Massachusetts Abolitionist. Vol. II, No. 53. Whole No. 105

Boston: February 18, 1841. Very good.. [4]pp., numbered [209]-212, on a single large folio sheet of newsprint, removed from a binding, with some fraying along spine edge. Center horizontal fold, minor foxing. A rare issue of the Massachusetts Abolitionist, "Published Every Thursday, by J.C. Beman, for the Massachusetts Abolition Society" and edited by Amos A. Phelps. This notable abolitionist periodical was published weekly in Boston by the Massachusetts Abolition Society (MAS) between 1839 and 1841. The Massachusetts Abolition Society was formed as a splinter group by members of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society who disagreed with the radicalism of that group and its leader, William Lloyd Garrison. The group is somewhat out of favor in present times for their active disregard for women's suffrage, as well as their conservative stance against resisting the government in its role in bringing about an end to slavery. The present issue is the last issued by the society, and contains chiefly the text of a long address by Caleb Swan, president of the Bristol County Abolition Society, as well as reports on a convention of ministers at Penn Yann in New York, the activities of relevant actors in Washington, D.C., an article on Gerritt Smith's letters, recently-passed resolutions from the Franklin County Abolition Society, two abolitionist poems, and more. The last page also prints an advertisement for the bookstore run by the MAS.