Alfred H. Stone Collection
Volume: 74

11. The Responsibility of the North in Relation to Slavery (Cambridge, MA: Allen & Farnham, 1856). (15 p.)

Response to an accusation that Northern delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were responsible for delaying the prohibition of the slave trade because of economic self-interest. The author reviews the Convention’s proceedings and rejects the accusation. Noting that both sides had to compromise, the author asserts that “From the whole of the foregoing view of the matter there seems to be no reason to charge any northern State or individual with lukewarmness in regard to slavery, or to compliment the South with any excess of liberality on the subject.” (The collection has another copy of this pamphlet in volume 94 [no. 27].)