Letter from Henry Clarke Wright, Philadelphia, [Pennsylvania], to William Lloyd Garrison, 1840 Sept[ember] 4
Description:
Henry Clarke Wright writes to William Lloyd Garrison discussing Gerrit Smith, saying he is in "a state of mind into which I hoped once that he never would be brought & which shows what work politics are making with the consciences & moral perceptions" of some leading abolitionists. Wright then quotes directly from a letter Smith sent him announcing his nomination for Governor of New York with the Liberty Party, and showing Smith's justification for running for office while criticizing his arguments. Smith uses the arguments of other political abolitionists, William Goodell and Beriah Green, to argue that "mental reservations" are allowed while taking the oath of office and that, if elected, he would not need to "exercise all the powers with which the Constitution clothes him" if they conflict with his moral views. Wright also questions why Smith would not "be a man, & firmly & respectfully decline" the nomination when he was offered it. He then describes a "public discussion" he had with Thomas Earle in which Earle insisted that "voting at the polls" was the only "true Anti-slavery action." Earle quoted from a speech Garrison made to show that "moral suasion - the preaching of the truth - was powerless" and even Garrison "had lost all confidence in Truth to save the world." Wright also calls Garrison's attention to an article in the Freeman newspaper by Joshua Durgan in which he claims "that no true-hearted abolitionist can consistently hold the office of President" because he would be required to put down slave rebellions.