Author: Thompson, George. (1804-1878). British orator and activist who worked towards the abolition of slavery.
Title: Close of a Letter Signed by Orator and Abolitionist George Thompson.
Description: Circa [1830s]. [1830s]. - The close of a letter on a 3-1/4 inch high by approximately 6 inch wide piece of note paper is signed "Geo Thompson". The paper is darkened with some staining, not affecting the signature. The paper is mounted on a sheet of yellow paper and has been folded twice for mailing. Good.

The British antislavery orator and activist George Donisthorpe Thompson (1804-1878) worked toward the abolition of slavery through lecture tours and by introducing legislation while serving as a member of Parliament. An able orator, he was hired by the London Anti-Slavery Society in 1831. While in Scotland in 1832, where he became interested in abolishing slavery in the United States as well as other parts of the world, he met William Lloyd Garrison and the African-American abolitionist Nathaniel Paul. Invited to visit New England by Garrison, he traveled to the US in 1834 where he drew the attention of pro-slavery supporters and was forced to flee for his life. The Hobart Town Courier later printed a letter in which Thompson stated that he had "..left the United Sates to escape the assassins knife..", the editor noting that attempts had been made to "burn and murder" him in several US towns. He returned to the US following the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850. By then, the abolitionist movement having substantially grown and gained in influence, Thompson found a warmer welcome. Returning to London, he and his son founded the London Emancipation Society which supported the Union during the Civil War. Returning to America, he allied himself with William Wells Brown and met President Abraham Lincoln. Throughout his life, Thompson was a powerful voice for emancipation. He supported East Indian reform, free trade, Chartism, non-resistance and the peace movement, often protesting legislation that offered only limited restrictions on slavery.

RARE. Good .

Keywords: HISTORY; SLAVERY; ABOLITIONISM; BLACK STUDIES; BRITISH ORATOR; ACTIVIST; ABOLITIONIST; GEORGE THOMPSON; SIGNED CLOSE OF A LETTER; SIGNATURE; AUTOGRAPH; NINETEENTH CENTURY; 19TH CENTURY.

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