The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial IssueVarious
History
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue
Various
African Americans -- Social conditions -- To 1964; Civil rights movements; Martin Luther King, Jr., Day; United States -- History
At a reception in Stafford House, London, the Duchess of Sutherland
presented her with a massive gold bracelet, which has an interesting
history. It is made of ten oval links in imitation of slave fetters. On
two of the links were the inscriptions "March 25, 1807," the date of
the abolition of the slave-trade, and "August 1, 1838," the date of the
abolition of slavery in all British territory. The third inscription
is "562,848--March 19, 1853," the date of the address of the women of
England to the women of America on slavery, and the number of the women
who signed. It was Mrs. Stowe's privilege to add to these inscriptions
the following: "Emancipation D. C. Apl. 16, '62;" "President's
Proclamation Jan. 1, '63;" "Maryland free Oct. 13, '64;" "Missouri free
Jan. 11, '65;" and on the clasp link, "Constitution amended by Congress
Jan. 31, '65. Constitutional Amendment ratified." Two of the links are
vacant. What will the progress of civilization in America offer for the
links nine and ten?
One of the most remarkable documents which resulted from Uncle Tom
was an address from the women of England to the women of America,
acknowledging the complicity in slavery of England, but praying aid in
removing from the world "our common crimes and common dishonor," which
was presented to Mrs. Stowe in 1853. It was the result of a meeting at
Stafford House, and the address, composed by Lord Shaftesbury, was put
into the hands of canvassers in England and on the Continent, and as far
as Jerusalem. The signatures of 562,848 women were obtained, with their
occupations and residences, from the nobility on the steps of the throne
down to maids in the kitchen. The address is handsomely engrossed on
vellum. The names are contained in twenty-six massive volumes, each
fourteen inches high by nine in breadth and three inches thick, inclosed
in an oak case. It is believed that this is the most numerously signed
address in existence. The value of the address, with so many names
collected in haphazard fashion, was much questioned, but its use was
apparent in the height of the civil war, when Mrs. Stowe replied to it
in one of the most vigorous and noble appeals that ever came from her
pen. This powerful reply made a profound impression in England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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