The Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the United States.

£2,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A scarce copy of an important work by Charles Jones (1804-1863), also known as “the Apostle to the Blacks.” Writing in the wake of the uprising led by Nat Turner, many believed that resticting access to education and religious instruction for enslaved workers would prevent a recurrence. Jones argued to the contrary: “it is a remarkable fact in this history of the Negroes in our Country that their regular, systematic religious instruction, has never received in the churches at any time, that general attention and effort which is demanded …” He emphasised this in saying, “Ignorance - religious ignorance - so far from being any safety, is the very marrow of our sin against this people, and the very rock of our danger.” Jones was born and raised in Liberty Georgia on his father’s plantation. He was sent north and educated at Phillips Academy, Andover Theological Seminary and Princeton where he became a Presbyterian minister. During this time he entered a moral crisis over the injustice of slavery but instead of becoming an abolitionist, chose instead to become a missionary - believing there was a moral obligation to teach Christianity to the enslaved. “Jones returned to Liberty County in November 1832 where he established himself as a planter and began to develop a theory and plans for a mission to slaves. Farmers in the area had already been interested in such a project, and the availability of a well-educated, slaveowning clergyman provided them with the leadership they require

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