A high-resolution version of this object is only available for registered users - register here.
High-resolution images are also available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription or click here for more information.
- GLC#
- GLC07485.01
- Type
- Letters
- Date
- January 12, 1788
- Author/Creator
- Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790
- Title
- to Samuel Huntington
- Place Written
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pagination
- 1 p. : address : docket Height: 23.2 cm, Width: 18.8 cm
- Primary time period
- The New Nation, 1783-1815
- Sub-Era
- Creating a New Government
Written by Franklin, signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, as President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania to Huntington as Governor of Connecticut, three days after Connecticut ratified the Constitution. Writes in his capacity as President of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Sends along several copies of the society's constitution, the laws of Pennsylvania concerning slavery, and a copy of Thomas Clarkson's essay on the commerce of slavery from Africa (a copy of the society's constitution is at GLC07485.02, but the other items are not included). Says he heard that "a considerable part" of the slaves sold in the South since the end of the Revolution have been imported by American vessels. Hopes Huntington will use his power to curtail such voyages, which are "repugnant to the political principles & forms of government lately adopted by the Citizens of the United States." Says his actions can delay the ire of "the impartial ruler of the Universe." Docket , in Huntington's hand, says Huntington answered the same day he received it, 2 May 1788.
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
- Copyright Notice
- The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.