Oliver Johnson informs William Lloyd Garrison of his troubles arranging a speaker order for an upcoming lecture series. Johnson requests that Garrison serve as a backup speaker for the December 5 (1854) engagement in the event that Joshua Reed Giddings will be ultimately unable to attend. Johnson assures Garrison that he will not need to compose a speech, requesting that he instead speak extemperaneously, recalling his unplanned speech at Francis Hall in Philadelphia in 1852 as a model. Johnson advises Garrison that he will need to explain his "doctrine of Disunion" to those in attendance should he speak.