March 1859
Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874
Printed document
Title: Personal Liberty Bill
Begins with a list of the foremost duties of the New York Legislature: to close the dramshops, to prevent withholding suffrage from Black men, and to protect the "weary and heart-broken fugitive slaves" within State limits. Includes an excerpt of a speech by Smith, arguing that the Constitution of the United States should not be interpreted as a pro-slavery document: "The Constitution is not for Slavery unless they who adopted it meant it to be for Slavery. But there can be no evidence that they so meant, unless there is evidence that they saw Slavery in the Constitution."
GLC04717.27