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85-612: The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society was originally created as an auxiliary of the American Anti-Slavery Society . Its first meeting took place in Putnam, Ohio , in April of 1835, and gathered delegates from 25 counties, along with four corresponding members from other states, William T. Allan , James G. Birney , James A. Thome and Ebenezer Martin. Later, the society's headquarters moved to Cleveland, Ohio . The society

170-640: A National Anti-Slavery Convention in Philadelphia . Beriah Green presided over the Convention — no one else was willing to —, with Lewis Tappan and John Greenleaf Whittier serving as secretaries. One Convention committee drafted an American Anti-Slavery Society Constitution and Declaration of Sentiments . The principal author of both was the publisher of the fledgling Boston-based Liberator , William Lloyd Garrison . The new American Anti-Slavery Society charged William Lloyd Garrison with writing

255-440: A group for women's rights, though it garnered little success initially. Garrison arrived to the convention late and, upon hearing of the decision not to allow women to participate, he chose not to enter the Convention. He viewed the proceedings with the women in the gallery. This became the genesis for the women's suffrage movement. From the beginning, women held a marginal role in the organization. Only white women were invited to

340-784: A key leader in AASS, who often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown , also a freedman, also often spoke at meetings. By 1838, AASS had 1,346 local chapters. In 1840, AASS claimed about 200,000 members. Prominent members included Susan B. Anthony , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Theodore Dwight Weld , Lewis Tappan , James G. Birney , Lydia Maria Child , Maria Weston Chapman , Nathan Lord , Augustine Clarke , Samuel Cornish , George T. Downing , James Forten , Abby Kelley Foster , Stephen Symonds Foster , Henry Highland Garnet , Beriah Green , Lucretia Mott , Wendell Phillips , Robert Purvis , Charles Lenox Remond , Sarah Parker Remond , Lucy Stone , and John Greenleaf Whittier , among others. By

425-681: A letter from the Ku Klux Klan which threatened his life. Downing used his influence to help Edward Bassett gain an appointment as Minister Resident and Consul General for the United States to Haiti; it was the first appointment of a black man to a position in the Diplomatic Corps. In the late 1870s, Downing found himself opposing Frederick Douglass on an important issue. Together with John Mercer Langston and Richard T. Greener at meetings and conventions, Downing supported

510-424: A practical approach to slavery, saying economically it did not make sense. Wright used the rhetoric of religion to elicit empathy toward African Americans, and presented slavery as a moral sin. Frederick Douglass had seen the frustration that Garrison felt toward those who disagreed with him, but wrote many letters to Garrison describing to him the details of the prejudices that slavery had caused. One in particular

595-471: A prominent planter, converted to Methodism. The couple took his surname and were also Methodists. The local Methodist congregation named their meeting house in Oak Hill after Downing because of his acts. Downing hired Thomas' parents to serve as caretakers at the meeting house, and provided a tutor for Thomas. Thomas grew up learning about refined tastes from guests hosted by John Downing at his own house, near

680-544: A successful career as a restaurateur in New York City; Newport, Rhode Island; and Washington, D.C. His father had been an oyster seller and caterer in Philadelphia and New York City , building a business that attracted wealthy white clients. From the 1830s until the end of slavery, Downing was active in the Underground Railroad , using his restaurant as a rest station for refugees on the move. He built

765-757: A summer season business in Newport, and made it his home. For more than 10 years, he worked to integrate Rhode Island public schools. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Downing helped recruit African-American soldiers. After the war Downing moved to Washington, D.C., where for a dozen years he ran the Refectory for the House of Representatives . He was a prominent member in the Colored Conventions Movement and worked to join

850-481: Is the dismissal of additional intentions and considerations, including finalization of Second Amendment semantics by federal Senators, not Madison in the House of Representatives. As of September 2024, according to one historian of the politics of chattel slavery and gun control, a "comprehensive treatment that can handle slavery, arms, constitutionalism, and the rest of political culture is still needed." In perusing

