Slaveholding Weighed in the Balance of Truth, and Its Comparative Guilt Illustrated

In this powerful early‑American sermon, a New England pastor confronts the institution of slavery with unflinching moral clarity. He urges listeners to weigh the crime against God’s law and the shared humanity of the enslaved, insisting that the evil’s magnitude dwarfs any other sin recorded in history. By cataloguing the physical, spiritual, and societal wounds inflicted on those bound in bondage, he sets a foundation for urgent, collective responsibility.

The speaker’s language is bold and urgent, likening the nation’s complacency to a slumbering crowd perched on the edge of a burning crater. He castigates the press, the pulpit, and prevailing prejudice for silencing the oppressed, and calls for a thunderous awakening before the “car of Slavery” drives the country to ruin. Listeners are invited to join a movement that refuses the comforts of indifference, choosing instead to speak truth even at the risk of being labeled fanatical.