Stephen Hopkins (politician) - Hopkins and Slavery

Hopkins and Slavery

Stephen Hopkins, like several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was a slave owner, and he mentioned five in his 1760 will. His five slaves consisting of a negro man, woman, lad, and two little boys, were bequeathed to close members of his family with tender instructions for their care that were highly unusual coming from any slave owner. His negro woman, Fibbo (Phibo/Phebe), was to go to his wife Anne and treated "so that Servitude may not be a Burthen to her," and his negro man, Saint Jago, was to go to his oldest son, Rufus, and treated "so that his Life may be rendered easy and comfortable." The will was never proved, because Hopkins lived another 25 years, and circumstances changed the instrument's provisions.

On 28 October 1772, Hopkins manumitted Saint Jago, and wrote the following in the manumission document:

"But, principally, and most of all finding that the merciful and beneficent goodness of Almighty God; by the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord: hath by the blessed Spirit taught all, who honestly obey its Divine Dictates, that, the keeping any of his rational Creatures in Bondage, who are capable of taking care of, and providing for themselves in a State of Freedom: is, altogather inconsistent with his Holy and Righteous Will."

While Hopkins felt that the bondage of self-sufficient "rational creatures" was against God's will, he also thought that unconditional freedom for some slaves would be an abrogation of responsibility. To this end, he refused to manumit his slave woman, even though it cost him his membership in the Quaker meeting. His rationale was simple: "She had Children that needed the Immediate Care of a Mother..." It appears that Hopkins' remaining slaves were not freed until after his death, but at least two of them, Primus and Bonner Jr., had been living semi-independently for several years before his death.

In 1774, while serving in the Rhode Island Assembly, Hopkins introduced a bill that prohibited the importation of slaves into the colony. This became one of the first anti-slavery laws in the new United States. There were several pressures occurring in the colony which lead to greater restrictions on the slave trade, the greatest of which was the pressure applied by the Quakers, who comprised a large percentage of Rhode Island's population. Hopkins' second wife was a Quaker, and as a consequence he became an active follower of this faith. Admonition from the Quakers was likely a compelling reason for Hopkins to begin freeing his slaves and introduce his antislavery bill. Other forces acting against this institution included the influence of the Congregationalist minister, Samuel Hopkins, and also the poor profit margin derived from the trade in New England.