15 3/4 x 13 7/8 in. engraved certificate completed in manuscript (creases, occasional short tears); framed to 21 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. (not examined out of frame). 

Completed in manuscript for James R. Cox and signed by Association President David Thurston (1797-1884), Treasurer Lewis Tappan (1788-1873), and Corresponding Secretaries George Whipple (1805-1876) and S[imeon] S. Jocelyn. 

The American Missionary Association was a Protestant abolitionist organization founded in 1846 with both white and Black leadership. Their primary goal was to abolish slavery and successfully pushed the issue to national prominence through publications, founding anti-slavery churches, founding Black schools, and direct recruitment. This certificate of membership is signed by four abolitionists who were on the board of the Association and also involved in the broader anti-slavery movement.