Ohio Anti-Slavery Society

The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society (1835-1845) was an abolitionist society established in Zanesville, Ohio, by American activists such as Gamaliel Bailey, Asa Mahan, John Rankin, Charles Finney and Theordore Dwight Weld.[1]

Background

Beginning

The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society was originally created as an auxiliary of the American Anti-Slavery Society.[2] Its first meeting took place in Putnam, Ohio, in April of 1835,[3] and gathered delegates from 25 counties, along with four corresponding members from other states, William T. Allen, James G. Birney, James A. Thome and Ebenezer Martin.[4] Later, the society's headquarters moved to Cleveland, Ohio.[2]

The Society

The society 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."[5]

Along with sponsoring traveling lecturers, the Society made James G. Birney's newspaper The Philanthropist its official press.[6]

During the Cincinnati riots of 1836, pro-slavery citizens protested against the activities of the society and destroyed Birney's printing press.[7] 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".[5]

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.[8]

Several abolitionists considered 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.'"[9]

Expansion

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 the Society.[6]

Division

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 the society's officials held a separate meeting exclusive for political abolitionists who eventually supported the Liberty Party.[10]

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.[10]

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References
  1. "Borderlander of Light: Rev. John Rankin and Ripley, Ohio 1820-1850 - SOULS & SOLIDARITY: IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION". www.reverendjohnrankin.org. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  2. "Ohio Anti-Slavery Society - Ohio History Central". www.ohiohistorycentral.org. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  3. "Narrative of Riotous Proceedings". utc.iath.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  4. "Ohio Anti-Slavery Society". www.americanabolitionists.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  5. "Ohio Anti-slavery Society". Cincinnati History Library and Archives. 2004. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  6. Oberlin College Library Special Collections. "Ohio Anti Slavery Society" (PDF). ugrr.thewright.org/.
  7. "1836 Cincinnati riots couldn't stop anti-slavery newspaper". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  8. "societies". americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  9. "Ohio Anti-Slavery Society · The Underground Railroad · The Underground Railroad in the Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana Borderland". urrrborderland.omeka.net. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  10. Gamble, Douglas Andrew (1970). "The Western Anti-Slavery Society: Garrisonian Abolitionism in Ohio". M.A. thesis, Ohio State University.
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