1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. In our episode on Rebecca Cox at Jackson, 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: we talked a little bit about the anti black and 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: anti abolitionist backlash that struck Philadelphia and other parts of 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: the US in the early nineteenth century. We talked about 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: this a bit more in our episode on Lucretia Mott, 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: who was at an event at Pennsylvania Hall when it 7 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: was attacked by an anti abolitionist mob in eighteen thirty eight. 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: So we're gonna bring out our episode on Mott today 9 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: as Saturday's Classic was originally came out on August, So 10 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: enjoy Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. And today 13 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: we're actually recording in studio an episode that we actually 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: prepared for a live show at the Women's Rights National 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: Historical Park as part of their Convention Days programming. As 16 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: sometimes happens, live show recordings do not go according to plan, 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: so we can't bring you the original version of that 18 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: as it happened live. But that means that those people 19 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: in attendance sort of get, you know, their memories of 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: that special thing that unfortunately nobody else gets to share in, 21 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: so let that be lesson to you come to live show. Also, 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: if you listen to our Road to the Declaration of 23 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: Sentiments episode that we did at the end of a 24 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: little bit of this is going to sound familiar, there's 25 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: not a whole lot of overlap. And that episode was 26 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: actually catalyzed by then Chief Technology Officer of the United 27 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: States Megan Smith, reaching out to the podcast to raise 28 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: awareness of the missing women's rights document, the Declaration of Sentiments, 29 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: and we gave a brief version of Lucretia Mott's life 30 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:52,919 Speaker 1: and a quick rundown of how she and Elizabeth Katie 31 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: Stanton met at the World Anti Slavery Convention. Today's show 32 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: is going to focus on Lucretia Mott in much more 33 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: detain ilm But even so, her life is so well 34 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: documented and she was such an important public figure in 35 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: her time that we're really just hitting some of the highlights. So, 36 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: for example, in eighteen sixty four, she helped found Swarthmore 37 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,839 Speaker 1: College in Pennsylvania as a co educational institution, But we're 38 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: not even going to get into that because we're focusing 39 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: instead a lot more on her activism, and she was 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: a whole lot of activists packed into a diminutive frame. 41 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: And while she advocated for peace, she was, in her 42 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: own words, no advocate of passivity. Lucretia Mott was born 43 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: Lucretia Coffin on January three, seventeen ninety three, on the 44 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: island of Nance Huckett in Massachusetts. Her father, Thomas Coffin, 45 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: was a sea captain. Her mother, Anna Folger, was related 46 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: to Benjamin Franklin. Because Thomas was often at sea, Anna 47 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: was managing things at home, and she ran a small 48 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: store with Lucretia's help as Lucretia got older. Lucretia was 49 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: their second child and they eventually had five children. In 50 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: The Coffin family were Quakers, and the Quaker religion believed 51 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: slavery was evil and had a particularly progressive view of 52 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: women's equality for the time, so it is not surprising 53 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: that Lucresia went on to campaign for women's rights, abolition, 54 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: and social reform. When she was ten, her parents decided 55 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: on a change for the whole family. Thomas left his 56 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: job as a mariner and the family moved to Boston, 57 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: where he became a merchant, all with the intent of 58 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: creating a much more stable family life. In addition to 59 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: how he was away all the time as a sea captain, 60 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: that was also an incredibly dangerous job. Yeah, there was 61 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: always the chance that he would not come back, uh, 62 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: and they didn't want to live with that risk anymore. 63 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: When she was thirteen, Lucretia began attending a Quaker boarding 64 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: school in Poughkeepsie, New York called Nine Partners School, along 65 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: with one of her sisters, Eliza, and Lucretia did really 66 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: well there, so much so that she became an assistant teacher. 