The man who wrote the words of "Amazing Grace" in 1773 was a former slave-trader who'd spent a wild, boozy youth getting into trouble and having near-death experiences before converting to Christianity and eventually getting ordained. His most famous composition directly references his experiences and acknowledges his guilt over his involvement in the slave trade. But it would be another 15 years before John Newton spoke out publicly against slavery—in part because, amazingly, many Christians at the time believed the Bible justified slavery.
As the Library of Congress explains, Newton came to spend time with a young member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, the son of one of Newton's friends. Wilberforce experienced his own religious awakening and conversion, and the two men began a lengthy dialog concerning their duty as Christians. Newton encouraged Wilberforce to use his power and privilege to make the world a better place—especially concerning the slave trade. Newton prevailed on Wilberforce to introduce legislation abolishing the slave trade in Britain.
Newton himself finally spoke publicly about slavery in 1788, publishing "Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade." The publication made his position on the issue extremely public at a time when there was still significant opposition to ending slavery—in fact, it would be nearly two more decades before slavery was outlawed in Britain in 1807.
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