84-708: The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society , largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge . The exclusion of women from the convention gave a great impetus to the women's suffrage movement in the United States . The Society for the Abolition of
168-431: A friend redirected the mob, Mott waited in her parlor, willing to face her violent opponents. Amidst social persecution by abolition opponents and pain from dyspepsia , Mott continued her work for the abolitionist cause. She managed their household budget to extend hospitality to guests, including fugitive slaves , and donated to charities. Mott was praised for her ability to maintain her household while contributing to
252-492: A loss how to occupy it, and where to sit in it, whether backwards or forwards, upright or lounging, to the right or to the left. Those who have seen it tenanted by Lord Winchelsea , will agree that few sit there with greater dignity, or appear more advantageously to themselves. To the right and left are common mahogany chairs for the speakers, and behind these are rows of high-backed benches, rising gradually above each other, and intersected by two flights of steps, which extend from
336-670: A meeting place, Exeter Hall was also the headquarters of the YMCA (founded in 1844), a concert hall for the Sacred Harmonic Society in 1834, and the venue from 1848 to 1850 of the Wednesday Concerts . Hector Berlioz first conducted concerts there in 1852, and again in 1855. Exeter Hall was sold by the YMCA to the J. Lyons & Co. group, which assumed ownership on 27 July 1907. Lyons demolished it and built
420-460: A merchant in the city. On April 10, 1811, Lucretia Coffin married James Mott at Pine Street Meeting in Philadelphia . James was a Quaker businessman who shared her anti-slavery interests, supported women's rights, and helped found Swarthmore College . They raised six children, five of whom made it to adulthood. Mott died on November 11, 1880, of pneumonia at her home, Roadside, in
504-943: A missionary on Nantucket in the mid-1600s. Her cousin was Benjamin Franklin , one of the Framers of the Constitution , while other Folger relatives were Tories , those who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution. In 1803, at the age of 10, her father moved the Coffin family to Boston to become a merchant. She was sent at the age of 13 to the Nine Partners School , located in Dutchess County, New York , which
588-580: A prominent place in the painting. However, during a sitting on June 29, 1840, to capture her likeness, he took a dislike to her views and decided to not use her portrait prominently. Encouraged by active debates in England and Scotland, and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 , Mott also returned with new energy for the anti-slavery cause in the United States. She and her husband allowed their Philadelphia-area home, called Roadside, in
672-488: A scheme for building an immense edifice, which should contain a room large enough to hold any meeting, however numerous, with a smaller hall for lesser audiences, and a variety of committee rooms and offices, to be occupied by several societies, then crowded into the house. No. 32, Sackville Street , Piccadilly, and in other private buildings. The site of Exeter Change, in the Strand, was selected, as central and convenient, and
756-437: A second peal of cheers succeeding, before the echoes of the first have died away, the noise altogether has been of a nature that few persons could bear unmoved. The Hall is lighted by a range of large square-cornered windows along its left side, at a height of fourteen or fifteen feet from the ground, and also by sliding windows in the top, which serve besides as ventilators. The roof is very lofty and handsomely ornamented, and in
840-645: A society to advocate the rights of women." Eight years later they hosted the Seneca Falls Convention in Seneca Falls, New York . One hundred years later, the Women's Centennial Congress was held in America to celebrate the progress that women had made since they were prevented from speaking at this conference. The official list of delegates has 493 names. Exeter Hall Exeter Hall
924-779: A stamp titled 100 Years of Progress of Women: 1848–1948 in 1948 on the centennial of the Seneca Falls Convention , featuring Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Carrie Chapman Catt , and Lucretia Mott. (Elizabeth Cady Stanton on left, Carrie Chapman Catt in middle, Lucretia Mott on right.) In 1983, Mott was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame . In 2005, Mott was inducted into the National Abolition Hall of Fame , in Peterboro, New York . In 2015, P.S. 215 Lucretia Mott, in Queens , New York City , closed; it
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#17327572191381008-494: Is the same, and should be yielded to her, whether she exercises that right or not." Noted abolitionist and human rights activist Frederick Douglass was in attendance and played a key role in persuading the other attendees to agree to a resolution calling for women's suffrage. Mott signed the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments . Despite Mott's opposition to electoral politics, her fame had reached into
