Conviction | Freedom | Hypocrisy | Perspective | Zeal

FIGHTING ABOLITION
John Chavis was just 15 years old when he joined the ranks of the Continental Army to help fight on the side of the colonies in the battles of the American Revolution. He was later to speak with warmth and enthusiasm about the part he played as a young man. He knew he was a patriot at the founding of our country. Later he went on to study at Washington Academy, later known as Princeton University. During his lifetime he was active as an educator and as a Presbyterian minister. He operated schools that turned out many leaders for the infant nation. But the one thing he was most outspoken about was the abolition of slavery. He was an ardent anti-abolitionist. He was a slave owner and something of a social theorist. He feared an uprising if the abolitionists had their way. He minced no words when he warned of the dangers. He referred to the slaves as “abominable wretches” who were…