View TEI
Introduction
Elisha Potter, Jr. opened his letter to John Brown Francis with a remarkable statement. He joked about what could happen if the Dorrites somehow came into possession of Francis’ correspondence. The Dorrites would have quickly discovered that Francis was actually a moderate and was willing to give up his long-standing commitment to the freehold requirement for voting in order to bring an end to the constitutional crisis. Potter went on to talk about the upcoming vote on the constitution that emerged out of the convention in Newport. According to Potter, the most pressing issue was the question of African American suffrage. Potter affirmed his support for black suffrage, but he argued that not including a white only cause would doom the constitution. Potter believed that the level of racism in the state was simply too high.