935-710: The American Colonization Society became the early antebellum locus of anti-slavery activity, presided over by James Madison in his last three years of life (until 1836). In 1789, Madison had expressed his belief that blacks and whites could not integrate into society together, and proposed a policy of separation. Madison argued that integration (at the time called "amalgamation") was impossible, because there would always be oppression, hatred, and hostility between former slaves and former slave holders. He also claimed, in his so-called "Memorandum on an African Colony for Freed Slaves", that " freedmen retained

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1020-620: The American League of Colored Laborers as a union to organize former slaves working in New York City. He was also a member of the Committee of Thirteen, which resisted the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 and aided refugees from slavery pass through the city. His distaste for that bill was such that when he once met Millard Fillmore , he excused himself rather than shake the former president's hand, as he did not wish to touch

1105-693: The Cincinnati riots of 1836 , pro-slavery citizens protested against the activities of the society and destroyed Birney's printing press. A committee of citizens asked for the closure of the newspaper, but their request was declined by the Society's executive committee on the basis of "freedom of press". In 1836 – during the Society's first anniversary – the members voted for a new executive board that included: Gamaliel Bailey, James G. Birney, Isaac Colby, C. Donaldson, James C. Ludlow, Thomas Maylin, John Melendy, and Rees E. Price. Several abolitionists considered

1190-578: The Second Amendment . The scope of the Amendment potentially included slave patrols , stemming from Madison's attempts to ameliorate Antifederal proponents of state police powers in the Virginia ratification convention. Scholarly attempts to establish such a Second Amendment "original intent" have been roundly criticized because of, at best, "circumstantial" evidence. Another principal concern

1275-728: The Seneca Falls Convention as well. During Reconstruction, Douglass retracted support for the inclusion of women in the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , fearing that a female suffrage clause would preclude ratification in several states. Francis Jackson , grandfather of John Brown's raider Francis Jackson Meriam , was a president of the Society. According to the Encyclopedia of Slavery and Abolition in

1360-614: The Union Army . He met with Massachusetts governor John Albion Andrew , and got from him written assurance that black troops would be treated with equality, upon which he took up the work. In October 1864, Downing was a prominent delegate to the Syracuse Colored Convention. Over the previous decade, Downing had been a critic of nationalist-emigrationists such as Martin Delaney and Henry Highland Garnet . At

1445-791: The University of Delaware ) and became a Protestant Episcopal minister. Her second brother was John van Salee de Grasse , who was educated in Paris and at Bowdoin College 's medical school; he was the first man of color (African American) to gain a medical degree in the United States. Downing and Serena had the following children: Serena Anne Miller, George Isaiah, Thomas, Cordelia, Irene Dow, Rebecca Medora, Mary, Georgenia Frances, Philip Bell, and Peter John. In 1842, Downing started his own catering business on Fourth and Broadway, moving in 1845 to 690 Broadway. His work brought him in touch with many of

1530-590: The 1820s, the controversy surrounding the Missouri Compromise had quieted considerably but was revived by a series of events near the end of the decade. Serious debates over abolition took place in the Virginia legislature in 1829 and 1831. (See Thomas Roderick Dew#Dew and slavery .) In the North, discussion began about the possibility of freeing slaves and "resettling" them in Africa (a proposal that, under

1615-704: The 1840s and 1850s was carried on by state and local societies. The antislavery issue entered the mainstream of American politics through the Free Soil Party (1848–1854) and subsequently the Republican Party (founded in 1854). In 1870, the American Anti-Slavery Society was formally dissolved, after the Civil War , Emancipation and the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution . The inaugural Executive Committee of

1700-640: The AFASS. Their rejoinders, rebuttals, and dialectics, proffered within AASS meetings and in the pages of The Liberator , framed arguments and ideas later appropriated by male and female anti-suffragists , the Liberal Republicans , and northeastern supporters for the Compromise of 1877 . The progenitors of such ideas frequently shifted positions and retracted statements in the postbellum era, often to no avail. Along with differing opinions about

