An Abolitionist Play

Name:

Read the descriptions below of five women who played leadership roles in the abolitionist movement. As you read, think about how they would argue their opinions about the issue of biracial membership in abolitionist organizations.

• SARAH FORTEN was the daughter of one of the wealthiest African American men in nineteenth-century America – James Forten who made his fortune as a sailmaker. She attended private school, where she studied art, music, French, and German as well as other academic subjects. Her parents' home was always a center of activity for the abolitionist movement. She and her sisters and mother were founding members of the biracial Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833.
• SOJOURNER TRUTH, born Isabella Baumfree, was an enslaved African American woman who obtained her freedom in 1827 at the age of 30. Truth moved to New York City, where she worked as a domestic servant until 1843 when, with the help of European American abolitionists, she went on the abolitionist "lecture circuit" to educate Americans about the evils of slavery.
• MARY SHADD was the daughter of a wealthy African American shoemaker of Delaware. Her entire family was involved in the abolitionist movement. Mary emigrated to Canada in 1851 when she was 28 years old. Especially after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, she believed that it was nearly impossible to change racist American society attitudes and felt that African Americans should emigrate to Canada. Furthermore, she felt the abolitionist movement was dominated by European Americans, exhibited racist attitudes, and relied primarily on unsuccessful tactics.
• LUCY STONE was the daughter of a poor European American farmer. Working as a housekeeper, laundress, and teacher, she earned her tuition and attended Oberlin College, the first American college to admit women and African Americans. She became a member and speaker for the Anti-Slavery Society of Massachusetts, an organization that was not biracial.
• LUCRETIA MOTT, a European American woman, was one of the initiators of the first Women's Rights Conference of 1848. She was also a leader in the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, a biracial organization.

Imagine that these five women had come together for a special meeting to discuss the issue of biracial membership in the abolitionist movement. Write a short, one-act play depicting the dialogue that occurred among these five women during this meeting. Below is a possible beginning for your play! Add to it – expressing the opinion of each of the above mentioned women!

SARAH FORTEN:
Ladies, we have gathered here this evening to discuss a very delicate and controversial question of the abolitionist movement: Should European American and African American women belong to the same organizations? You know my opinion on this issue. I would like to hear some of your opinions.

Excerpted from: Multicultural Activities for the American History Classroom.