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,,anti-,,slavery ,,tracts4 ,no4 #ad4    
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8,,how ,,can ,i ,,help ,,to ,,abolish   
,,slavery80                             
,,or1                        ,,counsels 
,,to ,,the ,,newly ,,converted4         
,,by ,,maria ,,weston ,,chapman4        
,yes1 my friend1 ,i can resolve your    
question4 ,twenty years of actual       
experience qualify one to reply4 ,i have
 stood1 as you now stand1 on the        
threshold of this grandest undertaking  
of any age--this effort to elevate  a   
whole people in the scale of moral      
being--with my head full of plans1  and 
my heart of devotedness1 asking the same
 question4 ,i really longed  for this   
coming of millennial glory1 and         
therefore soon found the road  on which 
to go forth to meet it4 ,my disgust was 
unutterable1 as yours1  too1 will be1 if
 you desire the abolition of slavery    

more than the  temporary triumph of sect
 or party1 at the stupid schemes by     
which  selfish men were then1 as now1   
trying to make capital for themselves   
out  of the sacred cause of human       
rights--seeking to sell the gift of the 
,holy  ,ghost for money4 ,hear them     
clamorously and meanly taking advantage 
of  ignorance1 for the promotion of     
self-interest4    ,first1 hear the      
agents of slavery presenting the        
colonization scheme as  the instrument  
of abolition4    8,aid the ,colonization
 ,society40 ,yes2 to make slavery       
stronger by  exalting prejudice as an   
ordination of divine ,providence2 to    
make  slavery safer by eliminating that 
dangerous element1 the free black2 to   
make its term longer by stultifying     
national conscience4 ,see that  society 
making the laws of slave ,states more   
cruel1 the men of the free  ,states more
 obdurate1 the situation of the free men
 of color more  difficult and           
insupportable1 as a part of its plan4   

,it could not1 if it  would1 transport  
three millions of souls to ,africa2 the 
navies and  revenues of the world would 
be insufficient4 ,it would not1 if it   
could2  for slavery has no intention of 
parting with its three millions of      
victims2 unless induced to free them out
 of generosity1 it will keep  them on   
speculation4 ,its forty years of        
colonization labor1 and its  million of 
gold and silver1 have exiled fewer to   
,liberia than have  escaped into ,canada
 in spite of it--less in that period    
than the monthly  increase of the       
slaves6 ,it can do nothing for          
,christianizing ,africa1 for  it sends a
 slaveholding gospel1 which is          
anti-,christ4 ,be not deceived1  then1  
by a tyrannical mockery like this1      
working to perpetuate slavery1  and not 
to abolish it4 ,aid the ,american       
,anti-,slavery ,society1 which  deals   
with the heart and conscience of this   
slaveholding nation1  demanding         
immediate1 unconditional emancipation1  

without expatriation2  the abolition of 
slavery by the spirit of repentance1 in 
conformity with  all your own principles
 and traditions1 whether religious or   
political4    ,hear another cry1        
7coming1 not like the first1 from the   
enemies of  abolition1 but from friends1
 generally those of more pretension than
  devotedness37 8,form a political      
party1 free soil or other1 to vote down 
slavery40    ,yes1 don't kill the       
growing monster--call to him to stop    
growing2 merge  immediatism1 which      
always succeeds1 in gradualism1 which   
never does4  ,substitute a secondary    
object for the primary one4 ,strive in  
the first  place not to abolish slavery1
 but to get one set of men out of office
  and another in1 to learn by the event 
that the last are as incapable to  turn 
back the whirlpool that masters the     
government as the first were4  ,make an 
appeal to force of numbers in a case    
where you know it is  against you2 in a 
case1 too1 where1 having sworn          