67 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: When she aged out of the available curriculum, Lucretia was 68 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: thenly there after promoted into a teaching position, and this 69 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: meant that sort of in an in kind trade on 70 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: her work, that another one of her sisters could then 71 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: attend the school. And it was during this time that, 72 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: even though she was at a Quaker school where equality 73 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: was being taught, Lucretia got a really harsh dose of reality. Later, 74 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: she wrote of women in education, quote, I learned at 75 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: school that their education cost the same as that of men, 76 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: while they received as teachers but half the salary. While 77 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: she was at Nine Partners, Lucretia made the acquaintance of 78 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: a young teacher named James Mott, who was the son 79 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: of the school superintendent. The two of them grew close, 80 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: and then they fell deeply in love, and the Coffins 81 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: moved once again in eighteen o nine, this time to Philadelphia. 82 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: Lucretia and James Mott joined them there, and James was 83 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: invited by Lucretia's father, Thomas, to become a partner in 84 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: his merchant business. Lucretia married James Mott on April tenth, 85 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: eighteen eleven. She was eighteen at the time and he 86 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: was five years older. This seems to have been a 87 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: very good match. They had similar ideologies when it came 88 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: to equality for women. They were both abolitionists. They had 89 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: a passionate and devoted relationship, which Lucretia referred to as 90 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 1: a perfect love. Four years after Lucretia and James were married, 91 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: Thomas Coffin died. This was not only an emotional blow, 92 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: it created a very real financial problem for Lucretia's mother Anna, 93 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: who was suddenly burdened with Thomas's extensive debt, and also 94 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: for James Mott due to his involvement in Thomas's business 95 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: and coffin had made some pretty bad business decisions, and 96 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: he was thousands of dollars in debt when he died. 97 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: Among other things, he had loaned money to people he 98 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: should not have, and he also had a lawsuit pending 99 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,359 Speaker 1: against him. Lucretia, James, and Anna all worked together to 100 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: address this problem. They chipped away at the financial obligations 101 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: that Thomas had left behind. Anna went back to work, 102 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: returning to her former vocation of running a store, Lucretia 103 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: worked as a teacher, and James worked as a bookkeeper, 104 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: and the trio really managed to make some very real 105 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,599 Speaker 1: progress on this problem. But just as they were getting 106 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: their feet back under them, there was another tragedy. Both 107 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: Lucretia and her third child, two year old Thomas, became 108 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: very ill with fever, and Lucretia recovered, but Thomas did not. 109 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: He died, and Lucretia was naturally heartbroken. Despite her grief, 110 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: though she returned to her teaching job not long after 111 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: the loss, and that loss of her son made her 112 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: even more devoted to her Quaker faith. In the late 113 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: eighteen twenties, the Society of Friends split into two factions, 114 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: the Orthodox Group and the Hickside group, which was named 115 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: for Quaker abolitionist Elias Hicks. Hicks had actually been one 116 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: of the founding members of the Nine Partners School, where 117 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: Lucretia had been a student and a teacher. By this time, 118 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: Lucretia was a Quaker minister, although this was not a 119 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: vocation as a Quaker, she was not being paid for 120 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: this work. Yeah. One of the things I had read 121 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: one of the biographies suggested that when she realized that 122 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 1: minister ers and other religions got paid to share their sermons, 123 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: she was a little bit mortified. I thought that was 124 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: not something that should be part of a financial transaction. Uh. 125 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: There were a number of issues that led to that 126 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: split within the Society of Friends, which is another UH 127 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: word for the Quakers. Those reasons were both spiritual and 128 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: some were a little bit more mundane. They had to 129 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: do with power struggles that were going on. But the 130 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: primary reason that was cited for the fracture was the 131 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: Hicksite focus on the inward light as the guiding of faith, 132 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: whereas the Orthodox group favored biblical authority above all other influences. 