Weld, Theodore Dwight, 1803-1895 to Milton Sutliff
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04941 Author/Creator: Weld, Theodore Dwight, 1803-1895 Place Written: New York, New York Type: Manuscript letter signed Date: 20 November 1838 Pagination: 3 p. : address : docket ; Height: 32.5 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy
Weld writes to Sutliff, an Ohio abolitionist and lawyer, from the Office of the American Anti-Slavery Society. The Society will be publishing a series of tracts refuting the main objections to abolition, and Weld seeks information on slavery and the relationship between the North and South. The tracts will report "facts and testimony as to the actual condition of the Slaves... Showing that they are overworked, underfed, have insufficient sleep, live in miserable huts... fastening upon them iron collars, yokes, chains, horns and bells, branding them with hot irons, knocking out their teeth, maiming and killing them." Notes that "a multitude of such facts never yet published, facts that would thrill the land with horror, are now in the possession of Abolitionists..." Asks Sutliff if he can provide eyewitness accounts of cruel treatment of slaves. Also asks Sutliff how many people in his town (Warren, Ohio) are slaveholders, asks their occupation, names, and location of residence. Asks how many southerners reside in Warren, how many young men of Warren have gone south for work, and how many Warren women have married slaveholders. Also requests that Sutliff estimate the number of southerners who travel to Warren for the summer months. Written by another hand, signed by Weld. Very fragile, separated into two sheets.
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