December 4 Organizing to End Slavery

On this day in Labor History the year was 1833.

That was the day prominent abolitionists convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to found the American Anti-Slavery Society.

They drew up a constitution, demanding an immediate end to slavery.

They also demanded full civil rights for people of color.

These activists distinguished themselves from the American Colonization Society, which advocated repatriation of free blacks to Liberia.

Coming off the heels of the Nat Turner Rebellion in 1831, much of the Societies’ work consisted of organizing petitions, meetings, and lecture tours.

These activities emphasized slavery’s brutality and inhumanity, and its immoral nature.

They also printed and distributed anti-slavery literature, like The National Anti-Slavery Standard newspaper.

The Society claimed 250,000 members by 1840.

They formed 2000 local chapters and published 20 journals.

Founders included prominent abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Arthur and Lewis Tappan, Theodore Weld and many Quakers and free blacks.

Fiery orators like Fredrick Douglass and the Grimke sisters soon emerged as key leaders.

These anti-slavery fighters endured mob violence, including riots and even murder, like that of Elijah Lovejoy in 1837.

The Society split in 1840.

Garrison condemned the US Constitution for its denial of freedom to African-Americans.

He and his supporters pushed for secession from the South if they would not abolish slavery.

They also promoted women into leadership positions.

More conservative elements considered this too radical.

They split to form the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.

Despite this, the abolitionist movement grew exponentially.

Anti-slavery ideas gained traction in new political parties and the movement’s work culminated in the enactment of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the US Constitution  in the aftermath of the Civil War.