133 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: And this split began at the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and 134 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: the Mots, along with approximately two thirds of their fellow Quakers, 135 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: went with the Hicksites. That is a very paired down 136 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: an extremely basic version of the schism, which of course 137 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: had a lot more nuanced than that, but in relation 138 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: to the Mots that had a very real impact. The 139 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: Hicksites wanted to sever any possible connections to the slave trade, 140 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: and as a consequence, James shifted his textile business away 141 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: from selling cotton cloth, which was made with raw materials 142 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: that had come from slave labor, and the transition to 143 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: selling wool instead. The Mots and many Hicksites emphasized the 144 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: importance of so called free goods and produced, meaning that 145 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: they had been produced or grown without the use of 146 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: slave labor. In the eighteen thirties, Mott was a member 147 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: of the American Anti Slavery Society founded by William Lloyd Garrison, 148 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: and that inspired her in eighteen thirty three to found 149 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: a women's group within the movement, the Philadelphia Female Anti 150 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: Slavery Society, and there was to be clear plenty of 151 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: controversy around Mott's outspoken nature in the abolitionist cause. While 152 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: she had been raised in a household and a culture 153 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: that treated women as more or less equal. Her passionate 154 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: oration was not always well regarded in non Quaker circles, 155 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: and sometimes even within the Society of Friends, there were 156 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: some members who were not entirely comfortable with her direct 157 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: and impact ash and rhetoric on abolition and kind of 158 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: hoped she might leave the group rather than continue to 159 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: stir up controversy. And there was also a very real 160 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: danger in being a public vocal abolitionist. But Lucretia drew 161 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: a great deal of strength from her faith, and when 162 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: she spoke to groups about slavery, that strength really helped 163 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: her to make her position clear, and it helped her 164 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: to sway people to her cause. People who heard her 165 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: speak described her as being eloquent, calm, and very persuasive 166 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: and her use of logic to condemn the practice of slavery. 167 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: Coming up, we're going to talk about a particularly frightening 168 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: week for the abolitionist movement in Philadelphia. But before that, 169 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:49,719 Speaker 1: we are going to pause and have a little sponsor break. 170 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: In May eight, Lucretia Mott participated in a series of 171 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: events at Pennsylvania Hall in her hometown of Philadelphia. That 172 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: hall was brand new. It had been designed by Thomas 173 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: Somerville Stewart, a Scott's Irish architect living in Philadelphia, as 174 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: a meeting place where abolitionists could engage in free discussion, 175 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: and its opening was a really high profile event. The 176 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: hall could hold three thousand attendees, and in the first 177 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: few days the hall's use, both black and white abolitionists 178 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: sat in the audience. Journalists and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison 179 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,559 Speaker 1: made a note, however, that there were no black speakers 180 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: on the stage, which he claimed was the result of 181 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: either prejudice or fear. I would point out that it 182 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,839 Speaker 1: could also have been related to prejudice, that the white 183 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: organizers just not even considering that that would be a thing. Yeah, 184 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: there could easily have been thoughtlessness in the mix as well, um, 185 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: but there was definitely cause for fear. The opening of 186 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: the hall had set off anti abolitionist agitators. Pennsylvania was 187 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: a free state, but the issues of slavery inequality were 188 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: still topics of strife. Signs began appearing in Philadelphia urging 189 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: people to rise up against these abolitionists and one red quote, 190 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: whereas a convention for the avowed purpose of affecting the 191 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: immediate abolition of slavery in the Union is now in 192 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: session in this city. It behooves all citizens who entertain 193 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: a proper respect for the rights of property and the 194 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 1: preservation of the Constitution of the United States, to interfere 195 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: forcibly if they must, and prevent the violation of these 196 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: pledges heretofore held sacred. There was also the ongoing issue 197 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: of women's equality in the mix. With all of this, 198 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: some abolitionists felt that open meetings with men and women, 199 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: both black and white, all gathered together in the hall 200 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: would seem inappropriate. At one point during the Wednesday evening 201 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: of the week's events, Mott addressed the assembled mixed crowd 202 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: and said she was not speaking on behalf of the 203 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: women's Convention, but that she hoped that the quote false 204 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: notions of delicacy and propriety would soon be a thing 205 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: of the past. Yes, she really just wanted everybody to 206 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: be able to come together and discuss these issues and 207 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,320 Speaker 1: not get watted up on what they thought was proper 208 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: or not. And during some of the speeches in those 209 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,960 Speaker 1: first few days um there were bricks thrown through the 210 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,719 Speaker 1: windows of the hall by anti abolitionist protesters. There are 211 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 1: different versions of that story. John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a 212 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: biographical sketch of Lucretia Mott right after she died, and 213 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: in his version, he suggests that that was happening while 214 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 1: she was speaking. I did not find indications that that 215 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: was the case anywhere else. Other versions of the story 216 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 1: of this hall suggests that it happened during other lectures. 