<P> Whittier's poem "At Port Royal 1861" describes the experience of Northern abolitionists arriving at Port Royal, South Carolina, as teachers and missionaries for the slaves who had been left behind when their owners fled because the Union Navy would arrive to blockade the coast . The poem includes the "Song of the Negro Boatmen," written in dialect: </P> <Dl> <Dd> Oh, praise an' tanks! De Lord he come </Dd> <Dd> To set de people free; </Dd> <Dd> An' massa tink it day ob doom, </Dd> <Dd> An' we ob jubilee . </Dd> <Dd> De Lord dat heap de Red Sea waves </Dd> <Dd> He jus' as' trong as den; </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> Oh, praise an' tanks! De Lord he come </Dd> <Dd> To set de people free; </Dd>

Who was elected to the massachusetts state legislature and worked for the abolition of slavery