Collections : [University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.]

This collection contains a letter from Alice E. Nutt to her cousin, Kate, that discusses various personal matters before querying Kate on her impressions of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). Nutt, whose father was an ardent Virginia secessionist, articulates an unfavorable reaction to the recently published work and also addresses her disdain for the abolitionist efforts of English noblewomen. The letter measures 7.75" X 6.25" and is four pages in length. Some parts of the fourth page are written upside down in between lines. While there are small separations along old folds, there are no losses to the text.

This collection contains a single letter from Colonel Archibald McClean to Pennsylvania Congressman Honorable Francis James, dated February 16, 1842. McClean, a well-connected Virginia lawyer, expresses his support for the anti-slavery efforts of John Quincy Adams. McClean notes his interest in "the debate which has been going on for some time in your House [of Representatives] upon the resolution for censuring Mr. [John Quincy] Adams for presenting a petition which was unpalatable to at least a portion of the members." The Gag Rule of 1840 silenced Adams's opposition to slavery. McClean praised Adams in the letter and voiced his belief that Adams would ultimately prevail against the gag rule. McClean also discusses the Southerners in Congress who opposed Adams and their hypocritical posture toward the enslaved and America's failure to agree with England on a reciprocal right to search each other's vessels to suppress the slave trade, as England had already abolished slavery in 1833. McClean also requests a copy of John Quincy Adams speech on Amistad.

This collection contains a printed circular letter and a handwritten letter sent by Thomas Ritchie (1778-1854), the editor of the Richmond Enquirer, to Joseph R. Williams, Esquire. The printed circular letter, dated July 29, 1835, was sent by Ritchie and John L. Cook, publishers of the Richmond Enquirer newspaper, and was a printed questionnaire that discussed the "movements of certain Fanatics [abolitionists] in the North."

This collection contains four letters from a formerly enslaved person, Virgil M. Ward to his former Philadelphia employer, Edward Morris Davis, referred to as "Dear Friend " in the letters. Ward was born in Virginia in 1827, and it is unknown how he escaped enslavement. He worked in Philadelphia for Davis at $15.00 per month from April 1st, 1855 to April 13th, 1857. He moved to Ypsilanti, then Canada, and finally to Michigan.

This addition to MSS 7206 Wendell Phillips papers is a single undated letter from Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), an attorney and abolitionist, concerning a speaking engagement on "Tousssaint L'Ouverture, the hero of Hayti" in New Bedford, Massachusetts.