Rather, a man who would not defend
himself was worse than an infidel, and not deserving of pity.
In addressing the American people, Walker foresaw that if they
would treat Africans as men, they could all live together in
harmony. Georgia offered $10,000 for Walker if taken alive and
$1,000 for him dead. A year later Walker died under somewhat
mysterious circumstances, and some claimed that he had been
murdered. His pamphlet circulated widely throughout the North and the
South, and many believed that it helped to encourage slave
insurrections.
"Freedoms Journal", which had been founded in 1827 by Samuel E.
Cornish and John B. Russwurm, was the first in a long series of
Afro-American newspapers. Russwurm had been the first of his race to
receive a college degree in America. In their first editorial, they
proclaimed what was becoming a growing conviction. They
said that others had spoken for the black man for too long. It
was time that he spoke for himself. They also attacked slavery
and racial prejudice. They strove to make the paper a medium for
communication and debate within the Afro-American community.
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