tunker denomination.
Overall during the annual meeting of 1797, therefore, it is clear
that the Tunkers changed church doctrine to accommodate southern
opinion. Southern sentiment had become an influence on the
denomination because many of its members immigrated into Virginia and
either accepted a new morality, or desired to make the church more
attractive to southerners. It must also be remembered, however, that
the Tunkers were still one of the only groups in the South against
slavery, and possibly the only group advocating the education of slave
children. The Tunkers, in fact, restate their opposition to slavery
forcefully at the end of the 1797 discussion on slavery, almost as if
to say we have made concessions to southern opinion, but we are still
a strong anti-slavery group. The last sentence of the discussion
reads: "Further it is considered, if a brother, contrary to this
conclusion, would purchase negroes, and would not emancipate them, he
would have to be considered as disobedient, and we could have no
fellowship with him until he sets them free."11
11 ?Ibid., 19.
10
* * *
From the meeting of 1797 until the Civil War, the subject of
slavery comes up periodically at the Tunkers' annual meetings. Some
of the decisions at the meetings reflect little change in Tunker
opinion, while other decisions appear more momentous in the evolution
of Tunker doctrine. In 1813 at an annual meeting, the age for the
release of slave children is reversed back to the age of the 1782
decision, but with one small exception. Males are to be released at
the age of 21 again, while females are to be released at the new age
of 18.12 The release age of females, in other words, was three years
younger than the age had been in 1782.
There are probably a couple of different reasons this
unprecedented change in the release age of females could have taken
place. The first reason might be that the females married at an
earlier age than the males, and therefore were considered to have
reached an adult age earlier. This reason, however, is unlikely when
compared with the second possible reason. The better reason for the
change of the release age of females to a lower age than that of the
males is the males were more valued as agricultural workers. There
was probably a movement within the denomination to lower the release
ages of slaves, but since the males were more valued in the field,
their release age was kept higher than the females' age. At the
denominational meeting of 1813, therefore, the Tunkers had once again
hardened their stance against slavery by lowering slave release ages
overall, but the higher release age of males reflected that southern
opinion still held a large influence at denominational meetings.
The hardening of Brethren attitudes against slavery continued
12 ?Ibid., 31.
11
until the Civil War. In 1835 at an annual meeting held in Cumberland
County, Pennsylvania, for example, an important question was asked of
a white church. The question was whether or not African Americans
might be allowed to join the denomination. Article twelve of the
minutes records the answer: It was considered, that inasmuch as the gospel is to be preached to all nations and races, and if they come as repentant sinners, believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and apply for baptism, we could not consistently refuse them ... if they prove faithful, they should be considered on an equality of full membership.13
African Americans, therefore, were not only welcomed to join the
church in 1835, they were offered the equality of a full membership.
This fact may not be that remarkable, however, because at the time,
many white churches in the South offered blacks memberships.
One can assume that since a full membership was offered to the
blacks involved with this query, the blacks must have been allowed to
come and worship with white church members in Tunker meeting houses.
This assumption is confirmed by what is written later in article
twelve of the 1835 meeting. The article records that: "inasmuch we
receive our fellow members with the holy kiss, and there is a
repugnance in some of our white members to salute colored persons in
this manner, the colored members should bear with that weakness, and
not offer the kiss to such weak members until they become stronger,
and make the first offer, etc."14 It is clear, therefore, that the
Tunkers did indeed plan on allowing black church members to worship
with whites. It is also clear, of course, that the Tunkers were not
devoid of some racist attitudes, but the fact that the Tunkers
13 ?Ibid., 60.
14 ?Ibid., 60.
12
welcomed blacks into their churches as early as 1835 demonstrated they
were opening their hearts to other races. The Tunkers had shown a
unique sympathy for the plight of African Americans by considering the
holy kiss publicly, which was not common among white churches at the
time.
At an annual meeting held in Roanoke, Virginia in 1845, the
Tunkers continued to step-up their opposition to slavery. At this
meeting, a query was raised regarding whether or not Tunkers could
hire slaves from their owners for temporary work. Many historians,
such as Samuel Horst and D.H. Zigler, have noted Brethren and
Mennonite farmers used to sometimes hire slaves from their owners to
plant and harvest. At meeting of 1845, however, the Tunkers decided
this practice went against the Bible. The minutes of the meeting
state: "In regard to hiring slaves, (it is) considered but little
better than purchasing and holding slaves, and that it would be best
for a follower of Jesus Christ to have nothing at all to do with
slavery."15 The Tunkers, therefore, began taking steps in 1845 to
limit the practice Horst and Zigler noted.
The issue of whether or not to accept African Americans into the
denomination is also is once again discussed at the meeting. It is
decided that Blacks are to be accepted as members of church if they
request membership and are repentant, as before, but this time it is
highly recommended by the elders of the church that white members
welcome blacks with the holy kiss. The minutes record that: ... if colored persons are once received as members into the church, the members should be at liberty to salute them (kiss them) in the like member as white members, at the same time having patience with those who may be weak in the faith, and can not do so. The assembled elders, however, consider it as the more perfect way, to which
15 ?Ibid., 85.
13
we should all strive to come, viz., that love, which makes no distinction in the brotherhood in this respect. (See James 2: 1-10.)16
The biblical reference in the minutes refers to a passage in which
James warns the early church against favoritism being given to any
group or tribe among them. James writes that God has proven the poor
are often richest in faith, and therefore advises church members to
treat others as they themselves would like to be treated. The
Tunkers, quite similarly, are advised to strive to give black church
members the holy kiss, and to show no favoritism towards whites. The
meeting of 1845, therefore, had seen two important additions to Tunker
beliefs regarding race relations - they were not to hire slaves, and
they were to give blacks the holy kiss.
