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Letter from Henry Clarke Wright, Philadelphia, [Pennsylvania], to William Lloyd Garrison, 1840 Sept[ember] 8

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Holograph, signed.Title devised by cataloger.On verso, the letter is addressed to "Wm. Lloyd Garrison 25 Cornhill Boston Mass."Henry Clarke Wright writes to William Lloyd Garrison sharing his worries about "the political abolitionists in New York" and his fears "at the affect their political combination & struggle are producing on their minds." He quotes from a letter he received from William O. Duval, who was present at the Syracuse Convention, describing the convention and the nomination of Gerrit Smith for Governor of New York. Wright criticizes Smith for accepting the nomination against his own "scruples" and quotes from a letter Smith wrote him to show Smith's reasoning. He accuses Smith of "duplicity" and William Goddell and Beriah Green of teaching "Hypocracy [sic] & Blasphemy." Wright also tells Garrison that Smith is ill and that Charles C. Burleigh "is doing battle nobly for the right & the true but the noble man is wearing out" from constant lecturing. He reports that he is arguing with the First Church in Newbury, stating that he "is outlawed by the state [and] shall soon be Excommunicated by the Church." He then discusses a published letter to him from William Goodell about "abolishing slavery by legislative action," saying he will not respond to it until Goodell "will answer frankly the question at issue now between us. He dreads it. He is losing ground." Wright also comments on Garrison's return from England and his actions at the World Anti-Slavery Convention, praising him for "standing aloof, against the...
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Correspondence Manuscripts
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