God made all His creatures free. J. Montgomery. [Freedom.] This hymn is No. iv. of his "Songs on the Abolition of Negro Slavery, in the British Colonies, Aug. 1,1834." It is in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "Slavery that is not." These "Songs" were published in his Poet's Portfolio, 1835. As given in Longfellow and Johnson's Unitarian Book of Hymns, 1848, and other American collections, it is composed of stanzas i., ii., v., vi., slightly altered. It is not in common use in Great Britain.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missio… Go to person page >
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