Broadside calling for violence against abolitionist George Thompson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A broadside calling for violence against abolitionist George Thompson. The broadside is printed in black ink on a rectangular piece of off-white paper. At top, in large letters are the words [THOMPSON, / THE ABOLITIONIST]. This is underlined by a thick black line. Below the line are the words [That infamous foreign scoundrel THOMPSON, will / hold forth this afternoon, at the Liberator Office, No. / 48, Washington Street. The present is a fair opportu- / nity for the friends of the Union to snake Thompson / out! It will be a contest between the Abolitionists and / the friends of the Union. A purse of $100 has been / raised by a number of patriotic citizens to reward the / individual who shall first lay violent hands on Thompson, / so that he may be brought to the tar kettle before dark. / Friends of the Union, be vigilant!/ Boston, Wednesday, 12 o'clock.]. Below this is handwritten [Oct. 21, 1835] in black ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: October 21, 1835
• Printed by: Unidentified
• Subject of: George Thompson, English, 1804 - 1878
• Type: broadsides
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 15/16 × 12 1/16 in. (22.7 × 30.6 cm)
• Place depicted: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Antislavery
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Slavery
• Topic: Social reform
• Topic: Violence
• Object number: 2014.18.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.