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"I abhor slavery"
[[Image:Henry Laurens.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Henry Laurens]]
[[Image:Henry Laurens.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Henry Laurens]]
'''Henry Laurens''' (March 6, 1724 – December 8, 1792) was a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] from the state of [[Georgia]] and a signer of the [[Articles of Confederation]]. A soldier and successful merchant, Laurens was also highly politically active, serving in the commons house of assembly from 1757 until the beginning of the [[Revolutionary War]]. Laurens served as president of the [[First Provincial Congress]], and also of the first council of safety, in 1775. He also served in the [[Second Provincial Congress]], and as president of the second council of safety, in 1775 and 1776. Laurens was elected president of the [[Continental Congress]] on November 1, 1777, and served in that position until December 9, 1778. While sailing to Holland to serve as Minister, Laurens was captured by the British and imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]]—the only American ever to be held there. He was released in December of 1781, in exchange for [[Lord Cornwallis]]. Following the war, Laurens returned home; although elected to the [[Continental Congress]], the state legislature, and the Federal [[Constitutional Convention]], he declined all three, preferring to live quietly as a planter until his death in 1792.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000121</ref>
'''Henry Laurens''' (March 6, 1724 – December 8, 1792) was a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] from the state of [[Georgia]] and a signer of the [[Articles of Confederation]].
==Background==
A soldier and successful merchant, Laurens was also highly politically active, serving in the commons house of assembly from 1757 until the beginning of the [[Revolutionary War]]. Laurens served as president of the [[First Provincial Congress]], and also of the first council of safety, in 1775. He also served in the [[Second Provincial Congress]], and as president of the second council of safety, in 1775 and 1776. Laurens was elected president of the [[Continental Congress]] on November 1, 1777, and served in that position until December 9, 1778. While sailing to Holland to serve as Minister, Laurens was captured by the British and imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]]—the only American ever to be held there. He was released in December of 1781, in exchange for [[Lord Cornwallis]]. Following the war, Laurens returned home; although elected to the [[Continental Congress]], the state legislature, and the Federal [[Constitutional Convention]], he declined all three, preferring to live quietly as a planter until his death in 1792.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000121</ref>
==Quotes==
*"You know, my dear son, I abhor slavery. I was in a country where slavery had been established by British Kings and Parliamentsc as well as by the laws of that country, ages before my existence. I found the Christian religion and slavery growing under the same authority cultivation. I nevertheless disliked it. In former days there was no combating the prejudices of men supported by interest. The day, I hope, is approaching when, from principles of gratitude, as well as justice, every man strive to be foremost in showing his readiness to with the golden rule."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9R1cAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA176 Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States: Developed in the Official and Historical Annals of the Republic]</ref>
==References==
==References==