assistance1 you must  lose influence by 
such an appeal4 ,spend your time and    
money1 not in  making new abolitionists1
 but in counting the old ones1 that at  
every  count diminish4 ,politics1 in the
 common1 small sense of the term1 merely
  takes the circumstances it finds1 and 
does its best with them4 ,but the       
present circumstances are unfavorable4  
,,then ,,create ,,new ,,ones4 ,this is  
true politics1 in the enlarged1 real    
meaning of the word4 ,here is a         
building to be erected1 and no          
sufficient materials4 ,a little         
untempered mortar1 a few unbaked        
bricks--that is all4 ,go to the deep    
quarries of the human heart1 and make of
 your sons and daughters  polished      
stones to build the temple of the ,lord4
 ,it is this cleaving  into the living  
rock the ,,american ,,anti-,,slavery    
,,society girds itself to  do4 ,under   
its operations men become better and    
better abolitionists4  ,under the labors
 of political partisanship they         

necessarily grow worse  and worse4 ,they
 must ever ask themselves how little    
anti-slavery  feeling and principle they
 can make serve the temporary turn2     
because  the less of either1 the greater
 the chance4 ,they must always be       
sacrificing the end to the means4 ,call 
them to the witness box in their        
capacity of philosophical observers1 and
 out of their little  circumventing     
political characters1 and themselves    
will tell you that  the effect of       
electioneering on anti-slavery is most  
unfavorable1 adding  to the existing    
opposition to right the fury of party   
antagonism1  throwing away the balance  
of power1 lowering the tone of moral and
  religious feeling and action1 and thus
 letting a sacred enterprise  degenerate
 into a scramble for office4 ,but labor 
with the ,,american  ,,anti-,,slavery   
,,society directly to the great end1 and
 even ,franklin  ,pierce and ,co41      
pro-slavery as they are1 will grovel to 
do your bidding4  ,the administration   

now on the throne is as good for your   
bidding as  any other4 ,in a republican 
land the power behind the throne is the 
power4 ,save yourself the trouble of    
calling caucuses1 printing party        
journals1 distributing ballots1 and the 
like4 ,let men who are fit for  nothing 
of more consequence do this little work1
 which is best done by  mere nobodies4  
,more than enough of them are always    
ready for it4 ,you1  who are smitten by 
the sacred beauty of the great cause1   
should serve it  greatly4 ,don't drag   
the engine1 like an ignoramus1 but bring
 wood and  water and flame1 like an     
engineer4 ,the ,,american               
,,anti-,,slavery ,,society has  laid the
 track4    8,buy slaves and set them    
free40 ,yes2 lop the branches and       
strengthen the  root2 make the          
destruction of the system more difficult
 by practising  upon it2 create a demand
 for the slave breeder to supply2       
compromise  with crime2 raise the market
 price1 when you ought to stop the      

market2  put a philanthropic mark upon  
the slave trade2 spend money enough in  
buying one man to free fifty gratis1 and
 convert a thousand4 ,but there  is a   
wholesale way1 cries one4 8,sell the    
public lands1 and set every  means in   
motion1 from the merely mercantile      
donation of a million to the  infant    
cent society1 and thus raise two        
thousand millions of dollars1  and beg  
the slaveholders to take it1 7not as    
compensation1 but as a  token of good   
will17 and let their bondmen go40 ,i    
marvel at this  insufficient notion of  
the heart of a slaveholder4 ,i wonder   
exceedingly  at such a want of          
imagination4 8,not as compensation0 is  
well put2 for  what sum can compensate a
 monarch for his throne8 ,this system of
 slavery  makes the south the parent of 
long lines of princes4 ,it gives to her 
diabolical dominions        8,kingdoms1 
and sway1 and strength1 and length of   
days40    ,i am strangely divided in    
sympathy4 ,i feel at once the generosity

 of the  proposal1 and have the feeling 
of contempt with which its insufficient 
inappropriateness is received4          
8,organize vigilance committees1 and    
establish underground railroads40  ,yes2
 hide from tyranny1 instead of defying  
it2 whisper a testimony2  form a bad    
habit of mind in regard to despotism2   
try to keep out the sea  with a mop1    
when you ought to build a dike2 flatter 
your sense of  compassion by taking     
private retail measures to have         
suffering  ameliorated1 when you might1 
with the ,,american ,,anti-,,slavery    
,,society1 be  taking public wholesale  
measures to have wrong 7the cause of    
suffering7 righted4 ,you may safely     
leave with the half and quarter         
converted1 with the slaveholders1 nay1  
even with the ,curtises1 the  charge of 
all these things1 which without the     
,american ,anti-,slavery  ,society are  
but as hydrogen and nitrogen without    
oxygen1 however good  with it1 as the   
natural fruits of its labors4 ,what ,i  

