Williams' talk to explore slavery in Massachusetts and one Cape Codder's role

Barbara Clark

Special to Cape Cod Times

Published Feb 17, 2022 

When looking back at pre-Civil War American history, many from New England and the Northeast have tended to think of slavery as a predominantly Southern phenomenon. Not true.

A Washington Post/SSRS research poll in 2019 reported that Americans showed “limited knowledge” about slavery’s reach in the country in the 1800s. Only about half of respondents realized that slavery was also pervasive in the northern states.

Gregory Williams wants people to know more about this history, including about how Cape Cod was involved. Williams, a retired Massachusetts district court judge and a popular local speaker on history, will present a free Zoom talk, “Slavery and Segregation in Antebellum Massachusetts: The Law of Shaw,” on Sunday, hosted by the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth.

The virtual talk, says Williams, will offer an overview of the widespread pre-Civil War practice of slavery in Massachusetts, as the country expanded in both population and economic prowess. “There can be no meaningful study of American history without considering the depraved prevalence of slavery here, (as well as) its pernicious aftermath,” he says.

By the mid-18th century, for example, there were an estimated 4,500 individuals enslaved in Massachusetts alone.

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Williams plans to include background on how slavery of Indigenous peoples existed before the arrival of the Mayflower, likely carried out by traders in the 16th and 17th centuries. A more formalized "trade" in slavery was documented in 1619, when a vessel arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, carrying what were probably the first enslaved Africans to this country. 

In 1637, the vessel Desire would be the first documented ship to arrive in Boston with a cargo of enslaved Africans. After that, Northern colonists became heavily invested as shareholders in slave ships, their businesses profited from the trade and the use of enslaved people, and many transatlantic slave ships made landfall in Boston over more than a century.

As part of the discussion, Williams says he plans to focus on the life and career of West Barnstable resident and prominent jurist Lemuel Shaw (1781-1861), who served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and whose legal career involved numerous rulings on cases involving segregation and slavery. His father, Oakes Show was a Congregational minister who served as pastor of the historic West Parish for 47 years.

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Lemuel Shaw served the court, says Williams, during a seminal time when opinions about slavery varied widely, from the more radical views of abolitionists to those who wanted slavery to end “soon, but gradually.”

Williams says he hopes his talk will add to a more accurate and “meaningful study of American history,” noting that “Recognizing what factually happened is the only way for us to move toward fulfilling what this country was supposed to be.”

Talk on slavery

What: Gregory Williams’ talk on “Slavery and Segregation in Antebellum Massachusetts: The Law of Shaw,” sponsored by the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth

When: 2 p.m. Feb. 20

Where: Via Zoom link

Admission: Free

Registration (required): hsoy.org/events

LINK