JOSIAH LETCHWORTH¹Josiah Letchworth (1791-1857) was born in Philadelphia. After marrying Ann Hause in 1815, he moved to Burlington, New Jersey, where he pursued a living as a saddler. Letchworth later lived and worked in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and the Black River region of New York. After 1819, Letchworth removed to Moravia, New York, and later to Sherwood in the same state. It was in Sherwood, that Letchworth began to involve himself in several reform movements. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and became heavily involved in the emerging temperance movement. Letchworth similarly became involved in the antislavery movement, long before its beliefs were widely accepted. He declined the nomination of the Whig party to run for the New York State Assembly. In 1852 Letchworth moved to Auburn, New York, where he resided until his death. His sons William Pryor and Josiah Jr. later went on to earn renown as businessmen in Buffalo. , 2 vols. (New York, 1906-08) 1:187-89; Elliot G. Storke and James H. Smith, (Syracuse, N.Y., 1879), 269; Emily Howland, “Early History of Friends in Cayuga County, N.Y.” in (Auburn, N.Y., 1882), 49-90. TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS

Auburn, [N.Y.] 27 Oct[ober] 1854.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS:

ESTEEMED FRIEND:—

I see you sign under the cognomen of “American Freedom,” that sounds well to my ear; but knowing, as , that thousands are on your side in anticipating the day when this shall no longer be a question—but shall stand on the basis on which it was originally placed; to wit, “that we hold it to be a .”²A paraphrase of the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence.

You will permit me to express my sincere regret, that you are assisting to lead off a under a different name, with no difference of sentiment, for which you give us no equivalent. We cannot all think alike, as is evident from the want of union among abolitionists. Now, would you not feel to regret in the event of those conflicting influences presenting themselves, if the absence of the vote of your friends should defeat the candidates, the most friendly to the cause of freedom and temperance? Perhaps we may not come quite up to your standard, but there is an onward progress in that direction.

Now, sir, it is not my wish to despoil you, or Garrison, or Gerrit Smith, of any of the laurels³A symbolic recognition of achievement. you may think yourselves entitled to; but if I had time, methinks I could demonstrate that the pro-slavery folks have assisted you most mightily; and but for them and their acts, the abolition party would be but a small affair, , from the fact, that it is but few besides the friends of freedom that care to pay for your paper. The additions to your ranks are first disgusted with the acts of the pro-slavery parties, listen to hear what you have to say. I feel in hopes that few can be lead away by your special pleading. We know full well that the present Whig ticket,⁴Auburn, New York, was host to a number of political conventions on 25 and 26 September 1854. The Free Democratic party met on both days and nominated a state ticket identical to that recently nominated by the state’s Whigs, headed by Myron H. Clark. An “Anti-Nebraska Convention” met on the latter date and debated organizing a state Republican party. A meeting of seceders from that convention declared that Henry J. Raymond, the “fusion” candidate for lieutenant governor and founder of the New York Daily Times, was neither sufficiently antislavery nor pro-temperance. Clark eventually won the governor’s office and identified himself with the Republican party. , 6 October 1854; Bancroft, , 1:366-71; Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds., , 4 vols. (Westport, Conn., 1978), 3:1082-83. endorsed by the Anti-Nebraska Convention, as well as the Temperance Convention, embodies the principle of freedom; and if it succeeds, there will be no misunderstanding at Washington, but if it fails, through your failing to grant it support, then it will be in vain to carry any influence, thereby stating that we should have been in the majority, if were a test. No, its votes will be wanting, and I fear too many; there’s your Hards, and Softs, and Silver Grays,⁵Silver Gray Whigs were conservative, proslavery supporters of President Millard Fillmore within the Whig party. The Whigs had a “Silver Gray” organization as early as 1836, but that group solely comprised men over sixty years of age. Francis Granger of New York popularized the term in the 1850s, but then the phrase was used derisively for Whigs of any age whose views were seen as out of touch with the rest of the Whig party, especially on the issue of slavery. Holt, , 87-88, 105, 107-08; Hans Sperber and Travis Trittschuh, (Detroit, 1962), 404-05. and Know-Nothings.⁶Nativists organized lodges and semipolitical clubs in reaction to the waves of Catholic immigrants that began coming to the United States in the 1830s. Frequently engaging in violence against the largely Democratic Irish voters, these lodge members were reputed to answer, “I know nothing” when questioned by police. The nativist movement, dubbed “Know-Nothings” by their opponents, became a significant political force in the 1850s as the Whig party declined. Under the banner of the American party, nativists ran ex-president Millard Fillmore for the White House in 1856. His third-place finish caused the Know-Nothings’ political power to steadily decline thereafter. Maisel, , 1:549-50. If these unite, we are done for, I fear. Mammon⁷"Mammon” is the Mishnaic Hebrew word for “wealth” or “money.” It is also “broadly parallel [in meaning] to that of Qumran hōn, which often refers to the money or wealth which the member is required to bring into the community when he joins it.” Mammon is referred to in the Bible, specifically in Matt. 6:24 and Luke 16:9-11. David Noel Freedman et al., eds., , 6 vols. (New York, 1992), 4:490. will do more than principles sometimes.

Yours,

J. LETCHWORTH

PLSr: , 27 October 1854.