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Preferred Citation:

Arthur Lee Philanthropos Address to Virginia General Assembly, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

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Scope and Contents

Handwritten copy of an address, 1767, written by Arthur Lee to the Virginia General Assembly and printed in the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, Va. (Rind, 19 March 1767, no longer extant). The address contains the author's opinion that slavery should be abolished, stating that "it is a violation both of Justice and Religion; that it is dangerous to the safety of the community...; that it is destructive to the growth of Arts and Sciences; and that it produces a numerous and very fatal train of vices, both in the slave and in his master." The address was signed "Philanthropos."

Related Material

Publications:  R. K. McMaster, "Arthur Lee's 'Address on Slavery,' " Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. LXXX (April 1972), pp. 141-157.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Slavery--Virginia--18th century
• Speeches, addresses, etc.
• Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.)
• Virginia. General Assembly