Letter from Samuel May, Leicester, Mass., to Richard Davis Webb, Jan. 25, 1967

May praises the support of the abolition cause in its early days by its English friends and discusses the controversies between the English and American abolitionists during the war. He speaks of the attitude of John Bright and others toward William Lloyd Garrison and references the "National Testimonial to William Lloyd Garrison." May gives the names of some of the contributors and the amount of money collected. He thinks that President Andrew Johnson ought to be impeached for his part in the "Louisiana matter." He mentions Samuel Joseph May, an effort to restore old sectarian lines in the United States, and a lecture by Henry Vincent. May discusses the sale of Webb's, "Life and Letters of Captain John Brown." He praises the work of his uncle, Samuel Aspinwall Goddard, in opposing Southern influence in England and reports that Goddard is planning to publish some letters. May discusses at length the current state of the American and Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Societies. In a continuation of the letter, dated January 29, May strongly criticizes Wendell Phillips.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library