1092-810: The American Anti-Slavery Society . It was an organization for men, but she was invited to their first convention as a guest. She formed and was a leader of the Female Anti-Slavery Society, which merged with the male organization in 1839. Mott, was also a founding member of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society , and, with other white and black women, founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society . The Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society
1176-716: The American Equal Rights Association was founded, with Mott serving as the first president of the integrated organization. The following year, Mott and Stanton became active in Kansas where black suffrage and woman suffrage were to be decided by popular vote. The Equal Rights Association, with male and female members, favored male suffrage. Stanton and Anthony formed the National Woman's Suffrage Association for women only. Intending to create educational opportunities for women, Mott helped found
1260-581: The Anti-Slavery Society (founded in 1823) took place there, and such was the significance of these political meetings that the phrase "Exeter Hall" became a metonym for the abolitionist lobby . Significant events there included a huge seven-hour public meeting hosted by the South Australia Company on 30 June 1834 to support the establishment of the free colony of South Australia . On 10 May 1871, "a meeting in support of
1344-565: The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS) was accordingly founded in 1839. One of its first significant deeds was to organise the World Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840: "Our expectations, we confess, were high, and the reality did not disappoint them." The preparations for this event had begun in 1839, when the Society circulated an advertisement inviting delegates to participate in the convention. Over 200 of
1428-1223: The Civil War , Mott increased her efforts to end war and violence, and she was a leading voice in the Universal Peace Union , founded in 1866. Susan Jacoby wrote, "When Mott died in 1880, she was widely judged by her contemporaries - even many who had opposed her brand of abolitionism and who continued to oppose equal rights for women - as the greatest American woman of the nineteenth century." The first volume of History of Woman Suffrage , published in 1881, states, “THESE VOLUMES ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED TO THE Memory of Mary Wollstonecraft , Frances Wright , Lucretia Mott, Harriet Martineau , Lydia Maria Child , Margaret Fuller , Sarah and Angelina Grimké , Josephine S. Griffing , Martha C. Wright , Harriot K. Hunt , M.D., Mariana W. Johnson , Alice and Phebe Carey , Ann Preston , M.D., Lydia Mott , Eliza W. Farnham , Lydia F. Fowler , M.D., Paulina Wright Davis , Whose Earnest Lives and Fearless Words, in Demanding Political Rights for Women, have been, in
1512-648: The Declaration of Sentiments was written. Her speaking abilities made her an important abolitionist, feminist, and reformer; she had been a Quaker preacher early in her adulthood. She advocated giving black people, both male and female, the right to vote (suffrage). Her home with James was a stop on the Underground Railroad . Mott helped found the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College and raised funds for
1596-775: The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia). She was a fund-raiser for the Philadelphia School of Design for Women . Mott was a pacifist, and in the 1830s, she attended meetings of the New England Non-Resistance Society . For several years, she was president of the Pennsylvania Peace Society. She opposed the War with Mexico (1846–1848). After
1680-523: The Freemasons' Hall , could only fit about 1600 people, so a consortium decided that it was time to build a larger venue. Exeter Hall was erected between 1829 and 1831 to designs by John Peter Gandy , the brother of the visionary architect Joseph Michael Gandy . The hall was built on the site of Exeter Exchange , which had been famous for its menagerie of wild animals; prior to the Exeter 'Change, as it
1764-543: The Philadelphia School of Design for Women . She remained a central figure in reform movements until her death in 1880. The area around her long-time residence in Cheltenham Township is now known as La Mott , in her honor. Lucretia Coffin was born January 3, 1793, in Nantucket , Massachusetts , the second child of Anna Folger and Thomas Coffin. Her father, Capt. Thomas Coffin was a descendant of one of
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#17327572191381848-422: The Seneca Falls Convention , the first women's rights convention, at Seneca Falls, New York . Stanton's resolution that it was "the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves the sacred right to the elective franchise" was passed despite Mott's opposition. Mott viewed politics as corrupted by slavery and moral compromises, but she soon concluded that women's "right to the elective franchise however,
1932-658: The Strand Palace Hotel in its place, opening in September 1909. The following is from 1838: [The Freemasons Hall ] is capable of containing 1600 persons, but as such accommodation was even then very insufficient for the numbers who wished to attend the meetings, ladies were excluded from those of the Bible Society ; and at the Church Missionary , and other popular anniversaries, the crowd
2016-855: The United States Capitol . Originally kept on display in the crypt of the US Capitol, the sculpture was moved to its current location and more prominently displayed in the rotunda in 1997. A version of the Equal Rights Amendment from 1923, which differs from the current text, was named the Lucretia Mott Amendment. That draft read, "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." The United States Post Office issued
