Lyman Hubbard Whitney wrote from New England to Isaac Goodnow in Kansas Territory, reporting on the proceedings of the Philadelphia National Kansas Nebraska Convention, an organization that he described as "Pro Slavery to the Back Bone!". He implored that New Englanders of Kansas have "Back Bone", and fight against slavery. The author further narrated "the north is uniting. The plot thickens, and the struggle comes", and disparaged President Pierce's administration, hoping for an anti-slavery one in the future. The letter includes a short note from Mrs. Whitney, which exclaimed at Ellen Goodnow's traveling to Kansas alone.