would discourage  is1 not mercy and     
compassion in an individual case1 but a 
disgraceful  mistake in the economy of  
well doing2 spending in salving a sore  
finger  what would buy the elixir vit2  
preferring the less1 which excludes  the
 greater1 to the greater1 which includes
 the less4 ,slavery can only  be        
abolished by raising the character of   
the people who compose the  nation2 and 
that can be done only by showing them a 
higher one4 ,now1  there is one thing   
that can't be done in secret2 you can't 
set a  good example under a bushel4     
8,but instruction6 instruction6 found   
schools and churches for the  blacks1   
and thus prepare for the abolition of   
slavery40 ,o1 shallow and  shortsighted6
 the demand is the preparation2 nothing 
can supply the  place of that4 ,and     
exclusive instruction1 teaching for     
blacks1 a  school founded on color1 a   
church in which men are herded          
ignominiously1  apart from the refining 
influence of association with the more  

highly  educated and accomplished1--what
 are they8 ,a direct way of fitting     
white  men for tyrants1 and black men   
for slaves4 ,no2 if you would teach and 
,christianize the nation1 strengthen the
 ,,american ,,anti-,,slavery ,,society1 
the only ,american institution founded  
on the ,christian and republican  idea  
of the equal brotherhood of man1 and in 
opposition to a church and  state which 
deny human brotherhood by sanctioning   
slavery1 and pull down  ,christ to their
 own level4 ,the ,american              
,anti-,slavery ,society is church  and  
university1 high school and common      
school to all who need real  instruction
 and true religion4 ,of it what a throng
 of authors1 editors1  lawyers1 orators1
 and accomplished gentlemen of color    
have taken their  degree6 ,it has       
equally implanted hopes and aspirations1
 noble thoughts  and sublime purposes in
 the hearts of both races4 ,it has      
prepared the  white man for the freedom 
of the black man1 and it has made the   

black  man scorn the thought of         
enslavement1 as does a white man1 as far
 as its  influence has extended4        
,strengthen that noble influence4       
,before its  organization1 the country  
only saw here and there in slavery some 
8faithful ,cudjoe or ,dinah10 whose     
strong natures blossomed even in        
bondage1 like a fine plant beneath a    
heavy stone4 ,now1 under the  elevating 
and cherishing influence of the         
,american ,anti-,slavery ,society1  the 
colored race1 like the white1 furnishes 
,corinthian capitals for the  noblest   
temples4 ,aroused by the ,american      
,anti-,slavery ,society1 the very  white
 men who had forgotten and denied the   
claim of the black man to the  rights of
 humanity now thunder that claim at     
every gate1 from cottage to  capital1   
from school house to university1 from   
the railroad carriage to  the house of  
,god4 ,he has a place at their          
firesides1 a place in their  hearts--the
 man whom they once cruelly hated for   

his color4 ,so feeling1  they cannot    
send him to ,coventry with a horn-book  
in his hand1 and  call it instruction6  
,they inspire him to climb to their side
 by a  visible acted gospel of freedom4 
,thus1 instead of bowing to prejudice1  
they conquer it4    8,establish         
free-labor warehouses40 ,indeed6 is that
 a good business  calculation that leads
 to expend in search of the products of 
free labor  the time and money that     
would make all labor free8 ,while wrong 
exists in  the world1 you cannot 7short 
of suicide7 but draw your every life    
breath  in involuntary connection with  
it2 nor is conscience to be satisfied   
with any thing short of a complete      
devotion to the anti-slavery cause of   
the life that is sustained by slavery4  
,we may draw good out of evil3  we must 
not do evil1 that good may come4 ,yet ,i
 counsel you to honor  those who eat no 
sugar1 as you ask no questions for      
conscience's sake2  while you despise   
those who thrust forward such a call    

