Existing comment:
John Matthews
Alexander von Humboldt on the Fugitive Slave Law, Oct. 12, 1858
1864
ink on paper
Matthews was a New York businessman who made this photographic reproduction of a letter he received from Humboldt dated October 12, 1858, decrying Daniel Webster's support for the Fugitive Slave Law. That law mandated that escaped slaves were to be returned to their masters. Matthews distributed these two-sided cards at the 1864 Metropolitan Fair to benefit the Union cause during the Civil War. Matthews sent a card to President Abraham Lincoln on February 26, 1864, expressing his hope that the president would take comfort from Humboldt's words.
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Abraham Lincoln Papers |