2100-421: The abolitionist movement. Many women in particular responded to Wm. Lloyd Garrison's invitation to become involved in the American Anti-Slavery Society . They were heavily involved, attending meetings and writing petitions. Arthur Tappan and other conservative members of the society objected to women engaging in politics publicly. Given the perceived need for a society to campaign for anti-slavery worldwide,
2184-441: The 1840 meeting and was completed the next year. The new society's mission was "The universal extinction of slavery and the slave trade and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured as slaves." The circular message, distributed in 1839, provoked a controversial response from some American opponents of slavery. The Garrisonian faction supported
2268-475: The 19th century. In 1849, Mott's "Sermon to the Medical Students" was published: "May you be faithful, and enter into a consideration as to how far you are partakers in this evil, even in other men's sins. How far, by permission, by apology, or otherwise, you are found lending your sanction to a system which degrades and brutalizes three million of our fellow beings." In 1866, after the Civil War ,
2352-494: The American men attending the convention, including William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips , protested the women's exclusion. Garrison, Nathaniel Peabody Rogers , William Adam , and African American activist Charles Lenox Remond sat with the women in the segregated area. Activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her husband Henry Brewster Stanton attended the convention while on their honeymoon. Stanton admired Mott, and
2436-661: The British Dominions , in existence from 1823 to 1838, helped to bring about the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 , advocated by William Wilberforce , which abolished slavery in the British Empire from August 1834, when some 800,000 people in the British empire became free. Similarly, in the 1830s many women and men in America acted on their religious convictions and moral outrage to become a part of
2520-457: The Hicksite ministry. The Hicksites, the liberal branch, were sometimes considered to be Unitarian Quakers. The Hicksites were more prone to be part of social reform moments, including abolitionism and the fight for women's rights. Other Hicksite Friends were Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul . Mott's sermons included her free produce and other anti-slavery sentiments. Mott's theology
2604-530: The Preparation of these Pages, a Constant Inspiration TO The Editors”. The Camp Town section of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania , which was the site of Camp William Penn , and of Mott's home, Roadside, was renamed La Mott in her honor in 1885. Mott is commemorated along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in Portrait Monument , a 1921 sculpture by Adelaide Johnson at
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2688-762: The Slave Trade (officially Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade) was principally a Quaker society founded in 1787 by 12 men, nine of whom were Quakers and three Anglicans , one of whom was Thomas Clarkson . Due to their efforts, the international slave trade was abolished throughout the British Empire with the passing of the Slave Trade Act 1807 . The Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout
2772-409: The Strand, leads into a wide interior space, from whence ascend two curved flights of stairs, one on each side, which meet in one broad straight flight above, leading to the great hall, and under the junction of which opens a spacious passage. This joins, at right angles, the passage from the side entrance, so that the ground plan of these passages resembles a capital T, with rooms opening on each side of
2856-466: The United States", called for the immediate and unconditional emancipation of enslaved people, after she visited Virginia in 1818. Mott was also a Garrisonian , and like most Hicksite Quakers, considered slavery to be immoral and called for its immediate cessation. Inspired in part by minister Elias Hicks , she and other Hicksite Quakers refused to use cotton cloth, cane sugar, and other slavery-produced goods. In 1833, she and her husband helped found
2940-545: The World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. The American Anti-Slavery Society , the Garrisonian faction, made a point to include a woman, Lucretia Mott , and an African American, Charles Lenox Remond , in their delegation. Both the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Societies sent women members as their delegates, including Abigail Kimber , Elizabeth Neall , Mary Grew , and Sarah Pugh . Cady Stanton
3024-558: The cause. In the words of one editor, "She is proof that it is possible for a woman to widen her sphere without deserting it." In June 1840, Mott attended the General Anti-Slavery Convention , better known as the World's Anti-Slavery Convention, in London, England. Despite Mott's status as one of six women delegates, before the conference began, the men voted to exclude the American women from participating, and
