On this date in 1833, the American Anti-slavery Society met for the first time. They were 60 abolitionist leaders gathering to end slavery in the United States of America.
They were from 19 states and met in Philadelphia to create a national organization to bring about the immediate emancipation of all slaves. The society elected officers and adopted a constitution and a declaration drafted by William Lloyd Garrison, which pledged its members to work for emancipation through non-violent actions of "moral suasion," or "the overthrow of prejudice by the power of love.”
The society encouraged public lectures, publications, civil disobedience, and the boycott of cotton and other slave-manufactured products. Broadside Press published a rare book about this event called Declaration of the Anti-Slavery Convention.