At the annual meeting of 1853 in Beaver Dam, Maryland, a new
problem comes up regarding the issue of slavery, one which at first
appears very strange. The new question raised is: "How shall any
branch of the church proceed, in case an individual wishes to become a
member, who is in possession of a slave or slaves, and the law of the
State in which they reside is such that they cannot manumit them in
safety, without transporting them beyond its limits ... ?"17 How, in
other words, are Tunkers to free slaves and guarantee some measure
safety to the newly freed African Americans? The question appears
strange because by 1853 the Tunkers had been freeing slaves for 70
years; why hadn't such a question come up sooner?
The answer to these questions concerns the Fugitive Slave Law.
In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law had been passed as a portion of the
Compromise of 1850. The compromise allowed California into the Union
16 ?Ibid., 85.
17 ?Ibid., 135.
14
as a free state; created Utah and New Mexico as territories in which
the question of slavery was to be determined by popular sovereignty;
ended the slave trade in Washington D.C.; and created the Fugitive
Slave Law. The Fugitive Slave Law itself made it easier for southern
planters to have runaway slaves captured and returned. Federal
commissioners, in fact, were appointed to accomplish just this task.
The commissioners issued warrants, gathered posses, and forced
citizens to aid in catching runaway slaves under penalty of fine or
imprisonment.
The problem which made freeing slaves unsafe, however, was that
the federal commissioners quickly became corrupted. A commissioner
was paid five to ten dollars per case, so he could stand to make a
small fortune if he simply created the runaway cases himself. Many
free blacks were kidnapped by planters, commissioners, and other
collaborating whites. The blacks were then sold back into slavery by
the commissioners, who received their five to ten dollar fee.
The question for the Tunkers, therefore, was how to keep their
former slaves from being kidnapped after they were freed. It was
decided that the issues involved in this matter were "too important"
to decide upon at one annual meeting, and so a special committee was
set up to study the issues and report on them at the next annual
meeting.18
During the meeting of 1854 in Ashland County, Ohio, a decision
was reached by the committee on the matter of freedman safety. The
decision comes in two parts. First of all, it is restated that "under
no circumstances can slavery be admitted into the church."19 Just
18 ?Ibid., 135.
19 ?Ibid., 143.
15
because freedmen are being kidnapped and sold into slavery, in other
words, it does not mean that the Brethren can condone slavery within
their denomination to protect slaves. Secondly, the decision adds a
new requirement on how the Tunkers are to emancipate slaves. The
minutes state: All of those over and above these ages (21 and 18), when manumitted, are to be paid by their former owner such a sum, either in money or goods, as may be judged right by the church in which the case may occur ... as a compensation for their services over age. This will enable the manumitted to migrate to a land of liberty, and will relieve the conscience of the liberator from the burden of taking with him to the bar of God the wages of oppression."20
The Tunkers, in other words, had come up with a way to help their
former slaves reach the slave-free states of the North. They would
pay their ex-slaves money for services rendered by the freedmen after
they had been set free, and hopefully this money would allow the
freedmen to travel north safely. In the meeting of 1854, therefore,
the Tunkers had both rejected the possibility of allowing slavery
within their church to "protect" blacks, and had given their freedman
a way to travel north safely.
The final question on slavery raised at the annual Tunker
meetings came in the midst of the Civil War. The year was 1863, and
the meeting was held at Clover Creek Church in Blair County,
Pennsylvania. The question is one which might have been expected
during a time of heated sectional division over union and slavery.
The query at this meeting asked, "What should be done with a brother
that would preach that slavery was right according to the Scriptures,
20 ?Ibid., 143.
16
and cause discord among the brethren?"21
The question is answered as follows: "Inasmuch as the brethren
always believed, and believe yet, that slavery is a great evil, and
contrary to the doctrine of Christ, we consider it utterly wrong for a
brother to justify slavery, either in public or in private, and that
he should be admonished, and if obstinate, shall be dealt with
according to Matt. 18."22 Matthew 18 states that if there is a
brother who sins against the church, he is to be brought before two or
three of his fellow church members, who are to try to show him the
error of his ways. If the sinner will not listen to the advice,
however, Matthew states that the sinner is to be treated as if he were
"a pagan or a tax collector."23 Anyone preaching in favor of slavery
who will not stop it upon advice from his or her fellow church
members, therefore, is to lose their membership in the Tunker church.
Overall, the Tunkers' stance against slavery had existed at least
since 1782, and possibly before an annual Tunker meeting held that
year. It is impossible to know whether or not the stance existed long
before that year because the Brethren minutes only go back to 1778.
The position against slavery was softened in 1797 due to the
immigration of a large number of the Tunkers into Virginia, but was
once again hardened in 1813 when the release age of slave children was
dropped back to ages 21 and 18. In 1835 blacks were allowed full
memberships in the Tunker churches, and in 1845 the temporary hiring
of slaves was forbidden. The Tunkers, in other words, demonstrated a
21 ?Ibid., 219.
22 ?Ibid., 219.
23 ?The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, Mi. : Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1978), 826.
17
consistent pattern of sympathy for the plight of African Americans
which was rare among white Virginians during the first half of 19th
century. The denomination even went so far as to encourage their
members to greet black church members with the holy kiss, an act which
flew against the dominant mores of the South.
* * *
The Mennonite position on slavery is less clear than the Tunker
position, although it is clear that slavery was opposed by the
Mennonites both before and during the Civil War. The reason the
Mennonite position is less clear is because the denomination did not
keep minutes of its biannual conferences until April of 1860. It is
stated at the beginning of the available minutes that church elders
said the Mennonites held annual or semiannual conferences from 1835 to
1859, but no records exist of these meetings.24 The elders also
stated that it was during these pre-war years of 1835 to 1859 that the
Mennonites first took a firm stand against slavery. Better evidence
of the Mennonite stance against slavery, however, can be found within
the existing minutes of the Mennonite conferences kept after 1860, and
within the memoir of a church member who lived during the Civil War.
At a Mennonite conference held in April 1864, a question was
asked regarding whether or not the Mennonites could temporarily hire
slaves. The answer to this question reveals the overall position of
the Mennonites on the issue of slavery. The minutes record that: Decided since it is against our creed and discipline to own or traffic in slaves; it is also forbidden for a brother to hire a slave unless such slave be entitled to receive the pay for such labor by the consent of his owner. But where neighbors exchange labor, the labor of slaves may be received.25
24 ?Minutes of the Virginia Mennonite Conference (Scottdale, Pa. : Mennonite Publishing House, 1939), 1.