3108-428: The centre is a large square elevation, around which are placed the ventilating windows, which open or shut from the leads outside. The Lower Hall has no such advantage, and is ventilated by the ordinary windows, placed on each side of the room; one range opening into the back street, and the other into the main cross-passage of the building. It is similar to the larger Hall, excepting that it has no raised seats ; and
3192-571: The convention noted "The upper end and one side of the room were appropriated to ladies, of whom a considerable number were present, including several female abolitionists from the United States." The women were allowed to watch and listen from the spectators gallery but could not take part. In sympathy with the excluded women, the Americans William Garrison , Charles Lenox Remond , Nathaniel P. Rogers , and William Adams refused to take their seat as delegates as well, and joined
3276-421: The deep recesses behind the platform. The scene visible from thence is truly magnificent. Below you lies the platform, slanting downwards, and extending into a crescent shape, with its crowds, sitting or standing; beyond them is the large flat surface of the area, its close benches all filled, and the avenues among them occupied by chairs, or by persons who are fain to stand, for want of sitting-room. Behind this are
3360-551: The district now known as La Mott , Cheltenham, Pennsylvania . She was buried at Fair Hill Burial Ground , a Quaker cemetery in North Philadelphia. At her funeral, a long silence took place. It was broken when someone asked, "Who can speak? The preacher is dead." In 1821, at age 28, Mott was recognized by her Friends Meeting ( "recorded" ) as a minister. By then she had been preaching for at least three years. She summarized her perspective by stating: "I always loved
3444-520: The district now known as La Mott , to be used as a stop on the Underground Railroad . She continued an active public lecture schedule, with destinations including the major Northern cities of New York City and Boston , as well as travel over several weeks to slave-owning states, with speeches in Baltimore , Maryland and other cities in Virginia . She arranged to meet with slave owners to discuss
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3528-524: The fabric, known as Exeter Hall, was completed in 1831. It is a large building, but from its very narrow frontage towards the Strand, is likely, at first sight, to disappoint those who come to London with their ideas of its exterior formed from what they have heard of its interior dimensions. It has scarcely any visible front, excepting a lofty entrance, between two handsome Corinthian pillars; so that many persons, who have intended to visit it, have passed by its entrance without perceiving that any public building
3612-400: The female delegates were required to sit in a segregated area. Anti-slavery leaders did not want the women's rights issue to become associated with the cause of ending slavery worldwide and dilute the focus on abolition. In addition, the social mores of the time denied women's full participation in public political life. Even so, Mott "made many telling addresses" at the convention. Several of
3696-768: The foreign missions of the Free Church of Scotland , and of the Presbyterian Church of England " was hosted in Exeter Hall. The former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in British India , Donald Friell McLeod , presided over the meeting, which featured speakers such as Rev. H. L. Mackenzie , of the Swatow Mission in China (now transliterated Shantou ). In addition to its primary function as
3780-511: The front row up to the entrances at the back. At upper corners are covered staircases, communicating with these entrances, the tops of which formerly joined the sunk galleries, and were often occupied by rows of ladies, more adventurous or less punctual than the rest. The platform is nominally appropriated to gentlemen, but the more curious sex seldom fail to get admittance there, in limited (or sometimes in large) numbers. This original plan of Exeter Hall was, however, found insufficient to accommodate
3864-529: The funding for the movement. Mott attended all three national Anti-Slavery Conventions of American Women (1837, 1838, 1839). During the 1838 convention in Philadelphia, a mob destroyed Pennsylvania Hall , a newly opened meeting place built by abolitionists. Mott and the white and black women delegates linked arms to exit the building safely through the crowd. Afterward, the mob targeted her home and Black institutions and neighborhoods in Philadelphia. As
3948-408: The gallery of the lesser Hall, the raised seats of the large Hall, to its side-doors, (beneath the platform), to the platform itself, and to the sunk galleries. These numerous staircases and passages render the back part of the building somewhat intricate; and strangers are constantly losing their way among them. When any large meeting is held, door-keepers, policemen, and other persons are stationed at
4032-744: The gallery, platform, &c., are all on a smaller scale, suited to the size of the apartment. A gallery extends round that part of the first floor which is not occupied by the Upper Hall, from which open the offices of the Jews (A reference to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, a Jewish Christian missionary society now known as the Church's Ministry Among Jewish People or CMJ) , District Visiting, Hibernian , European Missionary, and other societies. Stairs from thence lead to
