Free Will Baptists and Abolition By David Joslin Historians have a way of taking a few decades, lumping them together, and assigning them a unique role in the human story. Each decade has its own marks of identification, and it is as though, had one been there at the right time, the transition from one age into the next would have easily been detected. However, not many recognize change in social attitudes when they occur. Most sleep through the changes as though they were not even there. American society experienced drastic social changes between 1850 and 1915. During this time, the great Civil War was fought. Following the war, immigration, urbanization, educational reform, and industrialization were the movements of the era. These movements were problems, not only within themselves but they magnified the country’s spiritual and social ills as well. Social reformers rose up during this time. Northern Free Will Baptists became absorbed in various social reforms including the total emancipation of human slavery. The Free Will Baptist hymnal The Psalmody, published in 1853, contained several songs relating to Free Will Baptist thought and position on slavery. One song was titled, The Slave Made Free: I saw him kneel in … Continue reading Let My People Go