217 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: Others indicated happened after the fact. We do not know 218 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: exactly the timing, but there was some scary stuff going on. 219 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: An angry mob had steadily grown in numbers over the 220 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: course of several days, and even as the crowd surged 221 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: and threatened to enter the building, Mott, who was a 222 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 1: very tiny woman. We said she was diminutive, but to 223 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: be clear, she was about five ft tall. She weighed 224 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: between ninety and a hundred pounds. And while she was 225 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 1: speaking to her fellow abolitionists in the Anti Slavery Convention 226 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: of American Women who were meeting at the time, she 227 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 1: urged them to remain true to the cause and to 228 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: continue their work. Meanwhile, all of this scary stuff was 229 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: going on literally feet from them, right outside the building. 230 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: So when people describe Lucretia Mott as a fierce abolitionist, 231 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: which is a phrase you will often see in relation 232 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: to her. They are really not kidding. As the women 233 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: were leaving, the danger to the black women that had 234 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: attended as they walked through this crowd was just obvious. 235 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: Mott and the other white women in the group linked 236 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: arms with them as a way to help them move 237 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: through the angry protesters while trying to also maintain their 238 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 1: physical safety. They did still have to endure the racist 239 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,440 Speaker 1: epithets that were being yelled at them as they adjourned, 240 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: but they were kept physically safe. Yeah, she was pretty 241 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 1: clear that she believed that these protesters were not going 242 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 1: to have the gall to come after for example, in 243 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: her case, tiny white woman, So she was willing to 244 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: put her body physically in the way to prevent black 245 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: citizens from being hurt. And the next day the threat 246 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: of violence was so great that all of the scheduled 247 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: events were canceled. The mob had grown to a reported 248 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand people in Pennsylvania, Hall, described as one of 249 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: the most commodious and splendid buildings in the city, was 250 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: burned to the ground after the protesters broke in and 251 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: lit a fire on the stage. The thing was like 252 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: less than a week old at this point, right, Yeah, 253 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: that's like the fourth day was when it was burned down. 254 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: So there was ongoing violence over the next two days. 255 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: The Mots home was in danger as a target because 256 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: of Lucresia's high profile and the abolitionist movement. Their home 257 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: was spared at the end, but the mob turned its 258 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: ire towards black schools and churches. The following month, the 259 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: Philadelphia Female Anti Slavery Society, led by Lucretia Mott, hosted 260 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: another anti slavery convention, and Mott once again reiterated the 261 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: importance of the mission. The World Anti Slavery Convention in 262 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: eighteen forty was a significant event in Lucretia Mott's life. 263 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: That event took place in London, and when Mott arrived 264 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: as a delegate, it became clear that she was not 265 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: going to be allowed to participate because she was a woman. 266 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: No women were being admitted to the proceedings. Mad was 267 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,240 Speaker 1: certainly not the only woman who had traveled to London 268 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,480 Speaker 1: with the intent of attending the World Anti Slavery Convention. 