4116-431: The good, in childhood desired to do the right, and had no faith in the generally received idea of human depravity." Mott traveled throughout the United States — New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana — and to England. Rare for the time, Mott was among a group of single and married women, including Jane Fenn Hoskens and Elizabeth Fry , who traveled as part of their Quaker ministry. She
4200-723: The large and ornamental bars of which, placed about one foot from each other, are connected at top by a thick mahogany spar. In the centre of its front row stands the chair, which in form much resembles that of King Edward the Confessor, in Westminster Abbey . It is of handsomely carved mahogany, with massy open elbows, and is cushioned, in the seat and back, with purple leather. Its dimensions are very large, and any gentleman of small, or even of moderate size, who may preside, can never be said to fill it. Very few chairmen appear to advantage there; some seem lost in it, others, at
4284-692: The main one, more than 4,000. Exeter Hall hosted religious and philanthropic meetings, including those of the British and Foreign Bible Society (founded in 1804), the Protestant Reformation Society (founded in 1827), the Protestant Association (revived in 1835), and the Trinitarian Bible Society (founded in 1831). The Peace Society (founded in 1816) used the hall to hold their twentieth anniversary meeting on 25 May 1836. The meetings of
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#17327572191384368-446: The morality of slavery. In the District of Columbia , Mott timed her lecture to coincide with the return of Congress from Christmas recess; more than 40 Congressmen attended. She had a personal audience with President John Tyler who, impressed with her speech, said, "I would like to hand Mr. Calhoun over to you", referring to the senator and abolition opponent. In 1855, with several other female abolitionists, Mott participated in
4452-423: The official delegates were British. The next largest group was the Americans, with around 50 delegates. Only small numbers of delegates from other nations attended. Benjamin Robert Haydon painted The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840 , a year after the event that today is in the National Portrait Gallery . This very large and detailed work shows Alexander as Treasurer of the new Society. The painting portrays
4536-406: The original purchasers of Nantucket Island and carried on his forefather's occupation as a whale-fisherman. Her mother ran the family mercantile business and traded in Boston for goods in exchange for oils and candles from the island. Lucretia often ran small errands for her mother, scouring the wharves for supplies and aid for her family. Through her mother, she was a descendant of Peter Folger ,
4620-411: The overflowing audiences who crowded thither; and in 1834-5, a large and heavy gallery was erected at the back of the raised seats, supported by the four massive pillars which stand near the mouths of the upper stairs. In 1836-7, the front comers of the platform were extended forwards, into galleries, reaching half way down the area, along the walls; that to the left of the Chair is merely a continuation of
4704-511: The participation of women in the anti-slavery movement. They were opposed by the supporters of Arthur and Lewis Tappan . When the latter group sent a message to the BFASS opposing the inclusion of women, a second circular was issued in February 1840 which explicitly stated that the meeting was limited to "gentlemen". Despite the statement that women would not be admitted, many American and British female abolitionists, including Lucretia Mott , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , and Lady Byron , appeared at
4788-461: The perverted application of the text, do not find the distinction, that theology and ecclesiastical authorities have made, in the condition of the sexes." Mott was a founder and president of the Northern Association for the Relief and Employment of Poor Women in Philadelphia (founded in 1846). In 1850, Mott published her speech Discourse on Woman , a pamphlet about restrictions on women in the United States. In 1848, Mott and Cady Stanton organized
4872-399: The platform itself, but that to the right is railed off for lady-friends of the Presidents and Committee, and is entered by a small back stair. With all this enlargement, however, the Hall is still insufficient for the crowds who often flock thither, as is well known by the audiences of the various Missionary and some other societies. When the room is quite filled, the finest view of it is from
4956-426: The political arena. During the June 1848 National Convention of the Liberty Party , 5 voting delegates cast their ballots for Lucretia Mott to be their party's candidate for the Office of U.S. Vice President, making her the first woman to run for that position. The biological justifications of race as a biologically provable basis for difference gave rise to the stigma of innate, naturally determined inferiority in
5040-550: The practice. The convention resolved to write to every religious leader to share this view. The convention called on all religious communities to eject any supporters of slavery from their midst. George William Alexander reported on his visits in 1839, with James Whitehorn, to Sweden and the Netherlands to discuss the conditions of slaves in the Dutch colonies and in Suriname . In Suriname, he reported, there were over 100,000 slaves with an annual attrition rate of twenty per cent. The convention prepared open letters of protest to
