(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION--EDUCATION.) Report of the Proceedings at the Formation of the African Education Society: . . .With an Address to the Public by the Board of Managers. 16 pages. 8vo, original buff wrappers, sewn. Contemporary ownership signature on front cover, "M. Greenleaf." An exemplary copy. Washington: James C. Dunn,. 1830
first edition, one of two printings of the same year with no precedence. Not at all what it at first might seem; the Society sought not to educate the African-American in America for his own sake, but to educate him prior to being sent back to Africa. The Report starts out with the Constitution of the Society, the second clause of which reads: "The exclusive object of this Society shall be to afford to persons of colour destined to Africa, such an education, in Letters, Agriculture, and the Mechanic Arts, as may best qualify them for usefulness and influence in Africa." Francis Scott Key, author of the "Star Spangled Banner" was a member, as was Arthur Tappan, and Gerrit Smith, both of whom abandoned the idea of "repatriation" for the complete abolishment of slavery. The rear cover shows a partially printed "Form of a Constitution for Auxiliary Societies" that could be used as a model for local societies. Afro-Americana, 123; Blockson, 598. While OCLC shows 39 locations, it appears at least half are microfiche.
