The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Abolitionists, by John F. Hume

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Title: The Abolitionists
Together With Personal Memories Of The Struggle For Human Rights

Author: John F. Hume

Release Date: August 13, 2004 [EBook #13176]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE ABOLITIONISTS

TOGETHER WITH PERSONAL MEMORIES OF
THE STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

1830-1864

BY
JOHN F. HUME

G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker press
1905

FOREWORD

The opening chapter of this work was prepared during the recent
presidential campaign. It was the idea of the author that it should
appear in one of the leading newspapers or magazines before the
election, but maturer reflection brought about a change of purpose. He
realized that its publication at that time, might, not altogether
unreasonably, be looked upon as a political move having as its object
the election or defeat of a particular candidate for office, whereas
he had no desire to play the partisan. His sole aim was to vindicate
the character of a portion of the citizens of this country--some
living, some dead--whom he had always believed to be most deserving of
popular esteem, from what he considered the unmerited aspersions of a
man who has since come into a position so conspicuous and so
influential that his condemnation necessarily carries with it a
damaging effect.

Having gone so far as the preparation of the initial chapter, he
concluded that proofs of his assumptions and assertions might at
certain points be thought desirable, if not necessary, and that he
should so prolong his work as to provide them. His first idea at this
point, as his years went back beyond the beginning of the Abolitionist
movement in this country, and as he had been from early boyhood
identified with this movement, was to contribute such