Letter from George Thompson to William Lloyd Garrison, 1862 [December 25

Item Information

Title:
Letter from George Thompson to William Lloyd Garrison, 1862 [December 25
Description:
George Thompson writes to William Lloyd Garrison quoting from a Thanksgiving sermon delivered by Henry Ward Beecher which accused the English public of becoming pro-slavery. Thompson disagrees with Beecher's comments and contrasts them "with England at the time Mrs. [Harriet Beecher] Stowe was here, when half a million of signatures were attached to a document" urging the immediate end to American slavery. Thompson asserts he could have a similar petition created now with "the names of at least two hundred thousand women, who are at this moment suffering heroically & uncomplainingly" from the lack of "slave-grown cotton". Thompson then compares English public opinion about slavery in the present time with opinions when emancipation was declared in the British Empire in 1833, stating that "the sentiments of our leading journals, of a portion of public men and of the aristocratic circles ... are precisely similar" in remaining pro-slavery. However, "the heart of the people is sound" for abolition, and that only "certain classes in our country ... [oppose] any object connected with the elevation or freedom of the many." Thompson also discusses English journals that used President Lincoln's "expedient" statements to show that the Civil War was not being fought to end slavery in order to turn public opinion against the North. He declares that "What we want to see him do is, to take his stand upon the doctrine of human equality & man'is inalienable right to life liberty & the pursuit of happiness."
Author:
Thompson, George, 1804-1878
Addressee:
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
Date:
[December 25, 1862]
Format:
Letters/Correspondence
Manuscripts
Location:
Boston Public Library
Rare Books Department
Collection (local):
Anti-Slavery Collection
Subjects:
Abolitionists--England--19th century--Correspondence
Abolitionists--United States--19th century--Correspondence
Antislavery movements--England--History--19th century
Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century
Social reformers--England--History--19th century
Social reformers--United States--History--19th century
Abolitionists
Abolitionists--United States--History--19th century
Antislavery movements--Great Britain
Antislavery movements--United States
Cotton famine, 1861-1864
Social reformers
Social reformers--United States
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Foreign public opinion
Thompson, George, 1804-1878
Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
Places:
England
Extent:
10 leaves (10 p.) ; 26 cm.
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/2v23xm43k
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Place of origin:
[Place of publication not identified]
Language:
English
Notes:
Holograph, signed.
Title devised by cataloger.
Boston Public Library (Rare Books Department) manuscript composed in black ink on blue paper containing a watermark that reads "Monckton". Above the salutation, the number "142" is written in pencil. On the back of the last page, "1862 G.T." is written in pencil upside-down, and "Christmas, 1862" is written along the spine edge, vertically.
Notes (date):
This date is inferred.
Identifier:
5076212
Call #:
MS A.1.2 v.31, p.167
Barcode:
39999085440996