1785-475: The American Anti-Slavery Society included Arthur Tappan (President), Abraham L. Cox (Recording Secretary), William Greene (Treasurer), Elizur Wright (Secretary of Domestic Correspondence), and William Lloyd Garrison (Secretary of the Foreign Correspondence). William Lloyd Garrison was one of the original founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. Two years before founding

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1870-621: The American Anti-Slavery Society was invited to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London , England, to meet and network with other abolitionists of the time. Additionally, it served to strengthen each group's commitment to racial equality. At this convention, female delegates were not allowed to participate in the event, but rather observe only, from a gallery. The ruling to exclude female abolitionists caused feminists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to form

1955-556: The American Anti-Slavery Society. The formation of the National Woman Suffrage Association and ethno-racial "lower orders" arguments by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her weekly The Revolution substantiated these fears, to a certain degree, for a number of these men. Frederick Douglass was one of the black activists who joined the American Anti-Slavery Society shortly after the internal schism and appointment of Garrison as Society President. Douglass

2040-545: The American Anti-slavery Society. Attitudes of equalitarianism were more widely accepted and women were viewed as "coworkers, not subordinates". Women not only held leadership positions, but also attended various societies and conventions. In contrast, women's participation in the American Anti-slavery Society became a quite contentious issue in the eastern United States. Women who were publicly passionate about abolition were seen as fanatics. In 1839,

2125-615: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line between Washington and Baltimore. Downing played a role in Reconstruction politics as well. With the help of Horace Greeley , he led a delegation that met with president Andrew Johnson to push for the support of freedmen and free blacks against postwar violence and repression in the South. While organizing the delegation, he traveled throughout the South. On his way to New Orleans , he received

2210-540: The Civil Rights Bill in 1872, arguing for the right of citizens to have equal access to public facilities. Downing was at Sumner's bedside with Sumner died in 1874. Downing and his family were directly involved in integration of Washington, D.C., society, opening the Senate gallery to blacks. They were the first blacks to occupy a box in a theater in the capital. With the help of Sumner, he worked to integrate

2295-636: The Constitution, they were drawn to supporting the Liberty Party. The disruption of the American Anti-Slavery Society, however, caused little damage to abolitionism. At the annual Society meeting in New York, on May 12, 1840, the first item of business was the appointment of a Committee of Business. Eleven people were chosen, with William Garrison the chairman. One of them was a woman, Abby Kelley . "The vote appointing Miss Kelley being doubted,

2380-536: The House Refectory for twelve years. In 1877 he moved back to Newport, where he retired in 1879. In the early days of the New York Herald , Downing's father had loaned money to James Gordon Bennett, Sr. , helping him keep the paper afloat. To some degree in return, the paper supported Downing's business and politics during Bennett's life and that of his son, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. , Downing

2465-532: The Jersey flats, but by 1825 he purchased an eating establishment in the basement at 5 Broad Street in Manhattan. He gradually expanded into other spaces on that block, and developed a refined oyster house with dishes to appeal to the powerful white men of business and finance in that area of the city. Over time, his business attracted notable foreign visitors, including Charles Dickens and Lord Morpeth . Downing

2550-580: The Second Federal Congress, Madison corresponded with manumitter Robert Pleasants , confirming their mutual support for conscientious religious objection to a Virginia state militia, premised on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . The correspondence belied arguments that Madison completely capitulated to Virginia Antifederalist demands for an individual and state "right" to organize militias, in what would become

2635-418: The Society, Garrison began publishing The Liberator. This abolitionist paper argued for the immediate freedom of all slaves and operated under the motto of "Our country is the world – our countrymen are mankind." Within two years of the 1840 Society schism over the appointment of Abby Kelley to the Society business committee and efforts to wed abolition with first-wave feminism (and, to a lesser extent, over