18
The Mennonites, therefore, could not own slaves, but could hire slaves
under certain conditions. The first condition was if the money a
Mennonite would normally have paid the slave's master was paid to the
slave instead. The second condition was if a Mennonite was borrowing
slave labor from a neighbor in return for labor the Mennonite himself
had rendered to the neighbor. The Mennonites do not appear as
staunchly opposed to slavery as the Tunkers were because the Tunkers
had not only outlawed all hiring of slaves, but accomplished it 19
years earlier in 1845.
The fact that the Mennonites had "decided since" that it is
against the Mennonite creed and to "own or traffic" in slaves,
however, does display a sympathy for blacks which was rare in the
South. The denomination had also made the unusual requirement of
church members to pay the slaves and not the slaves' masters when they
hired temporary work. In this way, the Mennonites would not be
helping the institution of slavery to profit, but instead be paying
the slaves themselves. It is less clear why the Mennonites could
exchange their labor for slave labor, since the slaves' masters would
profit in the form of receiving Mennonite labor.
The most important phrase for this discussion contained within
the answer on hiring slaves, however, is the statement which says the
Mennonites had "decided since" that they could not own or traffic in
slaves. This phrase in itself may allow an approximate date to be
established for the beginnings of the Mennonite position against
slavery. The phrase indicates the Mennonites had decided sometime
before the 1864 conference to take an anti-slavery position. There is
no mention of an anti-slavery position in any of the conference
25 ?Ibid., 6.
19
minutes before 1864, however, indicating the Mennonites had taken a
stance against slavery sometime before the minutes began being kept in
1860. It is very likely, therefore, that the Mennonites had taken an
anti-slavery position prior to the Civil War, just as the Tunkers had.
Another firm indication the Mennonites had taken a position
against slavery prior to the Civil War comes from a personal memoir
written by Peter S. Hartman. Hartman was a Mennonite who lived in
Rockingham County, Virginia when the Civil War erupted. He was in
constant jeopardy of being drafted by the Confederacy because he had
come of age during the war, and fled north with General Philip
Sheridan after his raid on the Shenandoah Valley in 1864. Hartman
went on to become a prominent member of the Mennonite church, and was
the primary advocate in the founding of Eastern Mennonite High School.
Towards the end of his life, Hartman wrote down his memories of the
early 1860's in a document entitled Reminiscences of the Civil War.
At the beginning of Hartman's memoir, the author takes the time
to explain the Mennonite position on slavery so the reader can have
some background before he elaborates on the experiences of the
denomination during the war. Hartman writes, "The Mennonite church
away back, almost one hundred years ago, at least, was opposed to
slavery and would not allow any of the members to hold slaves, neither
would it allow them to hire any unless the slaves themselves would get
the money."26 He continues, "The Mennonites could exchange work with
slave work, but did not hire or own slaves. Slavery was a great evil
and I believe I shall give you a couple of instances."27 Hartman,
26 ?Peter S. Hartman, Reminiscences of the Civil War (Lancaster, Pa. : Eastern Mennonite Associated Libraries and Archives, 1964), 5.
27 ?Ibid., 5.
20
therefore, confirms what was written about slavery in the Mennonite
Conference's minutes. The Mennonites could not own slaves, but could
hire them under certain circumstances.
Furthermore, Hartman writes the Mennonite church decided to
prohibit slavery "almost one hundred years ago." Considering the fact
that Hartman's memoir had to be written before his death in 1934, his
statement would put his projection of when the Mennonites prohibited
slavery at least as early as 1834, and possibly before. It is clear
therefore, that between the evidence presented in the minutes of the
Virginia Mennonite Conference and the evidence presented in Hartman's
memoir, it can be determined the Mennonites had taken a firm stance
against slavery prior to the Civil War.
Hartman himself shows a bit of the Mennonite sympathy held for
African Americans by trying to show within his memoirs why he believed
slavery to be unjust. Hartman writes that slavery was a "great evil,"
and that he wished to provide a "couple instances" to demonstrate how
this evil worked. The first instance Hartman gives is of a neighbor
and roadmaster named Mr. Harrison who owned slaves. One day, Hartman
reports that he saw Mr. Harrison hit a slave so hard he knocked the
slave over, and into a fence.28 On another nearby farm, Hartman also
witnessed the whipping of a slave. He describes the event as follows: I happened to be close by, when for some reason, unknown to me, he (the foreman) got mad at this slave, ran to a horse and unbuckled a leather line, folded it up, and walked up to this slave and thrashed him like a horse. I didn't even hear him grunt; he just took it all and did not say a word.29
The author, therefore, takes the time within a memoir primarily on the
28 ?Ibid., 6.
29 ?Ibid., 6.
21
Civil War to illustrate the evils of slavery. Most of the memoir is
about the Mennonites' struggle to get an exemption from military
service in the Confederate Army, so it can be seen that Hartman
thought it of an extra importance to show his fellow Mennonites the
evils of slavery. This act by Hartman, in fact, provides tangible
evidence the Mennonites had a sympathy for black Americans which was
unique in the South.
* * *
One question which comes up if the stances of Tunkers and
Mennonites against slavery are considered, is what exactly was the
nature of the denominations' resistance to slavery? Was the
resistance vocal or quiet? Was it locally disruptive, or locally
invisible? Very few historians have noted the Mennonites' and
Tunkers' resistance to the peculiar institution in the South, and none
have documented the nature of this resistance, so the question seems
like a pertinent one to answer.
One way in which to consider this question is to try to determine
the number of black church members each denomination had before the
Civil War. If either denomination actually had black members, after
all, the fact would have been a visible demonstration to the local
populations that the denomination had liberal attitudes regarding
race. The question of vocal demonstrations against slavery will be
discussed later.
