In the 18th century, African Americans were mostly slaves. They were treated as white property and had very few rights. However, not all whites supported slavery. Two white English writers who created a black character to write poems in favor of abolition were William Blake, in The Little Black Boy, and William Cowper, in The Negro's Complaint. In 1788, William Cowper wrote The Negro's Complaint in favor of ending the slave trade. The poem criticizes slavery how horrible slavery was. The Little Black Boy by William Blake is from Songs of Innocence and was published in 1789. The poem is about a little black boy's struggle with his identity. At this time in England, slavery was still legal and would not be abolished until 1834. Given that both poets were white, they did not know or experience what it meant to be a slave. That being said, they did not understand the emotion of what it meant to be a slave in the poem. However, they both gave the reader a moral understanding of why slavery should be abolished. Faith in God is the moral understanding of the two black characters created by Blake and Cowper. The poem The Little Black Boy is a poem taken from Songs of Innocence by William Blake. Blake believed in the equality of all. The poem is about a little black boy's struggle with his identity. Blake's black character sees himself in a negative way. It takes an explanation from his mother to make him understand that the reason his skin is black is because the sun is the love and warmth of God. The poem highlights the theme of realizing that even though people are not bound by their culture or the color of their skin, their lies are something common to all, and in this poem, this is the middle of paper. ..... this is bad from a religious point of view. Published in 1789, William Blake's The Little Black Boy did well to show how one day, although the little black boy is unequal to the white boy, they are equal in the eyes of God. The little black boy is able to understand now that he is a sacrifice because his skin is tougher than that of the angle like the white boy. But one day, God will consider him his equal in the afterlife. In 1788, William Cowper wrote The Negro's Complaint in favor of ending the slave trade. The black character Cowper raises questions about his captors' understanding of God. He doesn't understand why God enslaved him. He asks if God wants them to treat him like a slave. . The importance of religion in this era made it almost a sin to accept slavery in any way. This is why the two poets create a black character who defends slavery from a religious point of view..