upon conscience1  impossible1 in the    
nature of things1 to be obeyed1 and     
therefore not  binding1 as if it were   
the end of the law for righteousness1 in
 order to  injure ,garrison1 the great  
and good founder of the ,american       
,anti-,slavery  ,society4 ,i have seen  
men stand drawing bills of exchange     
between ,england  and the ,united       
,states1 while uttering maledictions    
against the ,american  ,anti-,slavery   
,society1 because it does not1 as such1 
occupy itself with  the free produce    
question4 ,this ,i brand as pro-slavery 
in disguise--sheer  hypocrisy4    ,you  
see1 my friend1 that ,i have replied to 
your question in the  conviction that   
you desire the abolition of slavery     
above all other  things in this world2  
as one assured that it is the great work
 of  ,christianity in our age and       
country1 as the conflict with idolatry  
was  in other times and climes4 ,thus   
you see the salvation of the souls1 the 
maintenance of the rights1 the          

fulfilment of the duties1 and the       
preservation of the free institutions of
 ,americans1 to depend upon the         
extirpation of this accursed and        
disgraceful disease which is destroying 
them4 ,if ,i had reason to think you    
merely desirous to make sectarian and   
political capital out of a holy thought 
and a sacred purpose originated  by     
others--if you were merely contriving   
defences for what is  indefensible1 and 
trying to save the credit of what is    
disgraceful1  trying to throw dust1 and 
change the issue1 and pay tithes of     
cumin to  delay justice1 in order to    
spare your own insignificant self in    
this  greatest conflict of light and    
darkness1 good and evil1 which the world
  has now to show--if you had been      
trying how to seem creditably           
interested in what ought to be an       
,american's first business1 and         
calculating how little instead of how   
much you might sacrifice to  the        
soul-exalting cause of freedom--if you  

were but trying to get  yourself or some
 friend into office by the judicious use
 of ideas which1  as a republican and a 
,christian1 you ought to give yourself  
wholly to be  used by--if you were the  
hired agent of some demisemiquaver of a 
movement  which tacked anti-slavery to  
its other titles1 in order to establish 
a  claim on the purses of               
abolitionists--in any of these cases ,i 
would not  have stopped to talk with    
you4 ,your interest being the thing you 
had at  heart1 ,i should not counsel2 ,i
 should be called1 in the name of all   
that is holy1 to condemn you1 in order  
that blame might awaken  conscience4    
,but the case1 ,i trust1 is different4  
,i may1 then1 say to  you1 with all the 
confidence1 nay1 certainty1 which is    
inseparable from  experience1 knowledge1
 and utter self-abnegation in the       
matter1 ,,work  ,,with ,,the ,,american 
,,anti-,,slavery ,,society4 ,lavish your
 time1 your money1  your labors1 your   
prayers1 in that field1 which is the    

world1 and you  will reap a thousand    
fold1 now and hereafter4 ,this movement 
moves4 ,it  is alive4 ,hear how every   
thing mean and selfish struggles1       
hisses1 and  dies under its influence4  
,never1 since the world was1 has any    
effort  been so clear1 so strong1 so    
uncompromising1 so ennobling1 so holy1  
and1  let me add1 so successful4 ,it is 
8the bright consummate flower0 of the   
,christianity of the nineteenth century4
 ,look at those who 8have not  resisted 
the heavenly vision0 it presented them  
of a nation overcoming  its evil        
propensities1 and doing right at all    
risks2 ask them whether  it has not     
saved their souls alive2 ask them if it 
has not made them  worshippers of the   
beauty and sublimity of high character1 
till they are  ready to 8know nothing on
 earth but ,jesus ,christ and him       
crucified40 ,for  this they give        
all--wealth1 youth1 health1 strength1   
life4 ,worldly  success1 obtained by    
slackening their labors against slavery1

