A PRACTICAL VIEW OF THE PREVAILING RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF PROFESSED CHRISTIANS, IN THE HIGHER AND MIDDLE CLASSES, CONTRASTED WITH REAL CHRISTIANITY. BY WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ., MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE COUNTY OF YORK. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION

Philadelphia: Printed by John Ormrod, 1798. Contemporary marbled calf [lightly rubbed], with gilt-lettered black morocco spine label [chip beneath the lettering]. 343, [9 Index], [4 Subscribers' List] pp. Scattered light foxing, inner hinges worn. Else Very Good. This copy has a neatly written gift inscription: "Maria Sherman's Presented by Her Friend I. Hart." Reverend Ira Hart (1771-1829) gave the book to his future wife, Maria Sherman (1774-1857). Hart was a missionary of the Connecticut Society, which flourished during the Second Great Awakening.

A member of Parliament and leading member of the Evangelical Party of the Church of England, Wilberforce led the movement to abolish slavery. Ours is the first American edition. It first issued from London in 1797. The book became the manifesto of the Evangelical Party, emphasizing the importance of working for social justice.
Wilberforce delivers a strong reproof of Christianity as practiced for its failure to abide by the true religion of love and human equality. The list of Subscribers includes a host of luminaries, including William Tennent, Benjamin Rush, Ashbel Green, William Cobbett, and other notables.
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. Evans 35026. ESTC W27803. Not in LCP.