George Washington Williams strongly believed that every man, woman and child had rights - no matter the color of their skin. Although he was something of a con artist, he believed that it was his responsibility to speak out when he saw that those rights had been taken away from others through an abuse of power. During a trip to the Congo, Williams learned that the human rights of Africans in the Congo had been stripped. His outrage at this behavior led him to write a lengthy "Open Letter" describing the deplorable situation in the Congo. Williams' sense of responsibility led him to become the first American or European to publicly denounce the treatment of Africans in the Congo. Williams was an African-American with little education. Williams was born in 1849 in Pennsylvania. In 1864, he enlisted in the 41st U.S. Colored Troops of the Union Army. He fought in several battles and was wounded in combat. Soon after, he enlisted in the army of the Republic of Mexico. Williams reenlisted in the U.S. Army when he returned home. He left the army the next year, and then he studied briefly at Howard University. Williams married and became pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church the year he graduated from the seminary. He then moved to Washington, D.C. and founded a national black newspaper, the Commoner, after only a year as a minister. Next, Williams wrote a book, "History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880." Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens, together with a preliminary consideration of the Unity of the Human Family and historical Sketch of Africa and an Account of the Negro Governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia, which was published in two volumes. Williams addressed veterans' groups, fraternal organizations, and church congregations while traveling the lecture circuit. He floated through other professions and never seemed to have enough money. Williams became interested in Leopold's Congo when he met a gen