With the use of publications such as the Mirror of Liberty, authors such as John G. Whittier were able to advance their radical abolitionist agenda. In this poem, titled Our Countrymen in Chains, Whittier used abrasive language and vivid verbal imagery to attempt to describe the plight of the enslaved man. Often coupled with this work is the “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” image (as it is here) and is truly an example of disruptive moral propaganda. While many works such as this were designed to incite direct violent action against the supporters of the slave industry, Whittier decides to make the ever-difficult appeal of emotion to stir disruptive tendencies. His call to “scatter the living coals of truth” throughout the heart of the nation offers the clearest insight into his disruptive agenda.

And shall we scoff at Europe’s kings, when Freedom’s fire is dim with us, and round our country’s altar clings the damning shade of Slavery’s curse?