Autographed letter (8” x 9 ¾”) signed, front and back, March 7, 1870, from Wendell Phillips to Rev. Francis Hodgson.

Autographed letter (8” x 9 ¾”) signed, front and back, March 7, 1870, from Wendell Phillips to Rev. Francis Hodgson. “…Hearing that our change of my lecture to the Last Acts, has been objected to and some fault found with yourself…I desire to say…that the fault, if any, belongs entirely to me….”
Background: Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) was a prominent abolitionist. A wealthy graduate of Harvard Law School, Phillips sacrificed social status and a prospective political career in order to join the antislavery movement. His reputation as an inspirational orator was established with his address at an abolitionist meeting in 1837 to protest the murder of Elijah Lovejoy. He became an associate of William Lloyd Garrison and lectured widely at meetings of the American Anti-Slavery Society, serving as its president from 1865 to 1870. He also advocated prohibition, woman suffrage, prison reform, regulation of corporations, and labour reform.