5124-441: The raised seats, galleries, and platform of the larger hall, and also round the gallery leading to the first floor offices, are situated behind the rooms Nos. 8 and 9, occupied by the Reformation Society. The large room of Exeter Hall was built to contain 4000 persons, with a splendid range of raised seats, to the left of the main entrance, a spacious area in front of it, and a platform, which of itself will accommodate 500 persons, to
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#17327572191385208-418: The raised seats, gradually appearing one behind another, and equal to half the size of the whole room; all again fully crowded, and the descending steps among the benches filled by the standing multitude. Over their heads, the whole scene is crowned by the back gallery, at a height of many feet, behind the crimson draperies which extend among the pillars, and this is completely full also. Those who wish to realize
5292-433: The respective sovereigns. Joseph Pease spoke and accused the British government of being complicit in the continuing existence of slavery in India. After leaving the convention on the first day, being denied full access to the proceedings, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton "walked home arm in arm, commenting on the incidents of the day, [and] we resolved to hold a convention as soon as we returned home, and form
5376-414: The right. At the back of the platform were formerly two sunk galleries, like the side-boxes of a theatre, which were opened or closed at pleasure, by means of moveable planks, which may be put aside during the progress of a meeting. They are now thrown completely open. The platform itself is elevated about six feet above the floor of the area, or central seats, and is finished in front by a handsome iron rail;
5460-439: The saying of "a sea of heads", should take this view of Exeter Hall, on some popular occasion. When such an assembly rises, for prayer or praise, at the beginning or end of a meeting, the sight is still more stupendous; and the degree of sound they are able to produce, in the way of cheering or singing, is almost incredible. There have been occasions when that vast room has rung with the voices of those assembled within its walls; and
5544-648: The smaller one below; as they are situated immediately under the right side of the large Hall. Should the applause over-head not be very loud, it seems to arise from the lower Room, and many an inexperienced speaker has paused for his hearers to cease their cheers, when in reality the noise came from above, and had no reference to him whatever, but was addressed to some orator up stairs, perhaps expressing opinions diametrically opposed to his own… 51°30′40″N 0°07′16″W / 51.511°N 0.121°W / 51.511; -0.121 Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (née Coffin ; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880)
5628-472: The transportation of Jane Johnson , an enslaved woman, to Boston after Johnson, with the aid of William Still , Passmore Williamson and others, had emancipated herself, while passing through Philadelphia on a trip from North Carolina to New York with her master, in accordance with Pennsylvania law. Women's rights activists advocated a range of issues, including equality in marriage, such as women's property rights and rights to their earnings. At that time, it
5712-439: The two women became united as friends and allies. One Irish reporter deemed her the "Lioness of the Convention". Mott was among the women included in the commemorative painting of the convention, which also featured female British activists: Elizabeth Pease , Mary Anne Rawson , Anne Knight , Elizabeth Tredgold and Mary Clarkson, daughter of Thomas Clarkson . Benjamin Haydon, the painting's creator, had intended to give Mott
5796-442: The upper line. On the lower floor are the smaller hall, (a room said to be capable of containing 1000 persons, the gallery included,) the offices of the Reformation Society, that of the Protestant Association, &c., with a room now called the Directors' Room, in which those committees, whose offices are in distant parts of London, assemble to proceed to the hall, when they hold their public meetings there. The back-stairs, leading to
5880-401: The various stairs, to receive the tickets, and direct the company to their different destinations. Notwithstanding this, confusion often arises when, both Halls are occupied at once, which is constantly the case during the early part of May. Another inconvenience attending such occasions is, that the plaudits of the upper and larger audience frequently drown the voices of those who are addressing
5964-463: The women in the spectators' gallery. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton , who eight years later organized the Seneca Falls Convention , met at this convention. The convention's organising committee had asked the Reverend Benjamin Godwin to prepare a paper on the ethics of slavery. The convention unanimously accepted his paper, which condemned not just slavery but also the world's religious leaders and every community who had failed to condemn
6048-590: Was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings of activists for various causes, most notably the anti-slavery movement and the meeting of the Anti–Corn Law League in 1846. London in the 19th century was the most populous city in the world, and yet its indoor meeting places were inadequate. The largest,
