Niagara-on-the-Lake School
Cellar Inscription:
When I found I had crossed, there was such a glory over everything. I felt as if I was in Heaven. I am free and they shall be free. I shall bring them here.
Harriet Tubman
PARLIAMENT OAK SCHOOL, NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE: 325King St., Niagara-On-the-Lake, Ontario
This site commemorates the signing of the Emancipation Compromise of 1783, which took place where the Parliament Oak School now stands. The Act itself did not abolish the institution of slavery in Canada, but it gave the first blow to the slow destruction of slavery.
Inscription on frieze on building:
Upon this site according to historical records, during a period of extremely hot weather in August 1793, one of the sessions of the First Parliament of Upper Canada which provided the basis for freedom and democracy in this dominion was held beneath a spreading oak tree under the chairmanship of Sir John Graves Simcoe.
From this tree, which became known as Parliament Oak, and which stood many years as a symbol of strength and stability, the school received its name.
Major John Graves Simcoe had always condemned the institution of slavery as being, "both un-Christian and unconstitutional. From the beginning of his career in the House of Commons he openly expressed his discontent. When he became appointed as Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, he vowed to make laws which would dissolve slavery altogether in Canada.
However, once he became more accustomed with his new post, he realized quickly that there was more at issue than the rights of African-Canadians. The slaves were considered to be a form of property: equivalent to livestock, farm equipment, and land. The slave owners were not interested in losing their investments, and would not compromise until they were allowed to retain their property.
The final legislation read that the slaves themselves could not be freed, but their children and descendants could gain their freedom after the age of twenty-five. The Act also limited the period of a voluntary service contract to no more than nine years. Most importantly, further importation of human chattel was banned as of July 9, 1793.
Saint John's AME Church, Membership Handbook and Church Calendar, 1997
FURTHER READING:
Thomas, Owen A., Niagara's Freedom Trail, a Guide to African-Canadian
History on the Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Economic and Tourism Corporation,
1996