Three hundred and sixty-six residents of Delaware demand the abolition of slavery in their state as, they believe, "that freedom is the natural and inalienable right of man and that, to deprive him of it, is highly unjust, immoral, anti-christian." They argue that Delaware would benefit economically and morally from abolition citing that the end of slavery in New York brought improvements of every kind and a permanent rise in the value of real property, while slavery in Virginia "has cast Virginia down from her proud pre-eminence -- Slaves have devoured her strengths." They further believe that abolition would also end “that most detestable of all crimes, so common among us, the crime of man-stealing." The petitioners therefore "confidently solicit you, as the guardians of the publick welfare, to designate a day, after which all coloured children born in our state shall be free."
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Repository: Delaware State Archives, Dover, Delaware
