Editing Samuel Gridley Howe (section)

==Final years and death==
Samuel Howe remained active and politically involved until the end of his life. In 1865, Howe openly advocated a [[progressive tax]] system, which he referred to as a "sliding scale of taxation proportionate to income."<ref name="Cumbler, John T. Page 138">Cumbler, John T. ''From Abolition to Rights for All: The Making of a Reform Community in the Nineteenth Century,'' p. 138, Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2008</ref> He said that the wealthy would resist this, but explained that the United States could not become a truly just society while the gap between rich and poor remained so cavernous. Emancipating the slaves and charity work alone were not enough, he insisted, to bridge the inequities,

{{blockquote|so long as the labors and drudgery of the world is thrown actively upon one class, while another class is entirely exempt from it. There is a radical injustice in it. And injustice in society is like a rotten timber in the foundation of a house.<ref name="Cumbler, John T. Page 138"/>}}

In 1870, he was a member of the commission sent by [[Ulysses S. Grant|President Grant]] to inquire into the practicability of the annexation of [[Dominican Republic|Santo Domingo]]. President Grant wished to annex the island. He was opposed in this effort by Sen. [[Charles Sumner]], a longtime friend and ally of Howe's.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web |title=Charles Sumner {{!}} United States statesman {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Sumner |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In the end, the committee sided with Sumner in opposition to the proposed annexation.<ref name="britannica.com"/> Grant was so enraged at having his plans thwarted that he arranged to have Sumner removed from his chairmanship as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

Samuel Gridley Howe died on January 9, 1876.<ref name="brown.edu"/> His remains are buried in [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] in Cambridge, Massachusetts.