Evidence which suggests blacks joined the Tunker denomination
does exist in various resources. First of all, as mentioned earlier,
a query was brought before the annual meeting of the Brethren in 1835
concerning whether or not blacks could join the denomination. The
Tunkers decided blacks could receive the "equality of a full
22
membership."30 This fact suggests that at least one black applied for
and received membership at that time, and possibly a great deal more.
Brethren historian Freeman Ankrum, in fact, has indicated his research
led him to believe there were already black church members in Maryland
by 1835, although Ankrum does not indicate how he arrived at this
conclusion.31 It is possible Ankrum believed this just on the basis
of hearsay.
The next solid proof of an African American being received as a
member of the Brethren church comes in 1843. In that year, a freed
slave named Samuel Weir was baptized in Virginia by Tunker minister
Peter Nead.32 The story of Samuel Weir has become a famous one among
the Brethren. Weir had originally been the slave of Andrew McClure's
family in Bath County, Virginia. When McClure and his wife applied to
join a Tunker church in the region, however, the McClures were told
they would have to set Weir free. The McClures complied with this
requirement, and Weir was so impressed by his emancipation, and the
fact that the McClures gave him material assistance upon his release,
that Weir applied to join the local Tunker church as well.
Weir went on to become a prominent member of the Tunker church in
Ohio. In August of 1849, the former slave applied to open a Tunker
mission for African Americans in Frankfort, Ohio.33 Weir was approved
to open this mission, but had to labor until 1865 before he registered
his first official black converts. In 1872, Weir was approved to
30 ?Brethren Minutes, 60.
31 ?Freeman Ankrum, Sidelights on Brethren History (Elgin, Il. : The Brethren Press, 1962), 92.
32 ?Ibid., 75.
33 ?Ibid., 75.
23
conduct the baptism and marriage ceremonies for the Tunkers, and in
1881, he was ordained to the position of church elder. The story of
Samuel Weir, therefore, is not just the story of one black church
member, but the story of a church member who sought to bring other
blacks into the Brethren denomination. He began his church membership
in Virginia, and then moved to Ohio where he became a successful
Tunker minister.
The story of a black man named John T. Lewis is similar to that
of Weir. Lewis, like Weir, was impressed with the teachings and
actions of the Tunkers as a young man. In 1853, at the age of 18,
Lewis became a member of the Tunker church in Pipe Creek, Maryland.34
Stories about Lewis have become famous like those of Weir. The first
reason for Lewis' fame is that in 1877 Lewis made a daring rescue of
Mrs. General Charles Langdon, her daughter Julia, and a family nurse.
The three women were trapped in a carriage pulled by a runaway horse
in Elmira, Maryland, and Lewis leapt from his own carriage into the
runaway carriage to save them. The second reason for Lewis' fame is
that through his contact with the Langdons, he became a lifelong
friend of writer Mark Twain. Twain, in fact, once wrote on the back
of a picture of Lewis: The colored man ... is John T. Lewis, a friend of mine. These many years - thirty-four in fact. ... I have not known an honester man nor a more respect-worthy one. Twenty-seven years ago, by the prompt and intelligent exercise of his courage, presence of mind and extraordinary strength, he saved the lives of three relatives of mine, whom a runaway horse was hurrying to destruction. Naturally I hold him in high and greatful regard.35
34 ?Ibid., 118.
35 ?Ibid., 119.
24
The stories of Samuel Weir and John T. Lewis are but two examples
of blacks who joined the Tunker denomination before the Civil War.
They are, in fact, the well known stories, which indicates there were
probably other blacks who joined the denomination as well. Further
evidence of black members in Tunker churches comes from the
denominational decision in 1845 that Tunkers should welcome black
members with the holy kiss. This fact indicates, like the decision to
allow black members in 1835, that at least some blacks applied to
become members of the denomination and were accepted. The Tunkers,
therefore, had indeed made a statement against slavery before the
Civil War by providing a visual example of their liberal attitudes
towards race which could be seen by other whites. It is not clear,
however, whether or not the Tunkers purposefully did this to try to
influence other whites. It is also not clear whether or not there were
many black church members in Virginia, since Samuel Weir himself left
the state and moved to Ohio. Weir, it was rumored, said he left
Virginia because he felt the local population would not give him a
chance to establish a good life.36 Virginia may have provided a
climate which was not very hospitable to black freedman.
Regarding the Mennonites, little to no evidence exists showing
their denomination had black members either before or immediately
following the Civil War. The minutes of the Virginia Mennonite
Conference do not record that any questions concerning black
membership were discussed before, during, or immediately after the
war. This does not mean, however, there were no black church members
before the Civil War, but it does make the possibility less likely.
One written document which can be considered besides the
36 ?Ibid., 75.
25
conference minutes when looking for evidence of black members in the
Mennonite church is a report the Confederate War Department made when
72 Mennonite and Tunker men were arrested for allegedly trying to
escape north during the Civil War. Sydney S. Baxter of the
Confederate War Department wrote the report, and no where in it does
he mention there were any blacks with the Mennonites and Tunkers when
they were arrested. The report read: I have examined a number of persons, fugitives from Rockingham and Augusta Counties, who were arrested at Petersburg in Hardy County ... One of the main tenants of those churches is that the law of God forbids shedding human blood in battle and this doctrine is uniformly taught all their people. As all these persons are members in good standing in these churches and bear good characters as citizens and Christians, I cannot doubt the sincerity of their declaration; that they left home to avoid the militia and under the belief that by the draft they would be compelled to violate their consciences.37
Baxter went to conclude that: "All of them are friendly to the South
and they express a willingness to contribute all their property if
necessary to establish our liberties. ... I recommend that all the
persons in the annexed be discharged on taking the oath of allegiance
and agreeing to submit to the laws of Virginia and the Confederate
States in all things except taking arms in war."38
The fact that Baxter does not mention the Mennonites and Tunkers
as having black men with their party when they were arrested is
important because one would suspect that if this were the case, Baxter
would almost certainly would have mentioned it because the fact would
37 ?Sydney S. Baxter, "Report on the Mennonites and Tunkers, March 31, 1862" Letters Received, Confederate Secretary of War, National Archives, 444-B-1862, Record Group 109.