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2720-416: The Society. During the 1840 anniversary of the society, its adherents passed a resolution that forbade it from becoming a political force. A portion of its members asked to cut their ties with the American Anti-Slavery Society and to keep a neutral approach in their abolitionist work. In June 1841, a meeting was held at Mt. Pleasant , where several members vouched for independent political action. Some of

2805-649: The Union, or to violate the constitution and laws of the country, or to ask of Congress any act transcending their constitutional powers, which the abolition of slavery by Congress in any state would plainly do. July 12, 1834. ARTHUR TAPPAN. JOHN RANKIN The black clergyman Theodore S. Wright was a significant founding member and served on the executive committee until 1840. A Presbyterian minister, Wright, together with well-known spokesmen such as Tappan and Garrison, agitated for temperance, education, black suffrage, and land reform. According to Wright: I will say nothing about

2890-437: The United States , Weld held the positions of Manager, 1833–1835, and Corresponding Secretary, 1839–1840. Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography states that "in 1836 he...was appointed by the American Anti-slavery Society editor of its books and pamphlets." George T. Downing George T. Downing (December 30, 1819 – July 21, 1903) was an abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights while building

2975-799: The United States. In 1841 Downing was beaten by agents of the Harlem Railroad for attempting to ride the train. In 1847 he began working for equal education for black children. That year he became a member of the first board of trustees of the New York Society for the Promotion of Education of Colored Children. As he became more involved in life in Rhode Island, he also started working to achieve integration in its public schools. In June 1850, Downing together with Frederick Douglass, Samuel Ward , Lewis Woodson , and others formed

3060-536: The aims of the society appear to have been misrepresented in the prelude to the Farren Riots in New York, which resulted in attacks on the homes and properties of abolitionists. After the riots were quelled, the society issued a public disclaimer: The undersigned, in behalf of the Executive Committee of the 'American Anti-Slavery Society' and of other leading friends of the cause, now absent from

3145-568: The auspices of the American Colonization Society , led to the founding of Liberia ). Agitation increased with the publication of David Walker 's Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World in 1829, Nat Turner's slave rebellion in 1831, and Andrew Jackson 's handling of the nullification crisis that same year. According to Louis Ruchame, The Turner rebellion was only one of about 200 slave uprisings between 1776 and 1860, but it

3230-468: The candidacy for president of James Blaine , whom he felt was soft on civil rights. He supported a Democratic candidate for alderman of Newport; in exchange, the alderman arranged for the African American candidate, Mahlon Van Horne , to be elected to the school committee. Downing was active in attempting repeal of laws against racial inter-marriage in Rhode Island. Late in his life, Downing

3315-452: The cause of blacks migrating from the South to the North for more opportunities, especially as voter suppression of blacks increased in the South. Douglass thought Exodusters and others should stay in place and work to develop the area where they were born. Downing had long thought of Newport, Rhode Island as home. He continued to be politically active there. Downing was a Republican for much of his life, but he became more independent during

3400-548: The city, beg the attention of their fellow-citizens to the following disclaimer:— 1. We entirely disclaim any desire to promote or encourage intermarriages between white and coloured persons. 2. We disclaim and entirely disapprove the language of a handbill recently circulated in this city, the tendency of which is thought to be to excite resistance to the laws. Our principle is, that even hard laws are to be submitted to by all men, until they can by peaceable means be altered. We disclaim, as we have already done, any intention to dissolve

3485-479: The city, making the second-largest contribution after that of Judah Touro 's estate. He also helped organize the politics behind the expansion of Newport's Bellevue Avenue. He declined an offer to be appointed as customs collector for the port of Newport. He helped organize the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows and was Grand Master of the group for some years. He was also involved in freemasonry and

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3570-513: The community from religious privileges men are made infidels. What, they demand, is your Christianity? How do you regard your brethren? How do you treat them at the Lord's table? Where is your consistency in talking about the heathen, traversing the ocean to circulate the Bible everywhere, while you frown upon them at the door? These things meet us and weigh down our spirits.... Many founding members used

