Letter from Thomas T. Bouvé to Samuel Downer accepting his invitation to the reunion

Letter from Thomas T. Bouvé to Samuel Downer accepting his invitation to the reunion

In this letter Thomas T. Bouvé states that he will do everything possible to attend the Reunion of the Free Soil Party. He states that he is really looking forward to seeing his old friends in the Party again. He also discusses the fact that many Free Soilers have died but that they should not be warned, for they have attained their goal to eliminate slavery in the United States. He briefly reminisces about the abolition movement and expresses his hopes for the future.

Downer, Samuel, 1807-1881

Reunions

Abolitionists

Abolition movement

Political parties

Amusement parks

Invitations

Gratitude

Happiness

Nostalgia

Friendship

Death

Grief

Liberty

Bouvé, Thomas T. (Thomas Tracy), 1815-1896

Hingham Public Library

1877 July 31

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English

Correspondence

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Boston (Mass.)

1848

1877 August 9

Hingham Public Library

Boston July 31. 1877

Sam^l Downer Esq^r

My Dear Sir

Unless prevented by the present unfortunate state of affairs in Penn^a & New Jersey, or by other circumstances beyond my control, I certainly shall avail myself of the opportunity afforded by your kind invitation, to attend the re-union of the Free-soilers of 1848 at Melville Gardens on the 9th of August, knowing as I do that I shall there meet again many old friends & co-workers in the good cause of human freedom whom otherwise I may never see.

Alas that so many of our number are no longer present to greet us as we come together; but it is not for us to mourn for those who have nobly finished their work & passed on to their reward. We have lived as many of them did not, to see the fruition of our highest hopes for a free land for free men; but we have lived too, to witness new trials for our beloved institutions, and to be pained by impending peril, arising from lawlessness & disorder.

Let us as we clasp each others hands & recall the past, be inspired by the remembrance of great evils overcome, to hope & to trust that by continued endeavor, those that now appal[sic] us may also disappear & that our dear country become not only the land of the free, but of a people harmoneously[sic] working together for the common welfare.

                                With great respect

                Yours truly Tho^s. F. Bouve

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