Oration, Delivered at Dedham, July 4, 1823, on the Forty-Seventh Anniversary of American Independence

Dedham: H. & W. H. Mann, 1823 Book. Fine. No Binding. 1st Edition. First edition. Octavo. Pp. 25, [1, blank]. Self covers. Pulled from a bound volume, some remnants at spine. Some slight spotting to covers. Contemporary ink signature and comment to top border; else clean. A fine copy. Perhaps the earliest publication with Horace Mann as author. Horace Mann (1796-1859) was an American educational reformer and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. Born in Franklin, Massachusetts, Mann studied at Brown University, graduated with honors and then studied law. One of the early residents of Dedham, Massachusetts, Mann passed the local Bar and opened a law office in 1823. In only his first year in Dedham he was invited to deliver the Independence Day address. In his speech he "outlined for the first time the basic principles that he would return to in his subsequent public statements, arguing that education, intelligent use of the elective franchise, and religious freedom are the means by which American liberties are preserved." Former President and then Congressman John Quincy Adams later read the address and "expressed great confidence in the future career of Mr. Mann". This pamphlet, printed by Mann and his father, is perhaps the earliest publication with Horace Mann as author. Includes a contemporary ink signature with the words, "A significant work" penned in the same hand. [Sabin: 44324]. .