Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Personal Liberty Bill
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04717.27 Author/Creator: Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Place Written: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Type: Printed document Date: March 1859 Pagination: 4 p. ; 31.8 x 20.4 cm. Order a Copy
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."
Smith, a politician from New York, served as a U.S. Representative from 1853-1854. He was a noted philanthropist and social reformer active in anti-slavery campaigns and women's rights.
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