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[Wendell Phillips]. Richard Hildreth. Despotism in America; or An Inquiry into the Nature and Results of the Slave-Holding System in the United States, Boston and New York: Anti-Slavery Society, 1840. Second Edition. 186 p. Original black cloth decoratively stamped in blind, with the title in gilt. Inscribed by Wendell Phillips on the front paste-down: “Wendell Phillips to J. L. U.” On the front free end paper is the name “Utley” in pencil.
Inventory # 21064 $600
Historical Background:
This copy is inscribed to William L. Utley (1814-87), colonel of the 22nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. While commanding his regiment in Kentucky, Utley gained nationwide attention for harboring a fugitive slave, whom he refused to deliver up in spite of a Kentucky circuit court order. The case continued after the war, and Utley was forced to pay a large judgment. He was eventually reimbursed by the government. It is probable that Phillips heard of him and sent him this book, but wrote his initials incorrectly.
Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) was educated at the Harvard Law School and opened a law office in Boston in 1834. After hearing William Lloyd Garrison speak at the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1835, Phillips took up the abolitionist cause, quickly becoming a leading figure in the Anti-Slavery Society. A magnificent orator, Phillips was the society's most popular public speaker. He also contributed to Garrison's Liberator and wrote numerous pamphlets decrying slavery. During the Civil War, Phillips notably criticized Abraham Lincoln for his lack of commitment to the abolition of slavery. By 1865, Phillips had replaced Garrison as president of the Anti-Slavery Society. After the passage of the 15th Amendment, Phillips concentrated on other issues, including universal suffrage and temperance.
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