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George Thompson (1804-1878) was an English abolitionist who came to the United States for the second time in October, 1850. He had visited this country in 1835 and aroused the anger of people whose livelihood relied on the cotton industry. After an anti-slavery lecture in New Hampshire, Thompson and John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) were pelted with rotten eggs and Whittier was injured with a stone. The writer of this article in the Boston Courier denounces Thompson and describes how the owners of both Hampden and Washington Halls in Springfield, Massachusetts, refused to let him speak for fear of damage. While there were many people in the North who were in favor of abolition, there were also many who opposed the movement.

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