Anti-Slavery Society letter to the faculty, 1834 October 21

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Creator	Farwell, John Edward, 1809-1858
Creator	Thompson, Leander, 1812-1896
Creator	Haven, Joseph, 1816-1874
Creator	Howard, William George, 1813-1865
Creator	Adams, Ezra, 1809-1864
Creator	Pendleton, Henry Gideon, 1807-1888
Title	Anti-Slavery Society letter to the faculty, 1834 October 21
Dates	1834-10-21
Abstract	A letter signed by students John E. Farwell, Leander Thompson, Joseph Haven, Jr., William George Howard, Henry G. Pendleton, and Ezra Adams, Jr. on behalf of the Anti-Slavery Society addressed to the faculty of Amherst College in which the society members respond to a request from the faculty that they disband. The authors explain that they respect the instructors and would gladly reply with their request if they could do so consistently with the dictates of their conscience and the wants and woes of perishing millions. However, they go on, they met and after prayer and deliberation they resolved unanimously that they could not disband the society. They provide background on the formation of the society and the measures they have taken. They then specifically address the objections that were raised in regards to the society's potential negative impact on the progress of religion for the individual society members and the community, explaining that they feel the reverse to be true. They conclude by reiterating that they cannot disband their society as was requested and state that they feel their cause is the cause of humanity and the cause of the Bible. They ask that they be allowed to continue to hold their usual monthly meetings for prayer. They say that should the faculty still believe that the society must be dissolved for the good of the College, they pray that the faculty will continue this work themselves. They also state that they would rather abandon any of the literary societies than this society.
Physical Description	1 item (6 pages)
Languages	English
Place of Production	Amherst (Mass.)
Genre	Correspondence
Genre	Petitions
Subject	Amherst College – Societies, etc.
Subject	Amherst College. Anti-Slavery Society
Subject	Antislavery movements – Massachusetts – Amherst
Subject	Student movements – Massachusetts – Amherst
Subject	Amherst College – History
Part of	Amherst College Early History Manuscripts and Pamphlets Collection
Finding Aid	View the finding aid for this item's collection
Repository	Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Shelf Location	Box 1 Folder 47
Access and Use	Public Domain: We believe this material to be in the public domain and free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. While Amherst College Archives & Special Collections claims no rights or authority over this material, we do ask that any publication or use of this material cite the Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College as the source of the images and the repository where the original documents can be found.