3655-504: The convention, this animosity came through. Frederick Douglass was chosen as president of the convention, and made some effort to keep the peace between factions which arose around Downing and Garnet. In the second annual meeting of the American Equal Rights Association in 1867, Downing contrasted the issues of African-American and women's rights, asking whether those attending would be willing to support

3740-418: The correspondence with Pleasants, later ACS members heeded Madison's warning that immediate abolition proposals could lead to protracted Congressional debates. Lengthy deliberations and Congressional sessions, in turn, allowed proslavery delegates sufficient time to propose the repeal of individual manumission codes in the several states, ostensibly in anticipation of federal abolition. A corollary to this concern

3825-662: The dissolution of the organization. Another issue was whether abolitionists should enter politics as a distinct party. One of the more irreconcilable differences between the two internal AASS factions resulted in an external rivalry between dual anti-slavery societies. A minority of anti-feminist delegates left the AASS, forming the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society . Wright was among them. They were more conservative, supporting organized religion and traditional forms of governance, and excluding women from leadership. Recent studies examine remaining AAAS members who sympathized with

3910-557: The efforts of women's rights and black rights. He became close to senator Charles Sumner and was with the legislator when he died. Late in his life he returned to Rhode Island, where he continued as a community leader and civil rights activist. George Thomas Downing was born in New York City on December 30, 1819, to Thomas Downing and Rebecca (West). His father Thomas was born in 1791 in Chincoteague, Virginia , to parents who had been freed from slavery when their master, John Downing,

3995-530: The elite of the city, including the Astors , Kernochans, leRoys, Schermahorns, and Kennedys . His success allowed him to establish a summer business in Newport, Rhode Island. He moved in 1848 to Catherine and Fir streets, and in 1850 to State Street and what was later named in his honor as Downing Street. In 1849 Downing purchased a Bellevue Avenue estate in Newport from Charles Sherman. In 1850 he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, continuing to work in Newport during

4080-512: The hand that signed that bill. He was a member of the committee which greeted the arrival of Hungarian rebel leader Louis Kossuth to New York in 1851. In New York, Downing was an agent of the Underground Railroad, along with Isaac Hopper , Oliver Johnson , Charles B. Ray , David Ruggles , McCune Smith, James W. C. Pennington , and Henry Highland Garnet. Downing's station was run out of his Oyster House restaurant. Downing

4165-399: The house was divided, and on a count there appeared 557 in favor and 451 against her election. Lewis Tappan, Amos A. Phelps , and Charles W. Denison successively asked to be excused from serving on the committee, for reasons assigned; having reference to the appointment of Miss Kelly as a member. They were excused." After the AASS schism in national leadership, the bulk of AASS activity in

4250-406: The inconvenience which I have experienced myself, and which every man of color experiences, though made in the image of God. I will say nothing about the inconvenience of traveling; how we are frowned upon and despised. No matter how we may demean ourselves, we find embarrassments everywhere. But, this prejudice goes farther. It debars men from heaven. While sir, slavery cuts off the colored portion of

4335-530: The land his parents were given. His son George, having heard accounts from his successful father in New York, later described these guests as the leading families of Virginia . Thomas Downing left Virginia as a young man and went north to Philadelphia, where he met and married Rebecca West, a free black. He worked for a time at an oyster bar. By 1819 they had moved to New York. The couple had five children: George, twins Thomas and Henry, Jane, and Peter William. The senior Downing at first cultivated oyster beds in

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4420-500: The mayor attempted to dissuade Martin and Downing from holding the meeting. A mob gathered at Tremont Temple, and they were forced to adjourn. The next day they met at Joy Street Church, protected by the Boston police and militia. The meeting was highly visible, with Brown's son, John Brown, Jr., and Wendell Phillips making speeches. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Downing was encouraged to help enroll African Americans into

