Lucretia Mott Letter

The letter which follows has been presented to the Friends' Historical Society by Mrs. G. W. Cutter, of Philadelphia, in whose family it has long remained. The note paper on which the letter is written is headed with the seal of the British and Foreign AntiSlavery Society, with the figure of a kneeling slave in chains, and the motto beneath, " Am I not a man and a Brother ? " This seal was adopted upon the formation of the Society in 1787, owing to the efforts of Thomas Clarkson and his band of famous associates. His " History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade " should be familiar to Friends, and the later efforts of John G. Whittier and William Lloyd Garrison, with whom Lucretia Mott worked indefatigably. She and her husband had recently returned from England, where they had been among the American delegates to the great " General Conference " of the Society in London, and where Lucretia Mott was not permitted to attend in her official capacity, because of the resolution that no women were to be seated as delegates. The Conference met in June, 1840. After a most interesting visit, when they met many of those dedicated men and women of all denominations who were active in the anti-slavery movement, James and Lucretia sailed from Liverpool August 27, arriving at New York after a passage of twenty-nine days ! This letter was written about three months afterward. Amelia M. Gummere.