269 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: All of the women there were told that they could 270 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: not participate. Heated debate among the delegates arose over this issue, 271 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: and the women were eventually granted admission, but this was 272 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: not exactly a win. They had to sit in a 273 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: special women's section at the back of the hall, and 274 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: they were not allowed to participate in any way. They 275 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: were allowed to observe, and to observe only. William Lloyd 276 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: Garrison was so angry about this situation, as were other men, 277 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: that he withdrew as a delegate and he opted to 278 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: share observer only status with the women. Abolition is so 279 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: he and several other men actually went back and sat 280 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: in their section. But it was in that women's section 281 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: that Lucresia Mott met the woman who would become one 282 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: of her greatest allies, Elizabeth Katie Stanton, who had made 283 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: the trip to London as her honeymoon with her new husband, 284 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: Henry Brewster Stanton. I love that they did this on 285 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: their honeymoon. It is quite charming. Uh Stanton made a 286 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: description of Lucretia Mott at this convention, and I wanted 287 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 1: to include this because there is a photograph of Lucretia 288 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: Mott that is probably the most commonly seen in the 289 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: modern era, and it is a photograph taken when she 290 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: was older, and she looks a little dour, And I 291 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: think that people have in their heads that she must 292 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: have been a very sour woman, But in fact she was, 293 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: by all accounts, really lovely. She was described as a 294 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: very vivacious youth. But I wanted to read Stanton's description 295 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: of her during the convention quote she was then in 296 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: her prime, small in stature, slightly built, with a large head, 297 00:16:55,920 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: high square forehead, remarkably fine face, regular teacher's dark hair 298 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 1: and eyes. She was gentle and refined in her manners, 299 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: and she conversed with earnestness and ease, commiserating over their 300 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: anger and how women abolitionists for being treated at the convention. 301 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: Mott and Stanton decided that when they were both back 302 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: in the United States, they should arrange a women's rights convention. 303 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 1: It was five years in the making, but they were 304 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: true to their words. On July fourty eight, the following 305 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: announcement ran in the Seneca County Courier under the headline 306 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:33,879 Speaker 1: Women's Rights Convention. A convention to discuss the social, civil 307 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: and religious condition and rights of women will be held 308 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 1: in the Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, New York on 309 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: Wednesday and Thursday, the nineteenth and twentie of July current, 310 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 1: commencing at ten o'clock a m. During the first day, 311 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: the meeting will be exclusively for women, which all are 312 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: earnestly invited to attend. The public generally are invited to 313 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,919 Speaker 1: be present on the second day, when Lucretia Mott of 314 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: Philadelphia and others both ladies and gentlemen, will address the convention. 315 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: Of course, famously, the Declaration of Sentiments was signed at 316 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: this convention. That's a document that was modeled after the 317 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: Declaration of Independence that outlined eighteen injuries to women and 318 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 1: was accompanied by eleven resolutions. Mott was one of the 319 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: writers of this document. The most controversial of the eleven 320 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: resolutions was getting women the right to vote. This is 321 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,199 Speaker 1: sometimes cited as the moment when the US suffrage movement 322 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: was born. As a quick note slash reminder, the topic 323 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: of the show we did in Seneca Falls last year 324 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: was Frederick Douglas, and he also attended the Seneca Falls 325 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: Convention and was also one of the signers of the 326 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 1: Declaration of Sentiments. But, perhaps surprisingly, Lucretia Mott was one 327 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: of the people who was not a supporter of the 328 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: Resolution for the Right to Vote for women. She felt 329 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,719 Speaker 1: that politics was inherently really flawed in immoral system, in 330 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: part due to its connection with slavery. So she thought 331 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: women really did not need to dirt themselves with that grossness. 332 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: But she did sign the Declaration of Sentiments, and she 333 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: did also managed to reconcile her concerns in a speech 334 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: that was later published by Mott as Discourse on Woman. 