4505-409: The national organization split over basic differences of approach: Garrison and his followers were more radical than other members. They denounced the U.S. Constitution as supportive of slavery, were against established religion, and insisted on sharing organizational responsibility with women. Disagreement regarding the formal involvement of women became one of the principal factors which contributed to

4590-568: The organization's new declaration. The document condemns the institution of slavery and accuses slave owners of the sin of being a "man-stealer". It calls for the immediate abolition of slavery without conditions, and is critical of the efforts of the American Colonization Society . At the same time, it declares the group to be pacifist , and the signers agree, if necessary, to die as martyrs . Beginning in January 1834 and ending in August of

4675-441: The original 1833 gathering of the organization, and even they were not allowed to participate in an active role. Lucretia Mott , Lydia White, Esther Moore, and Sidney Ann Lewis attended on December 4, 1833, but none were able to sign the Constitution that day. Their exclusion from this convention contributed to female-led organizations that formed shortly thereafter. In the western United States, women held more important roles in

4760-504: The participation of African-Americans in the society unimportant and unnecessary, but John Rankin and Gamaliel Bailey "slowly accepted African American involvement," and "Rankin declared racial prejudice criminal and a violation of the 'law of love. ' " In 1836, the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society grew from 20 chapters to 120 chapters in every part of the state. By December of the same year, ten thousand Ohioans were part of

4845-518: The patriot toured the states during Downing's boyhood. When he was 14, Downing organized a literary society of his peers; their discussion topics included resolving to refrain from celebrating the Fourth of July as a holiday and why the Declaration of Independence should not be celebrated by blacks; it was a mockery until they had achieved legal equality in the United States. Classmates involved in

4930-433: The rebellion, and 60 whites lay dead. While the uprising led some Southerners to consider abolition, the reaction in all Southern states was to tighten the laws governing slave behavior. That same year, South Carolina's opposition to the federal tariff led the legislature to declare that the law was null and void in the state , and the state's leaders spoke of using the militia to prevent federal customs agents from collecting

5015-572: The role of women, the Liberty Party emerged as a separate anti-slavery organization that broke away from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 in order to pursue an abolitionist agenda through the political process. As a radical, Garrison did not believe it prudent to fight the system from the inside. Because women in the West had a more fluid approach to their political involvement, particularly when it came to Garrison's staunch disagreement with

5100-403: The roles of African-American leaders), the former Society President, his brother, and their adherents had seceded from the American Anti-Slavery Society. These men subsequently established the rival American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society . Six African-American men also apostatized to the oppositional Society, principally due to a potential conflation of female leadership with white feminism in

5185-633: The same year, the society published the American Anti-Slavery Reporter , a monthly periodical containing professional essays regarding the subject of slavery. The society was considered controversial and its activities were sometimes met with violence. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica , "The society's antislavery activities frequently met with violent public opposition, with mobs invading meetings, attacking speakers, and burning presses." In July 1834

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5270-573: The society included Philip Bell , Alexander Crummell , James McCune Smith , and Henry Highland Garnet , all of whom became leaders as adults. Also as a youth, Downing began to work as an agent for the Underground Railroad . Among his first works was to help "Little Henry", a slave who was jailed in New York. Downing attended Hamilton College in upstate New York. On November 24, 1841, Downing married Serena Leanora de Grasse. Serena had attended Clinton Seminary in Oneida County, New York , and

5355-415: The society's officials held a separate meeting exclusive for political abolitionists who eventually supported the Liberty Party . Due to the post-panic economy, the Society and its official publication The Philanthropist started losing their prominence, and by September 1841 the presses were ravaged in a two-day riot. American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society ( AASS )

5440-639: The summer. In 1854 he built the Sea Girt Hotel, which burned to the ground on December 15, 1860, after suspected arson. He replaced the building with Downing Block, part of which he rented to the government to serve as a hospital for the Naval Academy, which was temporarily operating in Newport at the Naval Station. After the Civil War, in 1865 Downing moved to Washington, D.C., encouraged by US Representative Nathan F. Dixon II . He managed

