I will say to the North, Give up; and to the South, Keep not
back.--ISAIAH, xliii. 6.
* * * * *
The immediate occasion of the present Letter appears in the
following, from colored citizens of Washington to Mr. Sumner:--
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 11, 1872.
SIR,--We, the undersigned, citizens of color, regarding you
as the purest and best friend of our race, admiring your
consistent course in the United States Senate and elsewhere
as the special advocate of our rights, and believing that
your counsel at this critical juncture in the period of our
citizenship would be free from personal feeling and partisan
prejudice, have ventured to request your opinion as to what
action the colored voters of the nation should take in the
Presidential contest now pending.
The choice of our people is now narrowed down to General Grant
or Horace Greeley. Your long acquaintance with both and your
observation have enabled you to arrive at a correct conclusion
as to which of the candidates, judging from their antecedents
as well as their present position, will, if elected, enforce
the requirements of the Constitution and the laws respecting
our civil and political rights with the most heart-felt
sympathy and the greatest vigor.
We hope and trust you will favor us with such reply as will
serve to enlighten our minds upon this subject and impel our
people to go forward in the right direction. Our confidence in
your judgment is so firm, that, in our opinion, thousands of
the intelligent colored voters of the country will be guided in
their action by your statement and advice.
Hoping to receive a reply soon, we have the honor to be,
With great respect,
Your obedient servants,
A. T. AUGUSTA, M. D. SAMUEL PROCTOR.
DAVID FISHER, sr. J. J. KETCHUM.
JNO. H. SMITH. CHAS. N. THOMAS.
EDWARD CRUSOR. WM. H. SHORTER.
WM. H. A. WORMLEY. HENRY HILL.
WILLIAM P. WILSON. FURMAN J. SHADD.
R. W. TOMPKINS. GEO. D. JOHNSON.
JOHN H. BROWN. CHRIS. A. FLEETWOOD.
HENRY LACY. CHAS. F. BRUCE.
W. H. BELL. DAVID FISHER, jr.
J. L. N. BOWEN. DAVID KING.
JACOB DE WITTER. WM. POLKENY.