Slavery
Woolman's Journal focuses much on his decision to support anti-slavery. Woolman states that while in the Province of Maryland, "a deep and painful exercise came upon me....as the people in this and the Southern Provinces live much on the labor of slaves, many of whom are used hardly...".[1] The struggle is first seen when he discusses how he was required to write a bill of sale for a Quaker friend who had sold a slave. He completed the bill of sale because it was part of his job and the man that sold the slave was also a Quaker. However, after this event, Woolman took a more official stance in regard to his opinion, even explaining during the actual event that he "believed slavekeeping to be a practice inconsistent with the Christian religion".[2] His journal shows his inner turmoil as he grapples with understanding how he truly feels about the selling and buying of slaves that eventually led to publishing works such as his Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes.
Slavery is prominent in Woolman's journal, and it returns again shortly after the scene with the bill of sale as he discusses further opinions he has on the subject. He takes time to discuss those who he visited that did not take care of their slaves and how that made him feel uncomfortable while visiting. In contrast, Woolman discusses individuals who did take care of their slaves and how that made him feel more at ease. Shortly after that comparison, Woolman moves beyond the treatment of slaves and reflects on the idea that even if slaves were well cared for, they were still taken from their homes.[2] His continual discourse on slavery in his journal makes Woolman one of the first abolitionists.
Power
Woolman addresses one of the issues of slavery to be men having too much power: "men having power too often misapplied it...we made slaves of the Negroes and the Turks made slaves of the Christians."[2] This is an idea already a large part of American heritage, as many who traveled to America were seeking freedom of some kind. Woolman's focus on how power corrupts continued to be impactful as the nascent beginnings of the American Revolution began to coalesce (which was what had been occurring when Joseph Crukshank published the journal).