38 ?Ibid., 444-B-1862, Record Group 109.
26
have appeared suspicious to the Confederate War Department. Baxter,
in fact, does not even mention the Mennonites' and Tunkers' stances
against slavery. He instead portrays the Mennonites and Tunkers as
"friendly to the South," and willing to contribute to the Confederate
cause. The War Department representative appears not to have
discovered during his interviews that the two denominations were
opposed to the southern institution. By no means, of course, does
such a simple analysis of Baxter's report rule out the possibility
that there might have been black members in the Mennonite churches of
Virginia, but it does shed some additional doubt upon the idea.
Furthermore, the report also adds doubt to the idea that the Tunker
churches of Virginia had black members.
* * *
If the Mennonites and Tunkers of Virginia had few and possibly no
visual examples of their liberal attitudes regarding race in the form
of black members, the question must be asked of whether or not the two
denominations were making any verbal protests against slavery to
Virginians? The two groups most certainly were making verbal protests
to slave owners who applied for membership within their denominations,
but did they actually preach to the general public against slavery?
Were they a group of southern abolitionists? The report by Sydney S.
Baxter indicates that some of the Tunkers and Mennonites did not even
mention their beliefs against slavery when they were arrested in May
of 1863. This fact alone, however, does not prove the denominations
were not trying to persuade the general public of the evils of
slavery. A more in-depth approach must be taken to arrive at this
conclusion.
One piece of evidence that the Mennonites and Tunkers were not
27
very vocal regarding their views against slavery comes from a series
of letters written by Tunker elder John Kline. Kline was a Tunker who
was appointed to negotiate with the Confederate government during the
Civil War, but he also took up the causes of the Mennonites in his
letters and meetings. The two denominations, in fact, fought side-by-
side for an exemption from military service in the Confederate army.
They both believed the Scriptures prohibited killing one's fellow man,
and they had both descended from Anabaptist groups in Germany which
had similar anti-war teachings.
Kline's letters were an attempt by him to convince first the
Virginian government, and then the Confederate government to give the
denominations exemptions from conscription acts. The amazing thing
about the letters for this discussion, however, is their entire text
is spent explaining the two denominations' anti-war positions, and
then elaborating on the loyalty of the two groups. No where in
Kline's descriptions of the denominations does a mention of their
positions against slavery appear. It appears as if Kline, in fact,
did not want to mention the denominations' anti-slavery positions
because he was trying to convince the Confederate government the two
denominations were completely loyal. The Tunker elder did not wish to
jeopardize the denominations' chance for an exemption from military
service.
One example of Kline's letters reads as follows, and is printed
in its entirety so the reader can judge Kline's intent: Bowman's Mill, Rockingham County, Virginia July 23, 1862.
Much esteemed friend Col. John Baldwin: I seat myself in behalf of my Brotherhood, the German Baptists, so called Tunkers, to drop a few lines in order to give you a correct view of our faith toward our God, and in consequence of that, our
28
unpleasant standing in and under our government which we now live. As there is now a session of Congress of the Confederate States on hand of which you are a member and the representative of our immediate district, I wish to enlist you to advocate our cause in that body. I wish to be as short as possible. I will, therefore, at once inform you that we are a noncombatant people. We believe most conscientiously that it is the doctrine taught by our Lord in the New Testament which we feel bound to obey. Having made in our conversion a most solemn vow to be faithful to God in all his commandments, it is and should be regarded by us as the first in importance and above all made by man to man or to earthly government. Hence we feel rather to suffer persecution, bonds, and death than break the vow made to our God. Yet as touching things and obligations, which in our view do not come into conflict with the law of God, in whatever way our government may demand of us we feel always ready and willing to do. Such as paying our dues and taxes imposed upon us and assisting in internal improvements, our profession binds us to do. Paying unto the government that which is due it, but that which is due to God we wish to give to him. Through his Son and the apostles, he says `recompense to no man evil for evil.' To him we feel to render obedience and therefore are bound not to take up carnal weapons to destroy our fellow man whom he teaches us to love. We have noticed that those who have been made prisoners and paroled, their oath is regarded by the government. They are let alone and no one presses them into the army. This obligation is only made to man. Why then should not that solemn obligation be regarded by our government, which we have made to our God without any earthly interest whatsoever? Why not leave that class of men at their homes who can not, for conscience sake, make soldiers to kill others, that they may make provisions for the sustenance of life, which is as necessary to any government as soldiers? It seems that the late Conscript law made by the Confederate Congress, whether so intended or not, is made use of to overrule or nullify our state law. This law was made by our State legislature to exempt us from military duty provided each one pays a tax of $500 and two per cent on all taxable property. This, though as oppressive as it is, we were willing to pay, hard as it went with some. Now as we are informed through the above cited conscript act of Congress, we are again to be troubled. Our rights given to us by our kind legislature, for which we have paid so dearly, is to be made null and void. Please use all your powers and influence in behalf of us, so that the Conscript law or all other Confederate laws be so constructed that Christian conscience be so protected that the south shall not be polluted with bloody persecution. We as a people try to be as little burdensome to the government as possible. We believe that all the precepts and ordinances of our Lord should be equally regarded and should be practically obeyed according as given to us by the Master. We believe it be our duty, but of love,
29
to contribute to the poor and needy, and consequently we maintain our poor members and let none of them become dependent upon the country parish. These are some of our tenants given in general terms. In brief, we take the New Testament for our guide and Jesus Christ the man of our religious faith. Please give this, our request, a candid consideration. At least so much as to write to me your opinion. If we can not get protection of our Christian liberty in the south, the home of our nativity, we will be compelled to seek shelter in some other place, or suffer bonds and persecutions as did many of our forefathers. For we can not take up carnal weapons of warfare and fight our fellow man to kill him.
