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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery [Preamble and resolution]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00777 Author/Creator: Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Document signed Date: 13 April 1820 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket : free frank Height: 25.4 cm, Width: 20.3 cm Order a Copy

Printed petition signed by William Rawle as President of the Abolition Society and [Benjamin] Williams as secretary. Sent to Jacob H. De Witt, member of the House of Representatives from the 7th District of New York. Petition states that the society unanimously passed a resolution for the exclusion of slavery from the Missouri Territory. Written during the Missouri Compromise debates. States "We deem this a proper occasion to declare, that with a deep conviction that slavery is inconsistent with moral principle, national interest, and above all, with the Christian dispensation." Says the worst thing that could happen if slavery continues to spread is "the separation of the northern states from the slave holding states."

Rawle, William, 1759-1836
Williams, Benjamin, 1753-1823
De Witt, Jacob Hasbrouck, 1784-1867

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