Open Letter to President McKinley by Colored People of Massachusetts

In Short

This document is a formal, searing indictment of President William McKinley’s refusal to address the rampant racial violence and systemic disenfranchisement of Black Americans in the South at the turn of the 20th century. Composed by the Colored National League in Boston, it serves as a powerful artifact of American political rhetoric, capturing a moment where Black leaders held the federal government accountable for its hypocrisy. It has lasted because it articulates with piercing clarity the contradiction between America’s stated democratic ideals and the reality of state-sanctioned terror.

The Story

The narrative begins with a bold assertion of agency: the Colored National League, meeting in Boston in 1899, declares that they are not "suppliants" but citizens who possess a legal and moral right to be heard. They confront President McKinley regarding his "incomprehensible silence" on the violent suppression of Black rights. The core of the argument rests on the paradox that the United States government—which claims to be a bastion of freedom—actively intervenes in foreign conflicts like the Cuban struggle for independence while remaining willfully, calculatedly indifferent to the domestic "war" being waged against Black Americans.

The authors trace the history of this oppression back to the foundations of slavery, noting that the "seeds" of freedom and equality planted by the Declaration of Independence took root in the minds of Black citizens, only to be met by a violent, reactionary resistance in the South. They argue that the Southern white establishment is engaged in a conscious effort to reduce Black Americans to a state of permanent serfdom, using lawless legislatures, mob violence, and rigged conventions to destroy any progress toward true equality.

The text moves into a harrowing account of specific atrocities that occurred during McKinley’s tenure. The authors point to the bloody revolution in Wilmington, North Carolina, where citizens were murdered for attempting to exercise their rights, and the massacre at Phoenix, South Carolina. They emphasize that the President witnessed these outrages but refused to speak, even in his annual messages to Congress. The indictment intensifies as the authors describe how McKinley, during a tour of the South, seemed to actively court white racial prejudice, preaching "patience" to Black citizens while advocating for imperialism abroad.

The climax of their protest is the description of the lynching of a man named Hose in Georgia. They depict a scene of "hellish cruelty" where thousands gathered to participate in the burning of a human being as if it were a holiday festival. This act, followed by the murder of others who dared to protest, reveals a society relapsing into barbarism. The authors conclude that the federal government possesses the power to act—as evidenced by its military intervention in Cuba—but lacks the political will to protect its own citizens. They finish with a final, desperate challenge to the President: if he truly desires to protect human rights and national stability, he must find a way to honor the Constitution at home as diligently as he does abroad.

How It Unfolds

A declaration of citizenship The authors immediately establish their authority by rejecting the role of passive petitioners, identifying themselves as American citizens entitled to the full protection of the law. They frame their communication as a necessary duty to a government that has failed its own people.

Tracing the roots of conflict The text connects the legacy of slavery to the current struggle for civil rights, arguing that the promise of the Declaration of Independence is what drives the current Black pursuit of equality. They portray the subsequent Southern reaction as a calculated, violent attempt to suppress this inevitable progress.

Cataloging federal indifference The authors systematically list atrocities—Wilmington, Phoenix, and the Georgia lynchings—to demonstrate the severity of the crisis. They repeatedly contrast the President’s silence on these domestic horrors with his aggressive expansionist policies in the Pacific and Caribbean.

An ultimatum for justice The letter concludes by dismantling the President’s excuse of "constitutional inability," noting that legal obstacles are easily overcome when the government has the political will to act. The authors call upon the administration to prove its commitment to democracy by ending the "criminal aggression" occurring within its own borders.

The People

The primary figures are the members of the Colored National League, including Archibald H. Grimké, who represent the collective voice of Black citizens in Massachusetts. Their primary goal is to force the federal government to stop ignoring the systemic violence against Black lives. They are motivated by an unwavering belief in the democratic promise of the Constitution and a deep frustration with the "shameful silence" of the nation’s leadership.

President William McKinley stands as the antagonist of this account. His goal is to maintain political unity and pursue imperialist interests abroad, a process that relies on the acquiescence of the Southern political establishment. The obstacle standing between him and his own stated democratic values is his refusal to jeopardize his base of support by alienating those who enforce white supremacy. By the end of the letter, the authors expose him as a leader who prioritizes geopolitical power over the basic humanity of his own citizens.

In Its Own Voice

We address ourselves to you, sir, not as suppliants, but as of right, as American citizens, whose servant you are, and to whom you are bound to listen, and for whom you are equally bound to speak.

The authors define their relationship to the President at the very opening of the letter, establishing a tone of firm, democratic equality.

The suppression, the terror wrought at the South is so complete, so ever-present, so awful, that no negro’s life or property is safe for a day who ventures to raise his voice to heaven in indignant protest and appeal against the deep damnation and despotism of such a social state.

This passage captures the visceral, life-or-death atmosphere that necessitated such a public appeal from a safer distance in Massachusetts.

What It's Really About

This work is fundamentally an argument about the nature of federal responsibility. It posits that a government’s legitimacy is derived from its ability to protect all of its citizens equally, regardless of race. The text explores the tension between democratic ideals and the reality of a caste system, specifically challenging the notion that the Constitution can be ignored whenever it is inconvenient to the ruling party. It forces the reader to confront the question of whether a nation can rightfully claim to defend democracy abroad while simultaneously permitting the systematic destruction of that same democracy within its own borders.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of civil rights, the evolution of American political rhetoric, or the long struggle for racial justice will find this document essential. It is a raw, unflinching look at the late 19th-century American landscape, written with a sophistication and intensity that commands attention. The prose is formal and elevated, reflecting the high stakes of the discourse at the time.

Those who read it today should be prepared for the visceral, graphic descriptions of historical racial violence, which remain deeply disturbing. The authors do not spare the reader, as their goal is to shock the conscience of the nation. While the language is rooted in the 1899 political context, the themes of institutional complicity and the selective application of "human rights" feel startlingly contemporary. Reading this is not a comfortable experience; it is a confrontation with a past that is not truly "past." It stays with you because it highlights how long-standing the appeals for basic safety and citizenship have been, and how deeply the struggle for accountability is embedded in the American fabric. It is a powerful reminder of the courage required to speak truth to power when that power remains indifferent to the suffering of its own people.