 7and it is  easy to have it on those   
terms at any moment1 so placable a      
monster is  the world17 strikes them    
like failure and disgrace4 ,they have   
8scorned  delights1 and lived laborious 
days10 till at length they feel it no   
sacrifice1 but the highest joy4 ,all    
this the ,american ,anti-,slavery       
,society demands of you4 ,,do ,,it6 and 
be most grateful for the  opportunity of
 fulfilling a work which is its own     
exceeding great  reward4 ,,do ,,it1 and 
find yourself the chosen of ,god1 to    
keep alive in  this nation1 degraded and
 corrupted by slavery1 the noble flame  
of  ,christian faith1 the sentiment of  
honor and fidelity1 the instinct of     
high-mindedness1 the sense of absolute1 
immutable duty1 the charm of  chivalrous
 and poetic feeling1 which would make of
 the poorest ,americans  the ,christian 
gentlemen of the world4                 
8,cherish all these high feelings that  
become                ,a giver of the   
gift of liberty40    ,you will find     

yourself under the necessity of doing it
 in this noble  company1 or alone4 ,try 
it4 ,strive to be perfect1 as ,god is   
perfect--to  act up to your own highest 
idea1 in connection with church or state
 in  this land corrupted by slavery1 and
 see if you are helped or hindered4  ,be
 not dragged along by them protesting4  
,it is graceing as a slave the  chariot 
wheels of a triumph4 ,but flee from     
them1 as one flees out of  ,babylon4    
,secure the blessing of union for good1 
and be delivered from  the curse of     
union in evil1 by acting with the       
,,american ,,anti-,,slavery  ,,society1 
its members and friends4    ,i use this 
mode of expression advisedly1 for ,i am 
not speaking of a mere  form of         
association4 ,many are in harmonious    
coperation with it who have  neither    
signed the constitution nor subscribed  
the annual half dollar4  ,hence it is   
neither a formality nor a ceremony1 but 
a united1  onward-flowing current of    
noble lives4    ,if1 then1 you feel that

 devotedness of heart which ,i verily   
think your  question indicates1 ,i feel 
free to counsel you to go immediately to
  the nearest office of the ,american   
,anti-,slavery ,society1#a by letter1   
if not in person1 subscribe what money  
you can afford--the first fruits  of a  
life-long liberality1 and study the     
cause like a science1 while  promoting  
it like a gospel1 under the cheering and
 helpful sympathy of  some of the best  
company on earth2 but not unless2 for   
this company  despises what politicians1
 ecclesiastical and other1 call 8getting
  people committed40 ,they have a horror
 of this selfish invasion of  another's 
freedom1 as of the encumbrance of       
selfish help4 ,they warn you  not to    
touch the ark with unhallowed hands4    
,one consideration more--the thought of 
what you owe to your forerunners  in    
what you feel to be the truth4 ,it is1  
to follow meekly after1 and be  baptized
 with the baptism that they are baptized
 with4 8,thus it  becometh us to fulfil 

all righteousness20 and the more your   
talents1  gifts1 and graces may1 in your
 own judgment1 be superior to theirs1   
the  more becoming it will be to seek   
their fellowship2 for in the whole  land
 they1 and they alone1 are right4 ,it is
 not eulogy1 but fact1  that theirs is  
the path of the just1 shining more and  
more unto the  perfect day--denied only 
by the besotted with injustice1 the     
committed to  crime4 ,consider1 then1   
not only what you owe to your           
slavery-cursed  country1 your enslaving 
as well as enslaved countrymen1 your    
fathers'  memory1 your remotest         
posterity1 the ,christian religion1     
which forbids  the sacrifice of one     
man's rights to another man's interests1
 and which  knows no distinction of     
caste1 color1 or condition1--but        
consider1 also1  what you owe to those  
individuals and to that brotherhood who 
have  battled twenty years in the breach
 for your freedom1 involved with  that  
of the meanest slave4    ,imagine how   

the case stood with those who perished  
by suffocation in the  ,black ,hole at  
,calcutta4 ,suppose that some of their  
number had felt the  sublime impulse to 
place their bodies in the door1 and the 
high devoted  hearts to stand the       
crushing till dawn awoke the tyrant2 the
 rest of  that doomed band might have   
passed out alive4 ,this is what the     
,american  ,anti-,slavery ,society has  
been unflinchingly doing for you1 and   
for the  rest of the nation1 amid       
torture1 insult1 and curses1 through a  
long  night of terror and despair4 ,the 
life of the land1 its precious moral    
sense1 has been thus kept from          
suffocation4 ,the free agitating air of 
faithful speech has saved it4 ,the soul 
of the ,united ,states is not dead1     
thanks1 under ,providence1 to that noble
 fellowship of resolute souls1 to  find 
whom the nation has been winnowed4 ,do  
your duty by them1 in the  name of      
self-respect4 ,such companionship is an 
honor accorded to but  few1 and of that 