5525-514: The tax. President Andrew Jackson swept aside the states' rights arguments and threatened to use the army to enforce federal laws. In the face of Jackson's determination, the state backed down, but the episode raised fears throughout the South that it was only a matter of time before Congress would begin to tamper with slavery. Southern anxiety increased in 1833 with the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Louisiana . Beginning in 1816,

5610-486: The vices and habits of slaves." He advocated "resettlement" of former slaves to the west coast of Africa, where the Society acquired land and founded what became Liberia . The ACS idea of colonization aligned with Madisonian perspectives on immediate abolition bills proposed to the Federal Congress. In 1791, Madison had observed that, in his experience, such proposals resulted in "harm rather than good." During

5695-459: The vote for black men before women. While this tension doomed that organization, the issue remained one of interest to Downing. At the National Convention of Colored Men in Washington, D.C., in January 1869, Downing was prominent in his support of women's rights. Downing had moved to Washington, D.C., at the war's end and became intimate with many politicians, particularly Senator Charles Sumner . Sumner quoted Downing in his argument for passage of

5780-409: The white members had been served. Then he drew a long breath, and looking out towards the door, exclaimed, "Come up, colored friends, come up! for you know God is no respecter of persons!" I haven't been there to see the sacraments taken since. Douglass hoped his letters would remind Garrison why slavery should be abolished. Douglass's reminder did not ease the minds of those against Garrison. In 1840,

5865-556: The younger Peter studied for several years in Paris. Their sister died while young. Henry's son, Henry Francis Downing , became a noted sailor, consul, author, and playwright. The first school George attended was held by Charles Smith on Orange Street; he next studied at Mulberry Street School, also known as the African Free School . As a child, Downing was known to lead other black students to chase off whites who harassed them. His father's prominence in New York afforded George many unique experiences; for instance, he met Lafayette when

5950-433: Was a Royal Arch Mason. Downing died in Newport, Rhode Island on July 21, 1903, and buried in Newport's Island Cemetery . Obituaries were published in the Boston Globe , New York Times , and Cleveland Gazette (see below). The Boston Globe described him as "the foremost colored man in the country", praising his work for human liberty; it said in an editorial that "Narrowness was never safe where George T. Downing

6035-436: Was active within the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society between 1841 and 1842. He engaged with the American Anti-Slavery Society lecture circuit beginning 1843. Born into chattel slavery, Douglass escaped and made his way to New Bedford, Boston, and New York. He developed written and verbal skills that resulted in his becoming a prominent spokesman of the abolitionist movement. He endorsed a federal women's suffrage resolution at

6120-443: Was also active in Rhode Island and New England. When fugitive slave Anthony Burns was imprisoned in Boston in 1854, prior to being shipped back to the South, Downing took part in the protests against his being forced back into slavery. He met with attorney Robert Morris to argue for Burns' cause. Downing also pushed the Rhode Island legislature to integrate public schools, first financing a campaign of protest starting in 1857, which

6205-464: Was an abolitionist society in the United States . AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, such as the American Colonization Society . AASS formally dissolved in 1870. AASS was founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan . Frederick Douglass , an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was

6290-503: Was an important leader in abolitionism in New York. He was active in the organization of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. Together with Frederick Douglass and Alexander Crummell, Downing was a noted opponent of the American Colonization Society in the 1830s and 1840s; it proposed to relocate free American blacks to the colony of Liberia in West Africa. Downing and his allies argued instead for equal rights for blacks in

6375-545: Was called for December 4, 1833, at the Adelphi Building in Philadelphia. The convention had 62 delegates, of which 21 were Quakers . At this point, the American Anti-Slavery Society formed to appeal to the moral and practical circumstances that, at this point, propped up a pro-slavery society. Between December 4–6, 1833, sixty delegates from New England , Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and New Jersey convened

