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| James Forten 1766 - 1842 |
Born in 1766, James Forten was a abolitionist and a successful businessman. In 1813, his Series of "Letters by a Man of Color" helped defeat a bill that would have prevented free Negroes from entering Pennsylvania. Active in Negro churches and educational societies, Forten was also an organizer of the first national Negro Convention. After the American Anti-Slavery Society was formed in 1833, Forten served on its board of managers. The society called for the immediate abolition of slavery and an end to prejudice against colored people. The next years saw an outpouring of antislavery books, pamphlets, newspapers, all aimed at convincing our fellow citizens that slave holding is a heinous crime. By the time James Forten died in 1842, there were two thousand state and local antislavery groups with upwards of two hundred thousand members.
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| July 31, 2011 |
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