Yours with highest esteem, John Kline39
The letter, as can be seen, focuses primarily on the stance of
the Tunkers against making war on one's fellow humanity. An example
of Kline writing for the Mennonites will be given shortly to show how
they were portrayed. The key to this letter, however, is that no
where in it does Kline mention the Tunkers' stance against slavery.
On the contrary, the Brethren are portrayed as citizens with perfectly
normal southern opinions except for the fact they won't take up arms.
The Tunker elder even writes: "Why not leave that class of men at
their homes who can not, for conscience sake, make soldiers to kill
others, that they make provisions for the sustenance of life, which is
as necessary to any government as soldiers?" Kline, in other words,
is offering Tunker assistance to grow produce and raise livestock for
the Confederate government, which they actually did throughout the
course of the war. The elder also makes another offer of assistance.
He writes, "Yet as touching things and obligations, which in our view
do not come into conflict with the law of God, in whatever way our
government may demand of us we are always ready and willing to do.
Such as paying our dues and taxes imposed upon us and assisting in
internal improvements, our profession bind us to do." Kline, 39 ?Zigler, Brethren in Virginia, 115.
30
therefore, attempted to portray the Tunkers as completely loyal to the
Confederacy in his letter to Col. Baldwin, while at the same time
managing to avoid mentioning the Tunker's anti-slavery position.
The trend of trying to portray the Tunkers and Mennonites in the
most mainstream light possible continued in other Kline letters. One
such letter was written to the editor of the Rockingham Register on
April 15, 1862. The letter is particularly important because in it,
Kline attempts to defend the Mennonites and Tunkers against Register
accusations that the two groups contain "Union Men." The letter reads
as follows, and is again written in its entirety so the reader can
judge its intent: Large Jury Room, Court House of Rockingham, Virginia. April 15, 1862. Mr. Editor of the Register: In your issue of the 11th inst. I see an article headed Union Men Taken. In the article several names are mentioned who are known to have strong Union proclivities. Otherwise, the article made no nominal charge against us, which of course, it was out of your power to do but the article carries with it a strong insinuation as though we had used our influence against the Confederacy. If this has been so, why not come out and point to the place where, or when and what the act, or deed, and if this cannot be done, which I know it can not, then why shut us up in the gaurdhouse? Why make such false insinuations against good and innocent citizens, and publish them to the world? Why contrary to the constitution take up men without their accusers making affidavit that the thing charged was to their knowledge true? But all that is now necessary, is for some vague fiend to raise a falsehood and tell it to some of his captains who have no better principle than themselves, and law and constitution is at an end. If this is the kind of laws that we are contending for, then may the Lord save us from it. But I think by the quivolous movement so far transacted there has been more done to make Union men and against the South than all the influence of the Union men ever did, because they were inactive. This influence is active: 1. Because near all those men that are taken are known to be innocent. 2. It shows to the world that those who are engaged in arresting such men on nothing but falsehood and misrepresentation are acting under a cowardly fear of being overcome.
31
3. It is keeping all such out of employment and usefulness at home, preventing them from making provisions for man and beast. 4. It is keeping just so many men out of the army as are engaged in guarding those and weakening the army that much. 5. It makes a considerable expense upon the government which all could be avoided, besides that many other privledges and usefulness to both their families and neighborhoods.40
The letter from Kline to the editor of the Register clearly
denies the accusation that the Brethren are disloyal to the South.
Kline admits there are a few Union men who are members of the Brethren
church, but say these Union men have been "inactive." He also says
the Tunkers had not used "influence against the Confederacy," and
challenges the Register to provide any evidence of this accusation
against them. To reinforce the idea of Tunker loyalty, Kline makes
several statements at the end of the letter to show how the Tunkers
were providing aid to the Confederacy. One statement is: "It is
keeping all such out of employment and usefulness at home, preventing
them from making provisions for man and beast." This statement, of
course, refers to the fact that the Tunkers were growing food for the
use of the Confederate government. Another statement is that the
Tunkers provide "usefulness to both their families and neighborhoods."
No where in the letter, again, does Kline mention the Tunkers' views
against slavery. The Tunker elder instead portrays the denomination
in the most loyal light possible.
One of the best examples of Kline's attempts to show the loyalty
of the Mennonites and Tunkers comes from a petition he wrote to the
Confederate Congress in April 1862. The petition was an effort by the
two denominations to get the Confederate Congress to pass a religious
40 ? John Kline, "30 letter Kline received, ca. 1861" Special Collections, Alexander Mack Memorial Library, Bridgewater College, Va.
32
exemption from the nationwide conscription act, since the
denominations had already been exempted from Virginia's state
conscription act. Kline's petition starts out by once again
explaining the nature of the two denominations' religious objections
to war. "The undersigned members of the Tunker and Mennonite Churches
in the State of Virginia ... ," Kline writes, "established Creed or
faith of our churches, against bearing arms. This doctrine is coequal
with the foundation of our Churches, and is we think and feel, the
Command of God."41
Later in the document, however, is where Kline makes a concerted
effort to address the issue of Tunker and Mennonite loyalty. "It may
not be amiss to state here," the elder writes, "that under the
excitement of the hour, indiscreet, and inconsiderate persons have
preferred the charge of disloyalty against our Churches. This charge
has not the semblance of truth, in fact, and has doubtless originated
from our faith against bearing arms."42 Kline, therefore,
specifically tried to fight off the charge of disloyalty in a document
signed by both the Tunkers and Mennonites. The petition, in fact, was
the document which helped the Confederate Congress push through the
Confederate Exemption Law for religious objectors on October 11, 1862.
Once again, however, Kline did not mention the two groups he
represented were out-of-line with the Confederate government's
policies regarding slavery. The Tunker was not being untruthful, but
did seem to be following a policy of not telling the Confederate
government what they didn't ask. In this way, Kline managed not to
endanger the possibility that the two denominations might receive an
41 ?Zigler, Brethren in Virginia, 119.
42 ?Ibid., 119.
33
exemption from the Confederate Conscription Act.