6132-507: Was an American Quaker , abolitionist , women's rights activist, and social reformer . She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongst the women excluded from the World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London in 1840. In 1848, she was invited by Jane Hunt to a meeting that led to the first public gathering about women's rights, the Seneca Falls Convention , during which
6216-543: Was brought up in the Quaker tradition and many of her beliefs derived from her faith. As such, she rejected Christian beliefs which held that Christian scripture condoned slavery and gender inequality. In a speech Mott Said "The laws given on Mount Sinai for the government of man and woman were equal, the precepts of Jesus make no distinction. Those who read the Scriptures, and judge for themselves, not resting satisfied with
6300-501: Was described as a woman of "gentle and refined manners and of great force of character." Her sermons emphasized the Quaker inward light or the presence of the Divine within every individual, as preached by Elias Hicks . Mott and her husband followed Hicks' theology, which became the focus of a schism among Quakers who divided into either Hicksite or Orthodox. As a result, Mott served as clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and traveled in
6384-591: Was founded in 1833 by Mott and other Quaker abolitionists. Integrated from its founding, the organization opposed both slavery and racism and developed close ties to Philadelphia's Black community. Importantly, the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society was part of a growth in the number of women's antislavery groups that began to emerge in the 1830s. Additionally, Mott and other female activists also organized anti-slavery fairs to raise awareness and revenue, providing much of
6468-510: Was influenced by Unitarians including Theodore Parker and William Ellery Channing as well as early Quakers including William Penn . She believed that "the kingdom of God is within man" (1749). Mott was among the religious liberals who formed the Free Religious Association in 1867, with Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise , Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson . Mott, the "foremost white female abolitionist in
6552-592: Was known, the site had been occupied since the 16th century by part of Exeter House (formerly Burghley House and Cecil House), the London residence of the Earls of Exeter . The official opening date for Exeter Hall was 29 March 1831. The façade on The Strand featured a prominent recessed central entrance behind a screen of paired Corinthian columns set into a reserved Late Georgian front of housing over shopfronts. The smaller auditorium could hold around 1,000 people, and
6636-407: Was named for her. The U.S. Treasury Department announced in 2016 that an image of Mott will appear on the back of a newly designed $ 10 bill along with Sojourner Truth , Susan B. Anthony , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Alice Paul and the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession . Designs for new $ 5, $ 10 and $ 20 bills will be unveiled in 2020 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of American women winning
6720-438: Was near them. At those hours when any large meeting is assembling or dispersing, few can mistake Exeter Hall; the living tide, which then pours in or out of its doors, is generally such as to impede the free passage of the Strand on that side; and the line of carriages, which extends far along the street in front, and up to the side entrance, is equally striking, when any great assembly is expected to break up. The grand doorway, in
6804-428: Was not herself a delegate; she was in England on her honeymoon, accompanying her husband Henry Brewster Stanton , who was a delegate. (Notably, he was aligned with the American faction that opposed women's equality.) Wendell Phillips proposed that female delegates should be admitted, and much of the first day of the convention was devoted to discussing whether they should be allowed to participate. Published reports from
6888-467: Was overwhelming. This was peculiarly inconvenient to the Chairman and speakers; for as the room was always filled long before the time for opening the proceedings, and there is no entrance to the platform but through the body of the hall, the difficulty of reaching the chair, and the speakers' seats, was extreme. It was therefore determined, about the year 1828-9, by some influential persons, to enter into
6972-533: Was run by the Society of Friends (Quakers). James Mott, who would become her husband, was her teacher there. At the age of 15, she became a teacher there after graduation and learned that male teachers at the school were paid significantly more than female staff, which ignited her interest in women's rights . She was also interested in fighting slavery as a child. After her family moved to Philadelphia in 1809, she and James Mott followed in 1810. James became
7056-519: Was very difficult to obtain a divorce, and fathers were almost always granted custody of children. Cady Stanton sought to make divorce easier to obtain and to safeguard women's access to and control of their children. Though some early feminists disagreed, and viewed Cady Stanton's proposal as scandalous, Mott stated "her great faith in Elizabeth Stanton's quick instinct & clear insight in all appertaining to women's rights." Lucretia Mott
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