worthy few ,i would fain count you one4 
,strike1 then1  with them at the        
existence of slavery1 and you will see  
individual  slaves made free1           
anti-slavery leaven introduced into     
parties and  churches1 instruction      
diffused1 the products of free labor    
multiplied1  and fugitives protected1 in
 exact proportion to the energy of the  
grand  onset against the civil system4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,,note4 ,the work of the ,american      
,anti-,slavery ,society is carried on by
  newspapers1 books1 tracts1 agents1    
meetings1 and conventions4 ,the donor   
is requested to specify to what         
department1 and in what section of      
country1 he wishes his contribution     
applied4    -----    ,footnote #a3      
,for the local offices1 see bottom of   
page #ab4                               
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,constitution ,,of ,,the ,,american    
,,anti-,,slavery ,,society4             

,,formed ,,in ,,philadelphia1 ,,december
 #d1 #ahcc4    ,whereas the ,most ,high 
,god 8hath made of one blood all nations
 of men to  dwell on all the face of the
 earth10 and hath commanded them to love
  their neighbors as themselves2 and    
whereas our national existence is  based
 upon this principle1 as recognized in  
the ,declaration of  ,independence1     
8that all mankind are created equal1 and
 that they are  endowed by their        
,creator with certain inalienable       
rights1 among which  are life1 liberty1 
and the pursuit of happiness20 and      
whereas1 after the  lapse of nearly     
sixty years1 since the faith and honor  
of the ,american  people were pledged to
 this avowal before ,almighty ,god and  
the world1  nearly one sixth part of the
 nation are held in bondage by their    
fellow-citizens2 and whereas slavery is 
contrary to the principles of  natural  
justice1 of our republican form of      
government1 and of the  ,christian      
religion1 and is destructive of the     

prosperity of the country1  while it is 
endangering the peace1 union1 and       
liberties of the ,states2  and whereas  
we believe it the duty and interest of  
the masters  immediately to emancipate  
their slaves1 and that no scheme of     
expatriation1 either voluntary or by    
compulsion1 can remove this great  and  
increasing evil2 and whereas we believe 
that it is practicable1 by  appeals to  
the consciences1 hearts1 and interests  
of the people1 to  awaken a public      
sentiment throughout the nation that    
will be opposed to  the continuance of  
slavery in any part of the republic1 and
 by effecting  the speedy abolition of  
slavery1 prevent a general convulsion2  
and  whereas we believe we owe it to the
 oppressed1 to our fellow-citizens  who 
hold slaves1 to our whole country1 to   
posterity1 and to ,god1 to do  all that 
is lawfully in our power to bring about 
the extinction of  slavery1 we do hereby
 agree1 with a prayerful reliance on the
 divine  aid1 to form ourselves into a  

society to be governed by the following 
constitution3--    ,,article ,i4--,this 
society shall be called the ,,american  
,,anti-,,slavery  ,,society4            
,,article ,,ii4--,the objects of this   
society are the entire abolition of     
slavery in the ,united ,states4 ,while  
it admits that each ,state in which     
slavery exists has1 by the constitution 
of the ,united ,states1 the  exclusive  
right to legislate in regard to its     
abolition in said ,state1  it shall aim 
to convince all our fellow-citizens1 by 
arguments addressed  to their           
understandings and consciences1 that    
slaveholding is a heinous  crime in the 
sight of ,god1 and that the duty1       
safety1 and best interests  of all      
concerned require its immediate         
abandonment1 without  expatriation4 ,the
 society will also endeavor1 in a       
constitutional way1  to influence       
,congress to put an end to the domestic 
slave trade1 and to  abolish slavery in 
all those portions of our common country