The nature of Mennonite and Tunker opposition to slavery as
represented in John Kline's letters, therefore, seems to have been a
quiet opposition to the institution. The two religious groups did not
preach to the public concerning the issue, and did not exhort the
public to take the same position which they themselves had taken. The
Tunkers and Mennonites, in short, did not want to jeopardize the
safety of their families and community by taking a strong public
stance against slavery. They instead handled the issue of slavery
within their own denominations, and according to their own separate
denominational doctrines. This, of course, did not prevent the
occasional potential member from learning a church's creed on slavery,
but it probably did prevent the churches from receiving widespread
accusations of disloyalty to the South.
There are a couple other pieces of evidence besides the letters
of John Kline which support the hypothesis that the Tunkers and
Mennonites maintained only a quiet opposition to slavery. The first
piece of evidence comes from the personal notes of Kline. At one
point during the notes, in September 1856, Kline writes about a
meeting held at Linville Creek Church in Rockingham County. The
meeting was called to decide what to do about a few local church
members who had not complied with the denominational order in 1854 to
free slaves.43 Kline writes in his notes that the meeting decided
slavery was "a very delicate matter to act upon in the present
sensitive condition of public feeling on slavery."44 He concludes,
"But it is the aim of the Brethren here not to offend popular feeling,
43 ?Ibid., 88.
44 ?Ibid., 88.
34
so long as that feeling does not attempt any interference with what
they regard and hold sacred as their line of Christian duty."45
Kline, therefore, actually wrote in his notes that it was Tunker
policy not to be so vocal about their anti-slavery position as to
offend public opinion. The Brethren were instead going to treat the
issue quietly unless their church policies were interfered with from
the outside.
The second piece of evidence that the Mennonites and Tunkers were
not very demonstrative about their anti-slavery positions comes from a
series of articles written about the two denominations in the
Rockingham Register. The articles were written during the Civil War,
and fluctuate between claiming the denominations were loyal or
disloyal to the Confederacy. The most interesting thing about the
articles for this discussion, however, is that one of them reveals the
editors of the Register discovered the Tunkers' position against
slavery, but were given non-provocative reasons for the position by
the Tunkers. The Tunkers, in fact, claimed they had only banned
slavery within their churches for economic reasons.
A Register article which appeared on May 17, 1861 eventually lead
to the editors' discovery that the Tunkers were against slavery. The
article is titled "To The Polls: To The Polls!," and focuses on who
will vote for and against secession in Rockingham County. The only
groups who are mentioned within the article as possibly being traitors
to the Confederacy are the Mennonites and Tunkers. The article
states: We have heard that some of our peaceful, orderly, law- loving fellow-citizens, the Germans (Mennonites and Tunkers), will vote against it, or not vote at all. They have a right to do this, of course, and we hope
45 ?Ibid., 88.
35
they will do it, so that their names and their record will be committed to posterity. We would like the world to know who is true and loyal to Virginia now, in this day of her trial and her struggle for liberty and independence.46
The two denominations, therefore, are encouraged to cast votes against
secession so the local population will know they are disloyal. In the
next article in that same newspaper, interestingly enough, the editors
write what should be done with traitors. "They should be hung as high
as Haman."47
The Tunkers apparently took offense at the remarks made against
them in the May 21 issue of the newspaper, and invited the newspaper's
editors to come to their annual meeting held at Beaver Creek Church in
Rockingham County. The article which results from the editors' visit
is the one in which the Tunkers state their only objection to slavery
is an economic one. The Tunkers also add, interestingly enough, that
the Virginian Tunkers have no link to the abolitionists of the North.
The article reads as follows: Let no man question the loyalty of their State and section of the Tunkers living in the South. As a matter of economy, their Church has nothing to do with our peculiar institution, but they interfere with nobody who sees proper to hold slaves. ... They have no sympathy with abolitionists and abolitionism; and their brethren from the free States will have to let this delicate subject alone when they come to see them, or they will be openly rebuked. In our intercourse with with the intelligent members of the ministers of the Church at Beaver Creek, we heard more than one express his disapprobation of the course of the abolitionists in the Church in the Northern and Western States.48
46 ?"To the Polls: To the Polls!," Register (Rockingham), 17 May 1861, front page.
47 ?"Beware of Traitors," Register (Rockingham), 17 May 1861, front page.
48 ?"The Tunkers," Register (Rockingham), 24 May 1861, front
36
It appears the Tunkers of Virginia, therefore, had a policy which
required them to "interfere with nobody who sees proper to hold
slaves." This policy, however, seems to have been different from that
held by Tunkers in the northern and western states, who are described
as "abolitionists in the Church" of whom the southern Tunkers
disapprove.
This new information raises the question, of course, of whether
or not the Tunkers in Virginia actually allowed some of their members
to own slaves? The Tunker ministers of Beaver Creek Church did, after
all, tell the editors of the newspaper they did not interfere with
anybody who owned slaves. Something else the ministers said, however,
indicates the Virginian Tunkers did not hold slaves. The ministers
said the Tunkers of the South did not own slaves out of "a matter of
economy." The Beaver Creek ministers, therefore, were explicitly
trying to justify why the editors of the Register did not see southern
Tunkers with slaves.
A second question comes up from this new information as well, and
it is whether or not the Tunkers of Virginia primarily had economic
objections to slavery as they claimed? Evidence suggests the
Virginian Tunkers' objection to slavery was based primarily on moral
and Scriptural bases, and not on an economic basis at they told the
Register's editors. This evidence comes from the minutes of a meeting
held prior to the Civil War at Linville Creek Church in Rockingham
County. The meeting was not an annual denominational meeting, but was
instead a meeting of Tunker church representatives from the counties
page.
