Autograph letter signed by S. Martin. Medway, [Massachusetts], 26 March 1870. 1 page, folio, 7 7/8 x 11 7/8 in. 

A fascinating Reconstruction-era letter written by a Massachusetts man to his nephew about the radical Republicans and accusations of corruption in the post-Civil War South: "You know the cry is robbery & corruption where public funds are to be received & dispersed. If reports are true, robbery in the Republican ranks are common - but perhaps not criminal where so much sanctity exists. But we will hope for the better when the Ebony predominates. It is little surprising that we, as nation, have all our life long tried to fit and prepare Statesmen to rule and guide the Wheel of State, that the Ebony race just emerged from Slavery bids fair to be our superior in the Reign of Government. If so, we must yield in due obedience as we have the few years past that has brought us to this result."

A remarkable Reconstruction letter.  

[African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Reconstruction, Civil War, Politics]

Loss to upper left