Letter from S. Alfred Steinthal, Bridgewater, [England], to Samuel May, Dec. 4th, 1855

In his travels on the continent, Steinthal contended with arguments that good treatment of the slaves was an excuse for slavery. He mentions two congressmen, [Edwin Barber] Morgan and [Benjamin] Pringle, who were opposed to slavery. Steinthal eulogizes John Bishop Estlin. He compares the attitudes of the Unitarian clergy toward abolition and temperance and reports that the clergy did not want to discuss either reform in their meetings. Steinthal discusses a speech by Reverend [William Henry] Channing. He tells May that he expects a servile war in the United States. He deplores the election of Henry J. Gardner as Governor of Massachusetts and comments on a letter from William Lloyd Garrison to a lecture committee.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library