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1817 Washington, D.C., Slavery is cherished here in the same cradle with Liberty

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 600.00 USD
1817 Washington, D.C., Slavery is cherished here in the same cradle with Liberty
Black History
Arthur Livermore New Hampshire Congressman: "Slavery is cherished here in the same cradle with liberty" Letter
Dec. 1, 1817-Dated, Autograph Letter Signed, by New Hampshire Congressman Arthur Livermore, Washington, D.C., "Slavery is cherished here in the same cradle with liberty," Extremely Fine.
This historic Slavery related Handwritten Signed Letter measures 7.75” x 12.75”, 2 pages and is Signed by Arthur Livermore as a member of the United States Congress. Vivid and clean paper shows the well written boldly penned text extremely well and it is easy to read. Livermore writes to his wife his first impressions of Washington, D.C., being amused by the hustle and bustle of preparations for the opening of Congress, as all the Congressmen and Senators in his boarding house hurried, he writes, in part:

“... to make an appearance… Visages and persons of every size, shape, age and colour are to be beautified and embellished to the astonishment of the world.” But what most struck this New England Yankee, "We are all served here by Slaves, for Slavery is cherished here in the same cradle with liberty and one thinks but little of the condition of them. The slaves make good families and seem as happy as their master. Charles a black boy of 19 or 20 insists every morning on brushing my coat & hat and I am obliged to keep telling him that that was all done before I left home…”

Livermore, was a former Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court whose father and brother had also been Members of Congress, soon changed his view of “happy” Slaves. By his second term in office, he would become a passionate opponent of Slavery.
Arthur Livermore (July 29, 1766 – July 1, 1853) was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was the son of Samuel Livermore and brother of Edward St. Loe Livermore, both of whom served in the United States Congress. He was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He received classical instruction from his parents and also studied law. Later, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Concord in 1792 and then moved to Chester the following year.

Livermore was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1794 and 1795 and the solicitor for Rockingham County 1796-1798. After moving to Holderness in 1798, he became an associate justice of the superior court 1798-1809 and Chief Justice 1809-1813. He served as a presidential elector on the Federalist ticket in 1800 and as an associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court 1813-1816.

Livermore was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1821). He served as chairman of both the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads (Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses) and the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Sixteenth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1822 to the Seventeenth Congress.

He served in the New Hampshire Senate in 1821 and 1822, judge of probate for Grafton County in 1822 and 1823, and was elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth Congress (March 4, 1823-March 3, 1825). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1824. After leaving Congress, he was the Chief Justice of the court of common pleas 1825-1832, moved to Campton, New Hampshire in 1827, and was a trustee of Holmes Plymouth Academy 1808-1826. He died in Campton in 1853 and was buried in Trinity Churchyard, Holderness.