Alfred H. Stone Collection
Volume: 15

8. Theodore Tilton, The Negro: A Speech by Theodore Tilton, at Cooper Institute, New York, May 12, 1863, at the Anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 2nd ed. (New York: n.p. for the Anti-Slavery Society, 1863). (16 p.)

Speech challenging the notion that persons of African descent are inferior to other races. Someone, possibly Mr. Stone, has marked several paragraphs of this speech, including this one. “I am not advocating the union of whites and blacks. This is taking place without advocacy. It neither waits for the permission of an argument in favor of it, nor stays at the barrier of an argument against it. I am often asked, ‘Would you marry a black woman?’ I reply, ‘I have a wife already, and therefore will not.’ I am asked, ‘Do you think that a white man ought ever marry a black woman?’ I reply, ‘When a man and a woman want to be married, it is their business, not mine, nor anybody’s else’” (emphasis in original).