Speaker or author: Augustus William Hanson
Newspaper or publication: Colored American (1837 - 1842)
Rambling speech regarding the inherent rights of human beings in a free society regardless of race.
Description of file(s): PDF 13 page, 3,785 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Cooper, Frisby
Newspaper or publication: Colored American (1837 - 1842)
Speech given by 11 year old Frisby Cooper, president of the Juvenile Total Abstinence Association on the August 1st anniversary celebration of the emancipation of the British West Indies. Emphasis is placed on the evils of alcohol and its negative effect on the moral advancement of people of color.
Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 619 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Butler, Mrs. William H.
Newspaper or publication: Weekly Anglo-African (1859 - 1862)
Short speech in which the speaker encourages the members of the Clinton Lyceum to live in harmony and peace as the Civil War continues on around them. (Includes MP3 audio file.)
Description of file(s): MP3 spoken word audio recording
Speaker or author: Davis, William A., fl. 1862-1864
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
The speaker emphasized that while it seemed as if slavery was coming to an end, the work for civil rights for African Americans was just beginning. (Includes MP3 audio file)
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 282 word document
Speaker or author: Tyson, William A.
Newspaper or publication: North Star
Brief speech regarding the government's stance on fugitive slaves, and its idea of continuing slavery as it assigned slave holding status to newly formed states.
Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 212 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Jackson, William Andrew, b. 1832
Newspaper or publication: Anti-Slavery Advocate
Brief overview of speech by the coachman of Jefferson Davis (who had recently escaped and settled in England) describing his experience with slavery. (See duplicate speech 26152.)
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 301 word document (text and image)
Speaker or author: Jackson, William Andrew, b. 1832
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Brief overview of a speech by the former coachman of Jefferson Davis expressing his opinion about how to include the southern states into the union after the Civil War.
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 325 word document (text and image)
Speaker or author: Jackson, William Andrew, b. 1832
Newspaper or publication: Sheffield Daily Telegram
Narrative speech regarding the speaker's life and experience as slave to Jefferson Davis. After his escape from Davis, the speaker provided information to Union troops which helped him secure passage to New York and freedom.
Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 366 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: National Anti-Slavery Standard
Speech encouraging education and emphasizing the benefits of knowledge as a way toward the social and moral improvement in the lives of the free people of color. The speaker also encouraged the development of societies which would unite people and help them realize these goals.
Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 865 word document (text and images)
spe.pdf.jpg "View item details")
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Brief speech encouraging nominally free black citizens to exercise their right to vote. The speaker encouraged women to influence the men in their lives to vote. He noted that while women were still denied the right to vote, they had a voice through their use of influence.
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 201 word document (text and image)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech given on the anniversary of British emancipation of the West Indies with a comparison of this act to the continuation of slavery in the U.S.
Description of file(s): PDF 5 page, 1,504 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech delivered during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the First Independent Baptist Female Society and the church where their meetings were held. The speaker gave an overview of the history of the church and parish, and the accomplishments of the organization.
Description of file(s): PDF 6 page, 1,493 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech given at Marlboro Chapel to commemorate the arrival in Boston from England of William Lloyd Garrison and N. P. Rogers. An invitation for the event was issued reading: "all abolitionists of Boston and vicinity, irrespective of complexion, respectfully requested to unite in this public reception of our esteemed friends and co-adjutors in the cause of universal emancipation."
Description of file(s): PDF one page, 203 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Brief speech given during the dedication of a grove set aside for church services. The speaker emphasized that the Church had become, by its refusal to aid in the anti-slavery movement, an implied supporter of slavery.
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 157 word document (text and image)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: North Star
Brief overview of a speech stressing the potential for the moral and intellectual "elevation" of the African American people.
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 163 word document (text and image)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech given in response to a speech by Daniel Webster in which he called for the surrender of fugitive slaves and encouraged the colonization of Africa by "nominally free" African Americans living in the north.
Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 756 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: National Anti-Slavery Standard
Speech delivered during the acceptance of a gold watch presented to the speaker in honor of his work for equal rights in education. The speaker included his own experiences with the color barrier in education along with the stories of others who had fought for equal educational rights.
Description of file(s): PDF 10 page, 3,079 word document (text and images)
spe.pdf.jpg "View item details")
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech delivered to welcome home William Wells Brown who returned from England a free man after being rescued from slavery and fugitive status by "British philanthropy."
Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 570 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech given during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. The speaker emphasized the great work and efforts the society has realized over the years.
Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 489 word document (text and images)
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Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: National Anti-Slavery Standard
Brief speech denouncing colonization and the Fugitive Slave Law. The speaker noted that in the state of New York "...professor's chairs are filled by coloured men, who dispense the dew-drops of knowledge to a majority of white pupils; and, strange as it may sound to Colonisation ears, neither teachers or scholars are contaminated by the association."
Description of file(s): PDF 1 page, 158 word document (text and image)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech honoring the martyrdom of Crispus Attucks, the first person to die in the Revolutionary War of 1776. The speaker offered the patriotism of Attucks act that day as an example of an expression of loyalty and deep love of country that all African Americans are capable of demonstrating.
Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 407 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech expressing praise for a recent speech given before Congress by Charles Sumner regarding equal school rights for African Americans. The speaker also praised the life and recent death of Reverend Theodore Parker. He emphasized some of Reverend Parker's accomplishments.
Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 666 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech delivered at a commemoration of the death of Crispus Attucks, the first man killed at the beginning of the American Revolution. The speaker expressed his views about the causes of the current civil war and his beliefs in a positive resolution to the fighting.
Description of file(s): PDF 3 page, 674 word document (text and images)
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech offering a brief biography of the life of Crispus Attucks and his martyrdom at the Boston Massacre in 1770. The speaker included a letter by the grandson of Samuel Maverick, Attucks' master.
Description of file(s): PDF 5 page, 1,312 word document (text and images)
spe.pdf.jpg "View item details")
Speaker or author: Nell, William C. (William Cooper), 1816-1874.
Newspaper or publication: Liberator
Speech commemorating the March 5th death of Crispus Attucks, a day that African Americans had long celebrated. This celebration had been merged with the July 4th celebration, but the speaker asked his audience to remember the sacrifices of black war heroes on this day.
Description of file(s): PDF 2 page, 314 word document (text and images)