6460-412: Was created with the purpose of ending slavery in the United States. The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society's constitution stated that its objective was the "abolition of slavery throughout the United States and the elevation of our colored brethren to their proper rank as men." Along with sponsoring traveling lecturers, the Society made James G. Birney's newspaper The Philanthropist its official press. During

6545-566: Was directed toward the church. According to Douglass: In the South I was a member of the Methodist Church . When I came north, I thought one Sunday I would attend communion, at one of the churches of my denomination, in the town I was staying. The white people gathered round the altar, the blacks clustered by the door. After the good minister had served out the bread and wine to one portion of those near him, he said, "These may withdraw, and others come forward"; thus he proceeded till all

6630-485: Was finally successful in 1866. As the Civil War approached, Downing was central in the movement for African American civil rights. He was president of the Convention of Colored Citizens in Boston on August 1, 1859. In 1860, Downing with J. S. Martin helped organize a meeting in Boston to celebrate the first anniversary of the death of abolitionist John Brown . The meeting was widely opposed by many in Boston, and

6715-542: Was friends with the daughter of Gerrit Smith , through whom she met Downing. Her father was George de Grasse, born in Calcutta , India, about 1780 and originally named Azar Le Guen. He is believed to have been the natural, mixed-race son of François Joseph Paul de Grasse , a career French naval officer who was in the city intermittently, and an Indian woman. De Grasse took Azar back to Paris for his education and adopted him, naming him George de Grasse. The senior de Grasse

6800-413: Was given a commission as captain of a colored company of the Rhode Island militia. Downing refused the honor, protesting against the designation of the company as colored. The governor sent the commission again after deleting the discriminatory qualifier. Also late in his life, Downing became an important benefactor to Newport. He was a large contributor to the purchase of the land which became Touro Park in

6885-629: Was known to have sent some American oysters to Queen Victoria , in recognition of which she sent a gold chronometer watch to Thomas in the care of Commodore Joseph Comstock . The Downing family attended St. Philip's Episcopal Church , the first African-American Episcopal church in the city. Thomas became one of its wealthiest members; it was a center for men and families who were ambitious and hardworking . Thomas died on April 10, 1866, several years after his wife Rebecca. The parents stressed education for advancement, and Downing and his twin brothers, Thomas and Henry, were educated in New York City, while

6970-486: Was one of the bloodiest, and thus struck fear in the hearts of many white southerners. Nat Turner and more than 70 enslaved and free blacks spontaneously launched a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia , in August 1831. They moved from farm to farm, indiscriminately killing whites along the way and picking up additional slaves. By the time the militia put down the insurrection, more than 80 slaves had joined

7055-804: Was promoted to admiral in 1781, and commanding the French fleet in the west, was a naval hero of the American Revolution , conducting a blockade in the Chesapeake Bay that led to the British surrender in 1781 at Yorktown. By 1799, George de Grasse had immigrated from France and settled in New York City, where in 1804 he became a naturalized citizen. He had worked for Aaron Burr , likely through connections of his father, who gave him two lots of land. In New York, de Grasse met and married Maria van Surley (also known as van Salee) of New York. She

7140-525: Was that proslavery delegates, in the context of individual manumission codes, had hitherto demanded "a condition that the persons freed should be removed from the Country." For Madison, federal colonization legislation proved more prudent, practical, and feasible because proslavery representatives were already amenable to it. Madisonian colonization would ultimately be compulsory, not voluntary, which again aligned with ACS goals. A convention of abolitionists

7225-566: Was the daughter of John and Margaret van Surley (the surname was also recorded as Van Salee). Her mother was a German immigrant, and John was a veteran of the Revolution. His immigrant ancestor was Abraham Janzsoon van Salee, an early Moorish-Dutch settler in New Amsterdam about 1630. George and Maria stressed education for all three of their children. Serena's eldest brother was Isaiah DeGrasse , who graduated from Newark College (now

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