[Speaking to a gathering in New York, September 17, 1799 - Approximate reading time: 3 minutes]
My fellow New Yorkers, I stand before you today here in New York as Aaron Burr. Some of you know me as the grandson of Jonathan Edwards, that great theologian whose sermons shaped our moral conscience. Others know me as the Princeton graduate who served under General Washington in the Continental Army at Valley Forge and Monmouth. You know me as the lawyer who has defended the rights of the accused, as your legislator in our state assembly, and as your Senator in Philadelphia. I have founded the Manhattan Company, bringing clean water to our city and prosperity to our citizens.
But I come before you today not to speak of these accomplishments, but to address a matter that weighs more heavily upon my conscience than any political victory—the question of human bondage in our republic.
I have witnessed the horrors of bondage firsthand, and I tell you with absolute conviction: slavery is an abomination that stains the very soul of our republic. How can we, who declared that all men are created equal, who fought a revolution for the principle that no man should be enslaved by another’s will, continue to hold our fellow human beings in chains? This is not merely a political question—it is a moral imperative that demands our immediate attention and action.
I have seen the auction blocks of New York, witnessed families torn asunder, children sold away from their mothers’ arms. This is not the America we fought to create! This is not the liberty we proclaimed to the world! We have become hypocrites in the eyes of nations and, more damning still, in the eyes of Divine Providence. Every day we permit this system to continue, we betray the very principles upon which our nation was founded.
When I served in the Continental Army, I fought alongside African American soldiers who endured the same hardships at Valley Forge and charged into battle at Monmouth with the same courage as any patriot. How then can we deny them the very freedom for which they fought? During my years in the New York State Assembly and as your Senator, I have seen gradual emancipation laws taking effect in Pennsylvania and complete abolition in Massachusetts. These experiences have only strengthened my conviction that slavery is not only morally wrong but economically backward.
In our New York legislature, I have consistently voted for measures to bring about gradual emancipation. Some call this approach too cautious, others too radical. But I tell you, we must be both principled and practical! We cannot undo in a day what has been built over generations, but we can and must begin the work of redemption today. Every day we delay, more souls are born into bondage, more families are destroyed, more of our national honor is compromised.
As an attorney, I have taken cases defending the rights of free blacks in our courts, often without payment, because I believe the law must protect all citizens equally. Through my work with the Manhattan Company, I have employed free men of color in positions of responsibility, proving that when given opportunity, they excel as well as any other citizens.
The economic arguments for slavery ring hollow to my ears! Yes, there is profit in human bondage—the same profit that enriches the pirate and the thief. But what prosperity can be built upon such foundations? I have seen the industries of New York thrive through the labor of free men and women. Free labor is not just morally superior—it is economically superior!
I challenge every person in this room to examine their own conscience. Can you look upon a man in chains and say he deserves his fate? Can you witness a mother separated from her child and claim this is God’s will? Can you call yourself a Christian, a patriot, a human being, while supporting such an evil system? I think not! I believe in the goodness of the American people, and I believe that when confronted with the truth, you will choose justice over convenience, freedom over profit.
I stand before you not as a perfect man, but as a man committed to progress. I have been called ambitious, and I am—ambitious for justice! My political opponents question my motives, but I question theirs. How can they claim to love America while perpetuating its greatest sin?
The time for equivocation has passed! The time for half-measures and weak compromises is over! The time for action is now! I call upon every citizen of New York to join me in this great moral crusade. Write to your representatives! Support businesses here in New York that employ free labor! Make your voices heard in the halls of power and in the streets of our great city!
We stand at a crossroads, my fellow Americans. We can choose to be the generation that ended slavery, or we can be remembered as the generation that perpetuated it. The choice is ours, and history will judge us by what we do in this moment.
Let us begin the great work of making America truly the land of the free—not just for some, but for all who call this nation home!
Thank you.
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