Paul and Stephen, Unlikely Friends

Paul and Stephen, Unlikely Friends Rosalind C. Wiggins* This discussion ofNew England Quakers and race relations in the early nineteenth century is based on the writings of two Friends, Captain Paul Cuffe and Stephen Gould. In the process of writing and publishing the commentary forthe transcription ofCaptain Paul Cuffe 's Logs andLetters, 1803-1807, I found Stephen Gould's diaries a major resource for understanding the wider community of early nineteenth century New England Quakers. I. The Times Until the time ofthe Revolution, Quakers stood in a position ofeconomic and political power in the colony ofRhode Island. Newport, the chieftown and international port on the south end of Aquidneck Island, had been prosperous and thriving. It was also the dynamo behind the American slave trade that fueledthe burgeoning economy ofthe newly formedUnited States ofAmerica and had economic impact on the towns alongNarragansett Bay. However, because ofFriends' adherence to the Peace Testimony, and their stand as conscientious objectors, they had been eyed by many with suspicion . During the period ofthe British occupation ofNewport some Friends hadmovedto the mainland, Canada, orevenbackto England. Others stayed, trying to adhere to their principles of acknowledging "that of God in everyone," even the British forces holed up in their town. By the end ofthe Revolution and during the ensuing depression, Quakers withdrew from theirprevious public involvement in government and social issues. They were fearful because their young people were turning away from Quakerism in alarming numbers. One such was Nathanael Greene, who had left his East Greenwich Monthly Meeting after joining the military .1 Friends were aware that they had become suspect because of their relative prosperity and their stance as non-combatants during the War. Although they hadprospered financially, they believed theirbusinesses had been hampered by their beliefs in the need to avoid enterprises that had to do with slavery, the slave trade, and armaments. Yet, reviews of Newport's earliest economic success suggest that it largely depended on industries connected to the slave trade, because ofthe town's easy access by water to the Caribbean islands and the plantation * Rosalind C. Wiggins earned an MA in Black Studies in Education following a twenty-five-year career as a portrait and ecclesiastical sculptor. After teaching at Washtenaw Community College in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, she retired to work as the curator of the New England Yearly Meeting Archives. Since then she has published works about Friends andAfricanAmericans in eighteenth- andnineteenth-centuryNew England. Paul and Stephen, Unlikely Friends South. Its notably airy, cool summers also made it a fine resort for many urban Southerners who sought relieffrom their fetid, fever-ridden cities. It also provided excellent skippers, fine ship-builders, ample financial investment from men and firms [women could not own property legally]. Many owned large sugar plantations in the West Indies, vast cotton, indigo and tobacco acreage inthe South. Someownedsubstantialholdings onAquidneck Island and southward along Narragansett Bay. Stronger rum which withstood the long voyages to Africa was distilled in Rhode Island. Many imported Africans were sold in the West Indies before they could reach this northern port; there was no large market for slaves in the state so there were few visible evidences such as slave coffles, a slavejail or particular market. Slaves supplied to the big farms in South County were often brought there directly. However, there was a strong community offree blacks in the town, a few ofwhom were still enslaved when Stephen Gould arrived. There had been an outright ban on slave ownership in 1776 by the Quaker community.2 Gradual Emancipation had been enacted in the state in 1784, for which Quakers and Congregationalists were largely responsible. In fact, this law confounded problems for free blacks, making theirposition ambiguous and open to manipulation and deceit. Despite the touted freedom ofthe northern states, the 1793 Federal Fugitive Slave Law put all free blacks injeopardy. II. Friendship On August 8th of 1817 Captain Paul Cuffe wrote a letter from his sickbed at his home in Westport, Massachusetts to Stephen Gould. Being a shipbuilder and international merchant trader, he sent it by one ofhis coastwise vessels tohis friend's shop nearLong WharfinNewport: "I am inalow State ofhealth...