Important Early Anti-Slavery Abolitionist

(1795-1875) Born on October 12, 1795, in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, he was educated at Princeton, was an American jurist, and author, who played a major role in the recognition of the horrors of the institution of slavery which was one of the primary causes of the War Between The States. Stroud was the author of a "Sketch Of The Laws Relating To Slavery In The Several States Of The United States Of America." Even before the Dred Scott decision, Stroud's book had extensive influence upon national legal thinking on the issue of slavery. In a survey of slave codes of the period, he analyzed the statutes of twelve slave holding states and drew upon works written by Judges in many of those states. Stroud's book on slave laws, therefore, exposed to the world, through its publications in 1827 and 1856 the very diabolical nature of the legal enactments throughout the South that debased both African people and those who held them in bondage. It is for this reason that Stroud's book became such an important work of the nineteenth century, and continues to offer lessons of national importance today. George McDowell Stroud served as Judge of the District Court of Philadelphia for 36 years, serving in this position throughout the Civil War. He died in Germantown, Pa., on June 29, 1875, and is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Autograph With Sentiment: 3 1/2 x 1 1/2, in ink, Very truly, respectfully, Geo. M. Stroud. Very nice, boldly written signature.