Fugitive Slave Law Convention

The Fugitive Slave Law Convention was held in Cazenovia, New York, August 21-22, 1850.[1][2] Organized to oppose passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 by the United States Congress, participants included Frederick Douglass, the Edmonson sisters, Gerrit Smith, Samuel Joseph May, and Theodore Dwight Weld, among others.[2] The convention opened at the First Congregational Church of Cazenovia (now Cazenovia College's theater building), then moved to "the orchard of Grace Wilson's School, located on Sullivan Street,"[2] to accommodate the estimated 2000 to 3000 participants.[2][1] It was chaired by Douglass.[1]

Daguerrotype of the convention, by local photographer and abolitionist Ezra Greenleaf Weld. Original in the collection of the Madison County Historical Society.

The daguerrotype

There is one and only one visual image of the meeting, in the daguerrotype held by the Madison County Historical Society. A photographer was summoned to take the picture, which was intended to show William L. Chaplin, in jail in Washington for having assisted two slaves in an unsuccessful escape attempt. Chaplin's future wife, Theodosia Gilbert Chaplin, is sested at the table with pen and paper in hand, documenting through the picture that "the document" was indeed prepared by the group. To her right is Frederic Douglass; behind her stands Gerrit Smith.

References
  1. Baker, Robert A. (4 February 2005). "Cazenovia convention: A meeting of minds to abolish slavery". The Post-Standard. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. Weiskotten, Daniel H. (25 May 2003). "The 'Great Cazenovia Fugitive Slave Law Convention' at Cazenovia, NY, August 21 and 22, 1850". RootsWeb. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
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