 which come  under its control1         
especially in the ,district of          
,columbia1 and likewise  to prevent the 
extension of it to any ,state that may  
be hereafter  admitted to the ,union4   
,,article ,,iii4--,this society shall   
aim to elevate the character and        
condition of the people of color1 by    
encouraging their intellectual1  moral1 
and religious improvement1 and by       
removing public prejudice1 that  thus   
they may1 according to their            
intellectual and moral worth1 share an  
equality with the whites of civil and   
religious privileges2 but this  society 
will never1 in any way1 countenance the 
oppressed in vindicating  their rights  
by resorting to physical force4         
,,article ,,iv4--,any person who        
consents to the principles of this      
constitution1 who contributes to the    
funds of this society1 and is not a     
slaveholder1 may be a member of this    
society1 and shall be entitled to  vote 
at the meetings4    ,,article ,v4--,the 

officers of this society shall be a     
president1  vice-presidents1 a recording
 secretary1 corresponding secretaries1 a
  treasurer1 and an executive committee 
of not less than five nor more  than    
twelve members4    ,,article ,,vi4--,the
 executive committee shall have power to
 enact their own  by-laws1 fill any     
vacancy in their body1 and in the       
offices of secretary  and treasurer1    
employ agents1 determine what           
compensation shall be paid  to agents   
and to the corresponding secretaries1   
direct the treasurer in  the application
 of all moneys1 and call special        
meetings of the society4  ,they shall   
make arrangements for all meetings of   
the society1 make an  annual written    
report of their doings1 the expenditures
 and funds of the  society1 and shall   
hold stated meetings1 and adopt the most
 energetic  measures in their power to  
advance the objects of the society4     
,they may1  if they shall see fit1      
appoint a board of assistant managers1  

composed  of not less than three nor    
more than seven persons residing in ,new
 ,york  city1 or its vicinity1 whose    
duty it shall be to render such         
assistance  to the committee in         
conducting the affairs of the society as
 the  exigencies of the cause may       
require4 ,to this board they may from   
time to  time confide such of their own 
powers as they may deem necessary to the
  efficient conduct of the society's    
business4 ,the board shall keep a       
record of its proceedings1 and furnish a
 copy of the same for the  information  
of the committee1 as often as may be    
required4    ,,article ,,vii4--,the     
president shall preside at all meetings 
of the society1  or1 in his absence1 one
 of the vice-presidents1 or1 in their   
absence1 a  president pro tem4 ,the     
corresponding secretaries shall conduct 
the  correspondence of the society4 ,the
 recording secretary shall notify all   
meetings of the society and of the      
executive committee1 and shall keep     

records of the same in separate books4  
,the treasurer shall collect the        
subscriptions1 make payments at the     
direction of the executive  committee1  
and present a written and audited       
account to accompany the  annual report4
    ,,article ,,viii4--,the annual      
meeting of the society shall be held    
each year  at such time and place as the
 executive committee may direct1 when   
the  accounts of the treasurer shall be 
presented1 the annual report read1      
appropriate addresses delivered1 the    
officers chosen1 and such other         
business transacted as shall be deemed  
expedient4    ,,article ,,ix4--,any     
anti-slavery society or association     
founded on the same  principles may     
become auxiliary to this society4 ,the  
officers of each  auxiliary society     
shall be ex officio members of the      
parent institution1  and shall be       
entitled to deliberate and vote in the  
transactions of its  concerns4          
,,article ,x4--,this constitution may be

 amended1 at any annual meeting of  the 
society1 by a vote of two thirds of the 
members present1 provided  the          
amendments proposed have been previously
 submitted1 in writing1 to  the         
executive committee4                    
99       99       99       99       99  
,published for gratuitous distribution1 
at the ,office of the ,,american        
,,anti-,,slavery ,,society1 ,no4 #ach   
,nassau ,street1 ,new ,york4 ,also to be
 had  at the ,anti-,slavery ,offices1   
,no4 #ba ,cornhill1 ,boston1 and ,no4   
#ca ,north  ,fifth ,street1             
,philadelphia2 and at the ,anti-,slavery
 ,depository1 ,salem1  ,columbiana ,co41
 ,ohio4                                 
,transcriber's ,notes    ,some          
inconsistencies in spelling1            
hyphenation1 punctuation1 and           
typography have been retained4    ,this 
file uses underscores to indicate italic
 text4