Lucretia Mott, Celebrated Advocate of Anti-Slavery, Born January 3, 1793

From the earliest settlement at Germantown, and especially in the period following the Revolutionary War, there were many thoughtful people in all walks of life who considered slavery to be an evil which should be stopped. But the question of actually freeing the slaves was first seriously brought forward in 1831, by William Lloyd Garrison, in his excellent paper, “The Liberator,” published in Boston.

Seventy-five delegates met in Philadelphia in 1833 to form a National Anti-Slavery Society. It was unpopular in those stirring days to be an abolitionist. John Greenleaf Whittier acted as one of the secretaries, and four women, all Quakers, attended the convention.

When the platform of this new society was being discussed, one of the four women rose to speak. A gentleman present afterward said: “I had never before heard a woman speak at a public meeting. She said only a few words, but these were spoken so modestly, in such sweet tones and yet so decisively, that no one could fail to be pleased.” The woman who spoke was Lucretia Mott.

Lucretia Coffin was born in Nantucket January 3, 1793. In 1804 her parents, who were Quakers, removed to Boston. She was soon afterward sent to the Nine Partners’ Boarding School in Duchess 7County, N. Y., where her teacher (Deborah Willetts) lived until 1879. Thence she went to Philadelphia, where her parents were residing.

At the age of eighteen years she married James Mott. In 1818 she became a preacher among Friends, and all her long life she labored for the good of her fellow creatures, especially for those who were in bonds of any kind.

She was ever a most earnest advocate of temperance, pleaded for the freedom of the slaves, and was one of the active founders of the “American Anti-Slavery Society” in Philadelphia in 1833.

She was appointed a delegate to the World’s Anti-Slavery convention, held in London in 1840, but was denied a seat in it on account of her sex. She also was a very prominent advocate of the emancipation of her sex from the disabilities to which law and custom subjected them.

When the Female Anti-Slavery Society was organized Lucretia Mott was its first president and served in that office for many years.

The anti-slavery enthusiasts dedicated a building, Pennsylvania Hall, in Philadelphia, May 14, 1838, which excited the rage of their enemies and the mob burned the building three days later. The excited crowd marched through the streets, threatening also to burn the houses of the abolitionists.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. James Mott stood on Ninth Street above Race. Lucretia Mott and her husband were warned of their danger, but refused to leave their home. Their son ran in from the street, crying, “They’re coming!”

The mob intended to burn the house, but a young man friendly to the family assumed leadership and with the cry “On to Motts!” led them past the place and the mob satisfied its thirst by burning a home for colored orphans, and did not return.

Such incidents failed to daunt the spirit of Lucretia Mott, and her husband, who approved the part she took.

A meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society in New York City was broken up by roughs, and several of the speakers, as they left the hall, were beaten by the mob. Lucretia Mott was being escorted from the hall by a gentleman.

When she noticed some of the other ladies were frightened, she asked her friend to leave her and take care of the others. “Who will look after you?” he asked. Lucretia laid her hand on the arm of one of the roughest in the mob, saying: “This man will see me safely through the crowd.” Pleased by the mark of confidence, the rioter did as she asked and took her to safety.

The home of the Motts was always open for the relief of poor colored persons, and they helped in sending fugitive slaves to places of refuge. On one occasion the Motts heard the noise of an approaching mob. Mr. Mott rushed to the door and found a poor colored man, pursued by the mob, rushing toward the friendly Mott house. He entered 8and escaped by the rear door. A brick hurled at Mr. Mott fortunately missed him, but broke the door directly over his head.

A sequel to the riot at Christiana, Lancaster County, September 11, 1851, which occurred on the farm then owned by Levi Powell, was the arrest of Castner Hanway and Elijah Lewis, two Quakers of the neighborhood, and nearly fifty others, mostly Negroes, on the charge of high treason for levying war against the Government of the United States.

The trial began in the United States Court at Philadelphia, before Judges Green and Kane, November 24. It was one of the most exciting ever held in the State. Thaddeus Stevens, John M. Read, Theodore C. Cuyler, and Joseph J. Lewis, conducted the defense, while District Attorney John W. Ashmead was assisted by the Attorney General of Maryland, and by James Cooper, then a Whig United States Senator from Pennsylvania.

Lucretia Mott attended the trial personally every day, and after the elaborate argument of counsel, Judge Green delivered his charge. The jury returned a verdict, in ten minutes, of “not guilty.”

A colored man named Dangerfield was seized on a farm near Harrisburg on a charge of being a fugitive slave. He was manacled and taken to Philadelphia for trial.

The abolitionists engaged a lawyer to defend the Negro. Lucretia Mott sat by the side of the prisoner during the trial. Largely through her presence and influence Dangerfield was released. The mob outside the court awaited Dangerfield to deliver him over to his former master, but a band of young Quakers deceived the crowd by accompanying another Negro to a carriage and Dangerfield walked off in another direction.

Lucretia Mott and her friends were rejoiced to see the Negroes all free. There was still much to be done after the Civil War. This noble woman remained a hard worker for their cause all through her life.

Lucretia Mott died in Philadelphia, November 21, 1881, at the age of nearly ninety years. Thousands attended her funeral, the proceedings were mostly in silence. At last some one said, “Will no one speak?” The answer came back: “Who can speak now? The preacher is dead.” Her motto in life had been “Truth for authority, not authority for truth.”

Lucretia Mott’s influence still lives. Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Hampton Institute in Virginia, and Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, are institutions made possible by such as she, and in them young colored persons are taught occupations and professions in which they can render the best service to themselves and to their country.

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