Minutes of the Proceedings of the Second Convention of Delegates from the Abolition Societies Established in Different Parts of the United States: Assembled at Philadelphia, on the seventh day of January

In Short

This volume contains the official minutes of the Second Convention of Delegates from the Abolition Societies, held in Philadelphia in January 1795. It serves as a primary historical record of the institutional mechanics used by early reformers to lobby state and federal governments for the end of the slave trade and the emancipation of enslaved people. By capturing the resolutions, committee reports, and formal addresses of delegates from several states, the text provides a transparent, unvarnished look at the early organizational foundations of the movement to abolish slavery.

The Story

The arc of this text follows the eight-day session of the 1795 Convention, beginning with the verification of credentials for delegates from seven states. The proceedings open with a sense of methodical purpose, as representatives from societies in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey establish procedural rules and elect Dr. Benjamin Rush as their president. The primary objective is to evaluate the progress of the previous year’s efforts and to determine a unified course of action for the year ahead.

As the convention progresses, the delegates review the outcomes of their earlier memorials to state legislatures. The mood shifts from optimistic to sobering as they realize the uneven success of their lobbying: while the United States Congress did pass an act prohibiting the carrying on of the slave trade to foreign countries—a major legislative achievement—many state-level petitions were met with inaction or rejection. The delegates analyze these failures not with despair, but with a renewed commitment to gathering more comprehensive data. They resolve to compile state laws, track manumissions, and demand more rigorous reporting from local societies to build a more effective, fact-based strategy for the future.

The middle of the convention is dominated by the work of committees tasked with specific challenges: the legal status of individuals freed by the French Republic but held in bondage by immigrants to the United States, the need to improve the lives of the newly emancipated, and the specific legal roadblocks in states like New Jersey. The delegates deliberate on how to pressure the legislatures of Georgia and South Carolina, ultimately drafting formal, respectful, yet firm petitions that appeal to the "honor of humanity" and the long-term political interests of those states.

As the convention nears its end, the delegates solidify their vision for the next year. They issue an address to all constituent societies, urging them to adopt public orations to shift public sentiment and, crucially, to focus on the education of black children. They argue that breaking chains is only the beginning of the work, and that providing the "new born citizen" with religious and moral instruction is essential to proving the equality of the African people. The book concludes with the formal signing of these addresses and a commitment to reconvene in 1796, having established a framework for correspondence, publication, and collective advocacy that sought to make the cause of abolition a permanent, national priority.

How It Unfolds

The call to assembly Delegates from various state abolition societies convene at the Philadelphia City Hall to verify their credentials and establish a governing quorum. They adopt a set of rules for their proceedings and elect leadership to guide their deliberations over the following week.

The committee process The convention appoints several committees to investigate the successes and failures of the previous year’s memorials to Congress and individual states. These committees are tasked with defining the most effective paths forward, focusing on both legislative reform and the improvement of the moral standing of free blacks.

The legislative review The convention receives a comprehensive report on the federal prohibition of the foreign slave trade, which serves as a benchmark for their future lobbying efforts. They acknowledge that while federal progress is underway, state-level resistance remains a significant barrier that requires more coordinated, data-backed pressure.

The drafting of petitions Delegates refine and adopt formal addresses to the legislatures of Georgia and South Carolina, urging them to maintain or strengthen bans on the importation of slaves. These documents argue that the traffic in human beings degrades the character of the nation and poses severe political risks.

The final strategy The session concludes with an address to the wider network of abolition societies, standardizing the requirements for reporting, record-keeping, and educational outreach. The convention formalizes its structure for the coming year, ensuring that the movement remains organized and informed by consistent documentation of its activities.

The People

The central figures are the delegates themselves, acting as an organized body of reformers. Benjamin Rush, as the elected president, represents the intellectual and medical leadership of the Pennsylvania society, steering the group toward a focus on both legislative change and the social uplift of the formerly enslaved. Jonathan Edwards, representing the Connecticut Society, serves on key committees, bringing theological and moral weight to the delegates' arguments against the "hateful practice" of human bondage.

Theodore Foster and Zephaniah Swift frequently step into leadership roles during the absence of the president, signaling the collaborative nature of the group. These men, alongside figures like William Rawle and Samuel Coates, see themselves as stewards of a long-term moral project. They are not merely agitators; they are civic-minded professionals—lawyers, doctors, and merchants—who seek to leverage their social standing and technical expertise to force the political machine to recognize the humanity of enslaved people. They are bound by a shared desire for a "progressive abolition of slavery," and their interactions are characterized by a formal, persistent, and cautious optimism that they can influence state power through the sheer force of reasoned petition and documentation.

In Its Own Voice

The first step which we take the liberty of suggesting to you, is an entire prohibition of all traffic in slaves, between your state and every other nation or state, either by importation or exportation.

(In an address to the Legislature of South Carolina, the delegates explicitly demand an end to the state’s commerce in human lives.)

When we have broken his chains, and restored the African to the enjoyment of his rights, the great work of justice and benevolence is not accomplished--The new born citizen must receive that instruction, and those powerful impressions of moral and religious truth, which will render him capable and desirous of fulfilling the various duties he owes to himself and to his country.

(The delegates argue that legal emancipation is only the first stage of a much larger responsibility to provide education to the newly free.)

What It's Really About

The text addresses the profound tension between the rhetoric of liberty inherent in the American project and the reality of an enslaved population. It is fundamentally about the transition from moral outrage to institutional political strategy. The delegates are obsessed with questions of legitimacy: how to use the legal framework of the United States to dismantle the very system that the law currently protects. They grapple with the "degraded state" of the enslaved, wrestling with how to prove the humanity of African people to a skeptical public. Ultimately, the book is a study in the slow, grinding work of reform, examining the belief that if one can only present enough facts, petitions, and moral arguments, the legislative heart of the nation might eventually turn toward justice.

Why Read It Today

This book is for those interested in the architecture of political movements. Reading it feels like looking at the blueprints of a building that is currently under construction; you witness the foundational decisions of early American abolitionists who were operating in a climate of immense hostility and indifference. The prose is bureaucratic and dry, reflecting the formal, clipped language of eighteenth-century committee records. This lack of ornamentation is its greatest strength, as it forces the reader to confront the plain, often grim reality of how political change was pursued in the 1790s.

You will encounter the cold, legalistic language of the era, including the use of terms and attitudes that are deeply jarring to modern readers. The delegates’ focus on "moral conduct" and "instruction" of the free black population reflects the paternalistic and period-specific biases of the white reform movement of the time, which can be difficult to read. However, for those who want to understand the origins of institutional activism, this book offers a unique, unfiltered perspective. It strips away the myth of sudden change and replaces it with the reality of slow, difficult, and deliberate organization, leaving you with a clear appreciation for the sheer persistence required to challenge a deeply entrenched social evil.