Founding-era writing
Memorial of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery to the Senate and House of Representatives
The memorial was agreed unanimously by the Society at a special meeting on February 3, 1790 and signed the same day by Franklin as its president. James Pemberton's letter of February 5 directed the president to sign and forward two copies, one to the President of the Senate and one to the Speaker of the House. Franklin transmitted the Senate copy to Vice President John Adams on February 9. This is an institutional petition, not a personal essay by Franklin.
Source and edition, with one open question
The word "bound" appears twice where the manuscript's page break falls, once as the last word of the page and once as the first word of the next. That is how the National Archives transcription renders it, and it is preserved rather than emended, consistent with not silently correcting a copy-text. Separately, other institutions publish transcriptions of the same original that differ in small ways, including whether an ampersand is expanded to "and" and whether one phrase reads "bands" or "bounds" of Slavery.
EditionNational Archives transcription of the memorial, published on DocsTeach and cataloged as National Archives Identifier 306388. The original is in Petitions and Memorials and Resolutions of State Legislatures Submitted to the 1st Congress, Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46, National Archives Building, Washington, DC. The same transcription page also carries Franklin's February 9 covering letter to John Adams and James Pemberton's February 5 letter of instruction; neither is imported.
TranscriptionNational Archives and Records Administration
Text handlingOriginal spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are preserved. The memorial's four paragraphs are kept as four units: the address line, and the three paragraphs of the memorial proper. The manuscript's page break falls inside the last paragraph and the National Archives transcription breaks there; the paragraph is rejoined, because a page break is not a paragraph break. Square-bracketed notes recording later pencil underlining on the document are removed, since they describe marks made on the paper rather than words of the 1790 text; the three underlined phrases are "bound to use all justifiable endeavours to loosen the bands of Slavery", "Restoration of Liberty", and "Inconsistency from the Character of the American People". The transcription's own "[signature]" note in the subscription is removed for the same reason. The bracketed expansion of Franklin's abbreviated title, "Presid[ent] of the Society", is kept with its brackets, since the brackets already mark it as supplied. The dateline and signature are stored separately from the body.
RightsA National Archives transcription of a United States federal record, marked Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions on the source page. The 1790 text is public domain. Bare text only is imported, with no institutional site apparatus. Jurisdiction: US.
¶To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
¶The memorial of the Pennsylvania Society for promoting the Abolition of Slavery, the relief of free Negroes unlawfully held in bondage, and the Improvement of the Condition of the African Race – Respectfully Sheweth, That from a regard for the happiness of Mankind an Association was formed several years since in this State by a number of her Citizens of various religious denominations for promoting the Abolition of Slavery and for the relief of those unlawfully held in bondage. A just and accurate Conception of the true Principles of liberty, as it spread through the land, produced accessions to their numbers, many friends to their Cause, and a legislative Co-operation with their views, which, by the blessing of Divine Providence, have been successfully directed to the relieving from bondage a large number of their fellow Creatures of the African Race – They have also the Satisfaction to observe, that in consequence of that Spirit of Philanthropy and genuine liberty which is generally diffusing its beneficial Influence, similar Institutions are gradually forming at home and abroad.
¶That mankind are all formed by the same Almighty being, alike objects of his Care and equally designed for the Enjoyment of Happiness the Christian Religion teaches us to believe, and the Political Creed of America fully coincides with the Position. Your Memorialists, particularly engaged in attending to the Distresses arising from Slavery, believe it their indispensable Duty to present this Subject to your notice – They have observed with great Satisfaction that many important and salutary Powers are vested in you for “promoting the Welfare and securing the blessing of liberty to the People of the United States”. And as they conceive; that these blessing ought rightfully to be administered, without distinction of Colour, to all descriptions of People, so they indulge themselves in the pleasing expectation, that nothing which can be done for the relief of the unhappy objects of their care, will be either omitted or delayed.
¶From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the Portion, and is still the Birthright of all Men, and influenced by the strong ties of Humanity and the Principles of their Institution, your Memorialists conceive themselves bound bound to use all justifiable endeavours to loosen the bands of Slavery and promote a general Enjoyment of the blessings of Freedom. Under these Impressions they earnestly entreat your serious attention to the Subject of Slavery, that you will be pleased to countenance the Restoration of Liberty to those unhappy Men, who alone, in this land of Freedom, are degraded into perpetual Bondage, and who, amidst the general Joy of surrounding Freemen, are groaning in Servile Subjection, that you will devise means for removing this Inconsistency from the Character of the American People – that you will promote Mercy and Justice towards this distressed Race, and that you will Step to the very verge of the Powers vested in you for discouraging every Species of Traffick in the Persons of our fellow Men.
Philadelphia Febry 3: 1790 B. Franklin Presid[ent] of the Society