12. [William] Slade, Speech of Mr. Slade, of Vermont, on the Right of Petition; The Power of Congress to Abolish Slavery and the Slave Trade in the District of Columbia; the Implied Faith of the North and the South to Each Other in Forming the Constitution; and the Principles, Purposes, and Prospects of Abolition. Delivered in the House of Representatives, on the 18th and 20th January, 1840 (Washington, DC: Gales & Seaton, 1840). (45 p.)


Speech in favor of accepting petitions urging the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. The speaker also defends abolitionism as a legitimate topic for political debate. (The collection has another copy of this speech in volume 9 [no. 11].)