James Gillespie Birney
A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Jacqueline Goggin
Revised by Michael
McElderry
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2008
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2008
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms008026
Title: James Gillespie Birney
Papers
Span Dates: 1830-circa 1895
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1830-1850)
ID No.: MSS12799
Creator:
Birney, James Gillespie,
1792-1857
Extent: 22 items;
1 container;
0.2 linear feet;
1 microfilm reel
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Abolitionist and
editor. Correspondence, diaries, a notebook, and newspaper clippings primarily
concerning Birney's participation in the antislavery movement.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Personal Names
Birney,
James Gillespie, 1792-1857.
Holley,
Myron, 1779-1841--Correspondence.
Lundy,
Benjamin, 1789-1839.
Mudge, B.
F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1817-1879--Correspondence.
Smith,
Gerrit, 1797-1874--Correspondence.
Smith,
Gerrit, 1797-1874.
Weld,
Theodore Dwight, 1803-1895--Correspondence.
Weld,
Theodore Dwight, 1803-1895.
Organizations
American
Colonization Society.
Liberty
Party (U.S.)
Subjects
Abolitionists.
African
Americans--Colonization--Africa.
Antislavery
movements.
Slavery.
Related Names
Birney, William,
1819-1907. William Birney papers.
Occupations
Abolitionists.
Editors.
Provenance:The papers of James Gillespie Birney, abolitionist and editor, were
deposited in the Library of Congress by Dion S. Birney in 1932. The deposit was
converted to a gift in 1958.
Processing History:The papers of James Gillespie Birney were arranged and described in
1981. The collection was expanded and revised in 1986 and 1998, and additional
revisions were made to the finding aid in 2008.
Transfers:The "Liberty's Advocate" (Amesbury and Salisbury, Mass.; 21 Oct. 1843,
no. 5)has been transferred to the Rare Books and Special Collections Division
where they are identified as part of the James Gillespie Birney Papers.
Copyright Status:The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of James Gillespie
Birney is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Microfilm:A microfilm edition of these papers is available on one reel. Consult
a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for
purchase or interlibrary loan.
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, James Gillespie Birney Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
| Date |
Event |
| 1792, Feb. 4 |
Born, Danville, Ky. |
| 1810 |
Graduated, College of New Jersey (Princeton University),
Princeton, N.J.
|
| 1814 |
Read law in office of Alexander J. Dallas, Philadelphia,
Pa.
Admitted to bar
Began law practice in Danville, Ky.
|
| 1816 |
Married Agatha McDowell (died 1839)
Elected to Kentucky legislature
|
| 1818 |
Moved to Alabama |
| 1819 |
Elected representative to first General Assembly of
Alabama
|
| 1827 |
Drafted legislation passed by the General Assembly of Alabama
prohibiting the importation of slaves
|
| 1829 |
Slave importation bill repealed by the General Assembly of
Alabama
|
| 1832 |
Reintroduced legislation in the general assembly of Alabama
prohibiting the importation of slaves
Became agent for the American Colonization Society,
traveling and lecturing in the South to promote colonization of slaves
Returned to Kentucky
|
| 1834 |
Emancipated his slaves |
| 1835 |
Formed Kentucky Anti-Slavery Society |
| 1836 |
Moved to Ohio and began to publish the
Philanthropist, an antislavery newspaper
|
| 1837 |
Elected executive secretary, American Anti-Slavery
Society
Moved to New York
|
| 1840 |
Vice president, World's Anti-Slavery Convention |
| 1840, 1844 |
Presidential candidate for the Liberty Party |
| 1841 |
Married Miss Fitzhugh |
| 1852 |
Published
Examination of the Decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States, in the Case of Strader, Gorman and Armstrong vs. Christopher
Graham, Delivered at Its December Term, 1850: Concluding with an Address to the
Free Colored People, Advising them to Remove to Liberia. Cincinnati:
Truman & Spofford
|
| 1857, Nov. 25 |
Died, Perth Amboy, N.J. |
The papers of James Gillespie Birney (1792-1857) span the years
1830-circa 1895, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period
1830-1850. They contain four types of material arranged in the following order:
diaries, a notebook, correspondence, and newspaper clippings.
The diaries, consisting of three volumes, 1830-1850, were written by
Birney while he traveled throughout the United States and abroad on antislavery
lecture tours. They describe his travels on behalf of the abolitionist
movement; his association with abolitionist leaders, such as Benjamin Lundy,
Gerrit Smith, and Theodore Weld; his opposition to the followers of William
Lloyd Garrison, who believed that slavery could not be abolished through legal
and constitutional means; and his support for the colonization of slaves in
Africa and for the American Colonization Society.
The notebook, circa 1895, may have been written by Birney's son,
William, and contains biographical information on his father's activities as an
abolitionist.
The correspondence, 1834-1844, contains mainly letters James Birney
wrote to Gerrit Smith and Theodore Weld discussing antislavery activities.
Included are a letter of 1844 to B. F. Mudge regarding the Liberty party's
convention in Lynn, Massachusetts, and a photocopy of an 1839 letter to Myron
Holley describing political agitation to end slavery.
The newspaper clippings consist of an obituary of Benjamin Lundy and
a letter D. D. Barnard wrote to the United States House of Representatives in
1842 regarding a resolution of censure proposed by Congressman Joshua
Giddings.
This collection is arranged by type of material.
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 19,543
| Container |
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
Diaries |
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
1830, Aug 31-Oct. 1
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
1834, Sept.-Oct.
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
1840-1842, 1845, 1850
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
Notebook, probably by William
Birney for a biography of his father,
circa 1895
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
Correspondence |
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
1834
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
1835, 1844
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
1839, Dec., photocopy
|
|
BOX 1
REEL 1
|
Newspaper clippings,
1839, 1842
|
|
The
Library of Congress >> Especially
for Researchers >> Research
Centers
Top
of Page