Long-Lost Document Surfaces After 120 Years
A rare abolitionist scroll, signed by 116 New England Baptist ministers in 1847, has resurfaced in a Massachusetts archive. Volunteer researcher Jennifer Cromack found the 5-foot-long handwritten declaration in a slim box among 18th- and 19th-century journals. Titled “A Resolution and Protest Against Slavery,” the document had been considered lost for over a century, last referenced in a 1902 history book. American Baptist officials had searched Harvard, Brown, and other sites without success. The scroll’s pristine condition surprised historians, and its recovery has been hailed as one of the most significant Baptist archival finds of the abolitionist era.
Baptist Ministers Took Early Stand Against Slavery
The resolution was adopted on March 2, 1847—14 years before the Civil War. It marked a bold stance by northern ministers who declared slavery “an outrage upon the rights and happiness of our fellow men.” The signers expressed hope for reform but condemned growing tolerance for slavery. “Under these circumstances we can no longer be silent,” the document declared. The ministers cited their moral obligations to both oppressor and oppressed, stating that “Truth and Humanity and Public Virtue” required them to act. Their strong words signaled a deepening moral and theological divide within American religious life.
Context of Religious Division and Emerging Abolitionism
The scroll highlights a critical time in Baptist history. Two years earlier, Southern Baptists broke from the northern church over a missionary policy banning slaveholders. That split led to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. This document illustrates how northern Baptists responded by increasingly aligning with abolitionist values. It also sheds light on the denominational turmoil of the period and the courage of those who risked backlash for opposing slavery.
Supporters Hail Historical and Moral Significance
The Rev. Mary Day Hamel of the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts called the discovery a powerful reminder of the church’s justice-driven heritage. Rev. Kenneth Young of Haverhill’s Calvary Baptist Church found the document especially moving, praising the ministers’ moral courage. “They projected that freedom for our people is just,” he said. Archivists like Cromack and Badger emphasized its contemporary relevance, especially in ongoing conversations about justice and equality within faith communities.
Questions Remain About Those Who Stayed Silent
While historians celebrate the find, some raise questions. Rev. Diane Badger, who oversees the archive, is researching which clergy did not sign the resolution—and why. Scholar Deborah Bingham Van Broekhoven noted that many northerners were undecided about slavery at the time. “Most Baptists would have refrained from this kind of protest,” she said. Badger’s research also highlights key figures, such as Nathaniel Colver and Baron Stow, whose churches actively supported the abolition movement. Plans are underway to digitize the scroll and share it with the wider Baptist community.
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A volunteer finds the Holy Grail of abolitionist-era Baptist documents in Massachusetts
Photo by Michael Förtsch on Unsplash
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