Town Hall Meeting on Slavery

Weston Theoharis

10-20-2021

FYS 1000

Town Hall Meeting on Slavery

Pennsylvania Hall was built to provide a venue for discussing "the problems of slavery" as well as other subjects "not of an immoral character." It was originally dubbed "one of the most commodious and elegant buildings in the city."

The Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women met as scheduled that morning, despite the notices and the swelling crowd outside the auditorium. Men began to congregate outside the building the next morning, "prowling around the doors, investigating the gas pipes, and chatting in a manner to groups that had gathered around them in the street." They became more unruly later in the day, and during William Lloyd Garrison's introduction of Maria W. Chapman to the nearly 3,000 reformers present at the evening assembly, a mob burst into the building, shouting. The mob quickly dispersed, only to obstruct the conference from the outside. 

While Chapman was speaking, rocks smashed through the windows, and the shouting from outside drowned out her voice. Angelina Grimké Weld was the next to take the stage. The audience rose to leave many times during the meeting, only to be convinced to stay by Weld and other speakers. Weld's speech continued on for over an hour, unaffected by the raucous crowd. Whites and blacks went out of the hall arm in arm in a show of solidarity and to protect the black women. They were still pelted with insults and rocks. The Hall was conceived in response to the difficulty that abolitionists experienced in locating a suitable location for their meetings. To finance the construction, a joint-stock company was founded. Abolitionists, mechanics, and other employees, women, and important residents were among the 2,000 people who purchased $20 shares in the corporation. Those who were unable to purchase shares provided goods and labor. A total of $40,000 was raised to construct the structure.

 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2938.html

The mob showed up again the next day. More sessions of the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women were scheduled, despite the Mayor's request that the convention is limited to white women exclusively. Fearing that the crowd would attack, the building's managers delivered the keys to the mayor. The mayor declared to the gathering that the remaining sessions had been canceled after sealing the doors. As he went away, the crowd applauded. They stormed the structure shortly after, smashing the interior and starting fires. The mayor returned with the cops, but the mob had gotten out of hand, and any attempts by the cops to restore order were met with violence. By 9 p.m., the fires had spread throughout the building and everything was in flames. When firefighters arrived on the site, they only helped the structures surrounding Pennsylvania Hall. When one unit attempted to spray the new structure, its troops became targets for the hoses of the other units. Because no one was fighting to save Pennsylvania Hall, it was quickly demolished.

 https://www.abebooks.com/9781275760332/Report-proceedings-great-anti-slavery-meeting-1275760333/plp 

Over the next few days, the rioting mob proceeded to strike, setting fire to a refuge for black orphans and causing damage to a black church. The abolitionists were blamed for the riots in an official report, which said that they incited violence by upsetting Philadelphia residents with their opinions and advocating "racial mingling."