Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki:
Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Arthur Lee Philanthropos Address to Virginia General Assembly, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Publications: R. K. McMaster, "Arthur Lee's 'Address on Slavery,' " Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. LXXX (April 1972), pp. 141-157.
Handwritten copy of an address, 1767, written by Arthur Lee to the Virginia General Assembly and printed in the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, Va. (Rind, 19 March 1767, no longer extant). The address contains the author's opinion that slavery should be abolished, stating that "it is a violation both of Justice and Religion; that it is dangerous to the safety of the community...; that it is destructive to the growth of Arts and Sciences; and that it produces a numerous and very fatal train of vices, both in the slave and in his master." The address was signed "Philanthropos."