INTRODUCTION 37 



sional trips in the East and South. Florida especially- 

 pleased him because of its mild climate. 



Intimate contacts with the agriculture of the South be- 

 tween 1841 and 1860 gave him ample opportunity to view 

 the institution of slavery at first hand. His articles on 

 the operation of southern plantations, for the most part, 

 refrain from the discussion of slavery in its controversial 

 aspects — this topic was taboo with agricultural editors 

 — but he was frequently asked to express his opinions 

 concerning it. In the summer of 1849 he prepared one 

 of the most thorough dissertations on the subject which 

 had been written up to that time. This elaborate essay 

 was subsequently published in the September and No- 

 vember, 1849, issues of De Bow's Review, x with editorial 

 comment by De Bow, the eminent southern economist and 

 publicist. Robinson did not believe in the theory of 

 slavery, but his views at this time were favorable to the 

 actual working of the institution as he had observed it. 

 He held that the negro was unable to function in a 

 civilized country without supervision, and that his lot 

 under slavery was far better than that of the lower 

 classes of Europe, especially in England. Subsequently, 

 as differences between North and South grew more and 

 more sharply defined in the late fifties, and possibly in- 

 fluenced by close association with Horace Greeley, Robin- 

 son became more critical of slavery. During the war 

 between the states he sided with the North, but took no 

 active part in the struggle. He agreed with, and sup- 

 ported, Greeley in his endeavors to bring about the end 

 of the war by peace negotiations. During the Recon- 

 struction Period, Solon became more than ever convinced 

 of the hard lot of the negro in an alien land, and his 

 humanitarian tendencies caused him to sympathize 

 strongly with the efforts of the colored people to readjust 

 themselves to changed conditions. 2 In some quarters his 



1 The Commercial Review of the South and West, 1849, pp. 

 206-25, 379-89, hereafter cited as De Bow's Review. This essay 

 will be reprinted in volume 2 of this publication. 



2 Cha/rleston Republican, April 8, 1867. 



