Description:

'THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF SLAVERY'
Rare imprint, 'The Unconstitutionality of Slavery' by Lysander Spooner (Boston: Bela Marsh), Part I, 1846. 132pp. 12mo., disbound. American abolitionist Lysander Spooner (1808-1887) argues that the United States Constitution prohibits slavery. This view was contrary to that of William Lloyd Garrison who opposed the Constitution on the grounds that it was pro-slavery. In the book, Spooner shows that none of the state governments of the slave states specifically authorized slavery, that the U.S. Constitution contains several clauses that are inconsistent with slavery, that slavery was a violation of natural law, and that the intentions of the Constitutional Convention have no legal bearing on the document they created. A few stains to first and last page, else very good. On May 23, 1851, in 'Change of Opinion Announced', Frederick Douglass attributed his shift in opinion away from Garrison's view that the Constitution was pro-slavery 'to Lysander Spooner, Gerrit Smith, and William Goodell...' ['Frederick Douglass and the Original Originalists' Bradley Rebeiro].

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April 2, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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