[African-Americana] Wright, Elizur, Jr. Autograph Letter, signed, on a Printed Circular Regarding the Abolition of Slavery in Washington, D.C.

A Rallying Cry to Anti-Slavery Societies in America, Requesting Petitions for the Abolition of Slavery in Washington, D.C.

"Let these things be published on the house-tops. Let every child know them. Make them so familiar that no man can picture to himself the Capitol of his country, without seeing under its eaves the manacles, and chains, and whips, and bleeding backs of the internal slave trade..."

New York: Anti Slavery Office, , April 9, 1835. Bifolium, 12 1/2 x 8 in. (317 x 203 mm). Autograph letter, signed by Secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Elizur Wright, Jr., to reformer and abolitionist Rev. Samuel J. May, discussing ongoing efforts of the organization. In part: "I rejoice most ____ that you have put on the whole armor or our holy cause. It had your whole heart, I know before, now it has all the faculties that go at the heart's bidding--and god will make them most happily efficient...The sheet on which I write has been sent to all Anti-Slavery Societies within our knowledge. We are sending it wherever we know of a single friend of the cause & to the Post-Masters in all the small towns in the Free States. Bro. Phelps has been well rc'd. in several places on the River-last in Albany, where on Monday he had a preparatory meeting of about 50 friends of the cause, who appointed a committee to draft a constitution for a city society...If we are to carry this city, we much act on the towns of this state. And now is the time..." Hand-addressed and docketed on verso. Wax seal remnant. Creasing from old folds; scattered foxing and ink stains.

Letter written on the back of a two-page printed circular titled "To the friends of humanity throughout the United States, who are opposed to the continuance of slavery in the District of Columbia". It requests its recipients to petition Congress for the abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C., providing a template of official text on the second page. After providing facts on the history of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and reproducing ads by some of the cities most prominent slave traders, it concludes with the sentiment, "Let these things be published on the house-tops. Let every child know them. Make them so familiar that no man can picture to himself the Capitol of his country, without seeing under its eaves the manacles, and chains, and whips, and bleeding backs of the internal slave trade...As Congress meets regularly on the first Monday of December, it will be important to have the petitions ready...The form of petition on the other page is recommended where a better one is not at hand..."

Very rare printed circular issued by the American Anti-Slavery Society calling for the abolition of slavery in Washington D.C., sent anywhere there was "a single friend to the cause."

From the beginning of the abolitionist movement in the 1830s, the system of slavery present in Washington, D.C. was one that attracted considerable attention due to its proximity to the national government. William Lloyd Garrison wrote of the Capitol in the inaugural issue of The Liberator, that "Though it is the Seat of our National Government...and ostensibly opulent with the congregated wisdom, virtue, and intelligence of the land, yet a fouler spot scarcely exists on earth. In it the worst features of slavery are exhibited; and as a mart for slave-traders, it is unequalled..." (January 1, 1831)

At the time slavery was an issue decided by state governments, and because of this, anti-slavery advocates thought of Washington, D.C. as one of the prime candidates to first abolish the practice, since its laws were decided by Congress. The American Anti-Slavery Society decided to take an active approach with how they disseminated their stance on abolition in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. They undertook a massive postal campaign during the summer of 1835, sending thousands of circulars or other publications of abolitionist literature to towns and cities across the country, in both slave and free states. The reaction in many cases was swift and hostile, especially in the south, where postmasters often seized and destroyed any mail they suspected of containing anti-slavery sentiments. The Great Postal Campaign of 1835 contributed directly to the U.S. Congress's adoption of a "gag-rule" on slave-related issues, which lasted until 1844. Although abolishing slavery in Washington, D.C. proved ultimately unsuccessful, the American Anti-Slavery Society achieved their goal by spreading their desired message, and increasing the fervor of the abolition conversation. Enslaved individuals in the District of Columbia were not fully emancipated until 1862 by order of President Lincoln.

Rev. Samuel J. May (1797-1871) was an American Unitarian minister, and ardent supporter of abolition, women's rights, and educational reform. Born in Boston, he was a descendant of two renowned colonial families, the Quincys and the Hancocks. His sister, Abby May Alcott was the mother of author Louisa May Alcott. May was one of the founding members of the New England Anti-Slavery society, being a close supporter of William Lloyd Garrison, the publisher of the famous Liberator newspaper. Throughout the 1830s and 40s, he was actively involved in the national abolition movement, traveling throughout the northeastern United States to local anti-slavery chapters or societies as a lecturer and agent. A friend to Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Douglass, May aided freedom seekers directly, led the Syracuse Fugitive Aid Society, and founded one of the nation's first Freedmen's Relief Associations in 1862. He was a prolific author and orator, writing a multitude of essays and speeches on reforming political and religious society until his death in 1871.

From the personal papers of American minister and abolitionist, Rev. Samuel J. May (1797-1871), thence by descent in the family

[African-Americana] Wright, Elizur, Jr. Autograph Letter, signed, on a Printed Circular Regarding the Abolition of Slavery in Washington, D.C.

[African-Americana] Wright, Elizur, Jr. Autograph Letter, signed, on a Printed Circular Regarding the Abolition of Slavery in Washington, D.C.