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Source Description
Samuel J. May writes to William Lloyd Garrison requesting a copy of an earlier Liberator as he "wish[es] to preserve a complete file." He then comments on some recent articles in the Liberator before discussing his "discourse" and how "some have strangely misunderstood" his meaning. May defends his statement, arguing that he was not advocating a civil war and claiming that "I would not have the nation plunge itself into one kind of wickedness, in order to escape from another." He then addresses the charge that abolitionists should "let things take their course" and counters that "the first step, in all public improvement, ... is to make the public feel there is need of improvement." He proposes that the end of slavery "may be found out, if we only search for it with our whole hearts." Before closing the letter, he also asks Garrison about the sale of his "discourses."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
2z10z841t
label
Letter from Samuel Joseph May, Brooklyn, [Connecticut], to William Lloyd Garrison, 1832 Feb[ruary] 29
core
obj
dtoType
document
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
2z10z841t
contentType
document
stage
normalized
title
Letter from Samuel Joseph May, Brooklyn, [Connecticut], to William Lloyd Garrison, 1832 Feb[ruary] 29
description
Samuel J. May writes to William Lloyd Garrison requesting a copy of an earlier Liberator as he "wish[es] to preserve a complete file." He then comments on some recent articles in the Liberator before discussing his "discourse" and how "some have strangely misunderstood" his meaning. May defends his statement, arguing that he was not advocating a civil war and claiming that "I would not have the nation plunge itself into one kind of wickedness, in order to escape from another." He then addresses the charge that abolitionists should "let things take their course" and counters that "the first step, in all public improvement, ... is to make the public feel there is need of improvement." He proposes that the end of slavery "may be found out, if we only search for it with our whole hearts." Before closing the letter, he also asks Garrison about the sale of his "discourses."
date
["February 29, 1832"]
year
1832
rights
No known copyright restrictions.
rightsUri
No known restrictions on use.
reuseAllowed
no restrictions
language
English
identifierLocal
5123776
creators
May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph), 1797-1871
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
institution
Boston Public Library
collections
Anti-Slavery Collection
subjects
Abolitionists--United States--19th century--Correspondence
Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century
Antislavery movements--Religious aspects--Christianity--United States--History--19th century
Social reformers--United States--History--19th century
Abolitionists--United States--History--19th century
Antislavery movements--United States
Christianity
Social reformers--United States
May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph), 1797-1871
Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879
Liberator (Boston, Mass. : 1831)
genreBasic
Correspondence
Manuscripts
typeOfResource
Text
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
pageCount
1
source
import
extent
1 leaf (4 p.) ; 24 cm.
hasTranscription
yes
Source extras
institutionArkId
sf268508b
collectionArkId
ht24xg10q
notes
Holograph, signed.
Title devised by cataloger.
Most of this letter, beginning on page 2, is printed in the Liberator of March 10, 1832 (Vol. II, no. 10) under the heading, "Rev. Mr. May's Discourse."
On verso, the letter is addressed to "Mr Wm Lloyd Garrison Ed of Liberator. Boston."
pubPlace
Brooklyn, [Connecticut]
dcId
2z10z841t
type
document
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
481eb1677cdd4553