Book: An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, Upon Slave-Keeping

Overview

Benjamin Rush's Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, Upon Slave-Keeping (1773) is a direct moral and political indictment of slavery as practiced in the American colonies. Written as an appeal to colonists who prized liberty and natural rights, the pamphlet confronts the contradiction between the colonists' claims to freedom and their participation in human bondage. Rush frames his critique in the language of reason, Christian morality, and emerging Enlightenment ideals, urging readers to reconcile their public principles with private conduct.
The pamphlet speaks to a broad colonial audience rather than to activists alone. Rush does not merely denounce cruelty in abstract terms; he addresses the social, religious, and legal dimensions of slave-holding, challenging readers to recognize enslaved people as fellow humans entitled to dignity and freedom. The tone combines moral earnestness with an appeal to the readers' sense of consistency and reputation.

Arguments and Themes

Rush situates his case on multiple grounds that overlap and reinforce one another. He invokes natural rights and the universality of human dignity to argue that enslaving another person is fundamentally incompatible with the principles of liberty that justified resistance to British tyranny. Christian ethics supply a second pillar: slavery is presented as sinful because it violates charity, justice, and the golden rule. Rush stresses that a people who profess Christian faith cannot continue the practice of enslaving their neighbors without profound hypocrisy.
Practical and civic considerations also feature in Rush's reasoning. He suggests that slavery corrupts the moral fabric of a society, undermining virtues necessary for republican self-government, and that the presence of slavery weakens the colonies' moral claim against British oppression. Rush raises concerns about the social consequences of a system built on forced labor, implying that long-term stability and the cultivation of civic virtue are compromised by the perpetuation of bondage.

Rhetoric and Style

The pamphlet combines clear moral suasion with rhetorical contrasts meant to provoke conscience. Rush juxtaposes images of enslaved suffering with the colonists' appeals to freedom, creating a pointed moral paradox intended to shame rather than merely inform. His language is direct and appeals to the readers' reason and piety rather than to abstract theory alone, relying on familiar religious and philosophical vocabulary to make the case accessible and difficult to dismiss.
Rather than calling for violent upheaval, Rush favors persuasion and reform. His rhetoric aims to awaken sympathy and self-reflection, encouraging colonists to examine their values and actions. The pamphlet balances indignation with an expectation that enlightened citizens will correct their course, presenting emancipation as both a moral obligation and a test of civic sincerity.

Impact and Legacy

Rush's Address was an early, influential voice in the American antislavery conversation, contributing to a growing discourse that linked liberty and human rights to the abolitionist cause. While abolitionist movements would take varied forms and face deep resistance, works like Rush's helped to spread the moral critique of slavery among educated colonists and religious communities. The pamphlet anticipated later arguments for gradual emancipation and for aligning law and custom with the professed ideals of the new republic.
The legacy of the Address is ambivalent: it strengthened abolitionist sentiment among some contemporaries while reflecting the limits and complexities of 18th-century antislavery thought. Rush's appeal for moral consistency and humane treatment remained a recurrent theme in subsequent debates, and the pamphlet stands as a representative example of how revolutionary language about rights and liberty was turned inward to challenge social injustices at the founding moment.