37
of Virginia.49
The Linville Creek meeting was held on March 2, 1855 to discuss
how to enforce a denominational decision to make sure all slaves were
freed passed at the denominational meeting the year before. The
minutes of the meeting show that the Tunker churches of Virginia had
Scriptural and moral objections to slavery, but does not record
economic objections. The minutes read that: We, the Brethren of Augusta, Upper and Lower Rockingham, Shenandoah and Hardy counties having, in general council meeting assembled in the church on Linville Creek; and having under consideration the following question concerning those Brethren that are holding slaves at this time and who have not complied with the requisition of Annual Meeting of 1854, conclude 1. That they make speedy preparation to liberate them either by emancipation or by will, that this evil may be banished from among us, as we look on slavery as dangerous ... and as a great injury to the cause of Christ and the progress of the church. ... Furthermore, concerning Brethren hiring a slave or slaves and paying wages to their owners, we do not approve of it.50
The Brethren of Virginia, therefore, had taken it upon themselves to
band together and follow the advice of denominational meetings to end
slavery in all Tunker churches. Furthermore, they had banded together
not because of a matter of economy, but because they felt slavery was
"a great injury to the cause of Christ." The Tunkers of Virginia
undoubtedly felt that slavery violated the teachings of Christ found
in the Scriptures, and were morally outraged by this fact. If they
had an economic objection to slavery, they did not mention it at this
meeting, and surely it took a secondary position to the Scriptural
objection of a Christian church.
49 ?Zigler, Brethren in Virginia, 87.
50 ?Ibid., 87.
38
A question which ultimately comes up as a result of reading the
minutes of the Linville Creek meeting in 1855, consequently, is why
did the ministers of Beaver Creek Church later tell the editors of the
Register that the Virginian Tunkers had only an economic objection to
slavery? The answer is clear. The Beaver Creek ministers were simply
following the policy the Virginian Tunkers had of maintaining a quiet
resistance to slavery. The ministers did not wish to jeopardize the
safety of their families and communities when asked why Virginian
Tunkers did not hold slaves, so they simply covered up the fact that
the Virginian Tunkers had a moral objection to slavery. This moral
objection, the ministers reasoned, might outrage the editors of the
Register, and cause a negative article to be printed about the
Brethren. The Beaver Creek ministers succeeded in keeping the issue
of slavery within denominational limits that day in 1861.
There is less evidence the Mennonites were following a policy of
not being overtly verbal about their anti-slavery position. Chances
are, however, that since the Mennonites let John Kline represent them
during the Civil War, they had a policy similar to the Tunkers' own
policy on slavery. Kline, in fact, would probably not have
represented a religious group which spoke loudly against slavery
because it would have jeopardized his own denomination's chances for
an exemption from military service.
None of the Virginia Mennonite Conference's minutes reflect
whether or not the Mennonites had an aggressive verbal policy
regarding their anti-slavery position. The minutes do record,
however, that the Mennonites were still allowed to hire slaves under
certain conditions during the Civil War. This fact indicates the
Mennonites' anti-slavery rhetoric was probably not as strong as that
39
of the Tunkers, who had completely prohibited the hiring of slaves in
1845. The Mennonites of Virginia, consequently, probably took an even
quieter position against the institution of slavery than the Tunkers
took.
* * *
In conclusion, the Mennonites and Tunkers of Virginia both took
stances against slavery long before the Civil War, and continued to
hold these positions throughout the duration of the war. The two
denominations believed slavery was wrong according to the teachings of
Christ, and banished it from their churches. The Brethren
accomplished this feat as early as 1782, and possibly before, but no
minutes exist of their annual meetings before 1782 to prove such a
claim. Concerning the Mennonites, it can only be safely determined
that slavery was abolished in their denomination sometime before 1860.
Peter Hartman claimed slavery was banned long before this date, but
little other collaborating evidence exists on the subject.
The Tunkers of Virginia showed an amazing sympathy for the plight
of African Americans which was not commonly found among other whites
of the South. The Tunkers showed this sympathy by requiring slave-
owners to educate their slave children before emancipation, and then
to provide the freedman with new clothes and travel money. The
Brethren also took the step of allowing blacks to become full members
of their churches in 1835. It cannot be determined whether the
Virginian Tunkers followed these policies to the letter, but it can be
determined that the Tunkers enforced the policy requiring slave-owners
emancipate their slaves. This in itself, of course, was no small
accomplishment in a land dominated by pro-slavery sentiment. The
Tunkers, therefore, distinguished themselves from other white
40
Virginians in this regard.
The Mennonites also showed they had a unique sympathy for the
plight of blacks which was not commonly found among other Southerners.
They too had banned slavery within their denomination before the Civil
War. "The Mennonite Church away back," Peter Hartman wrote, "almost
one hundred years ago, at least, was opposed to slavery and would not
allow any of the members to hold slaves. ... "51 Mennonites did not,
however, totally prohibit the hiring of slaves, which may indicate
they were not as staunchly opposed to the peculiar institution as the
Tunkers were. There also is some evidence that Mennonite-hired slaves
received wages for their work, however, which may lesson my claim that
they weren’t as staunchly opposed to slavery as the Tunkers. No
evidence exists that the Mennonites required the education of slave
children, or gave freedmen new clothes upon release.
For both denominations, however, members must have labored under
extreme difficulty to end slavery within their churches in a slave
state. The odds were stacked against the Mennonites and Tunkers
succeeding, and yet both churches attempted to do so before the Civil
War. The Tunkers, in fact, had some fluctuations in their
denominational policy against slavery in the 1790's, probably due to
the influence of southern sentiment. These fluctuations show the type
of opposition the denominations must have been up against. For the
Mennonites, it is much harder to determine whether they had any
fluctuations in their policy against slavery, since the denomination
kept very few records of its activities before 1860. One thing which
can be determined about both groups, however, is they both maintained
quiet stances in their opposition to slavery. This, perhaps, is the
51 ?Peter S. Hartman, Reminiscences, 5.
41
greatest influence southern sentiment had upon Mennonite and Tunker
church practices. The denominations felt it was too risky to take
vocal stances against slavery in the South, so they simply kept their
opposition to slavery within their own churches. The Mennonites and
Tunkers of Virginia, therefore, were abolitionists in the sense of
desiring to see the end of slavery, but were only silent
abolitionists. The lives of their family members were on the line,
and their communities were in constant danger, so they found it often
difficult to publicly condemn the outrage of slavery.
End.