335 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,679 Speaker 1: She said the following, It is with reluctance that I 336 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: make the demand for the political rights of women, because 337 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: this claim is so distasteful to the age woman shrinks 338 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: in the present state of society from taking any interest 339 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,440 Speaker 1: in politics. Who knows but that if woman acted her 340 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: part in governmental affairs there might be an entire change 341 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: in the turmoil of political life. It becomes man to 342 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: speak modestly of his ability to act without her. If 343 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: woman's judgments were exercised, why might she not aid in 344 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: making the laws by which she has governed. Far be 345 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: it from me to encourage woman to vote or to 346 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: take an active part in politics in the present state 347 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: of our government. Her right to the elective franchise, however, 348 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: is the same and should be yielded to her, whether 349 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: she exercises that right or not. And we're going to 350 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: talk next about the fugi of Slave Act of eighteen fifty, 351 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: but first we are going to pause for a little 352 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:15,920 Speaker 1: sponsor break. When the Fugitive Slave Act of eighteen fifty 353 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 1: was passed, Lucretia and James Mott protested vehemently against it. 354 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: That act has come up with some regularity on the show, 355 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: but just for a reminder, it required that enslaved people 356 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: who ran away to non slave states had to be 357 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: captured and returned to their enslavers, and that aiding a 358 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: person who had escaped enslavement was a crime. The Fugitive 359 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: Slave Act caused a lot of strife even within the 360 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: abolishtionist movement. For one thing, there was the debates between 361 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:48,639 Speaker 1: following the law and following the principles of equality. Additionally, 362 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: even non abolitionist Pennsylvanians were angry that this act took 363 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: precedence over the state's personal liberty laws and instances were 364 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,439 Speaker 1: people who had been enslaved were retaken by forced Pacifist 365 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:05,160 Speaker 1: abolitionists grappled with their own principles of non violence as 366 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 1: they came into conflict with their desire to protect formerly 367 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:11,680 Speaker 1: enslaved people, and one of the things that Mott continued 368 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: to do during this time was to continue to use 369 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: her physical presence for the abolitionist cause. She knew, as 370 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: I said, that as a white woman she would likely 371 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,199 Speaker 1: be treated more respectfully or at least more gently than 372 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 1: a white man or a person of color, making the 373 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: kinds of statements that she made. In one instance, she 374 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: rode in a carriage with a woman named Jane Johnson, who, 375 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: in the course of fleeing enslavement, actually appeared to testify 376 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,479 Speaker 1: in court that the abolitionists who had helped her had 377 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: not kidnapped her, but she had gone of her own volition. 378 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:43,679 Speaker 1: She did that knowing that the marshals were going to 379 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: pursue her afterwards, so once she finished her testimony, she 380 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: and Mott made a hasty exit from the court, and 381 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: Mott helped Jane Johnson slip away from the authorities with 382 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: a bit of misdirection. They wrote in a carriage around 383 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:58,439 Speaker 1: the streets. They ended up at the front of the 384 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: Mott home. They both got out, went through the house, 385 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: Jane left out the back door and picked up another 386 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,160 Speaker 1: carriage there with a little meal that Lucretia had handed her, 387 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: and then she took off in that other carriage and 388 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: fortunately was not apprehended, while Lucretia could be like, I 389 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: don't know what you're talking about when the marshals got 390 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: to the house um. In another instance, when a black 391 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,679 Speaker 1: man named Daniel Webster was captured in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and 392 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 1: accused of being a runaway from a Virginia slave plantation, 393 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: that was a case of mistaken identity. Lucretia Mott sat 394 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: as near as she could to the defendants throughout his 395 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: court case. She would sit there, knitting or sewing, but 396 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,879 Speaker 1: always simply being a presence, making it keenly apparent that 397 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: an abolitionist was watching. And Webster was eventually declared a freeman. 398 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: When the Civil War began, it was already a difficult 399 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,680 Speaker 1: time for the Mots. They weren't young by this point. 400 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: Both of them were in failing health. James was losing 401 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 1: his vision and Lucretia would read to him, but she 402 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,199 Speaker 1: was having dizzy spells and frequent digestive issues. And on 403 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: top of that, even though this battle over slavery was 404 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: obviously important and abolition had been a driving force, in 405 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: Mott's license. She was a young girl. Her pacifism made 406 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: this entire war extremely upsetting. She really had hoped that 407 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 1: they could win over the hearts and minds of people 408 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: through talking about the issue. In fact, she once wrote quote, 409 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: the cause of peace has had a share of my efforts, 410 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: leading to the ultra non resistance ground that no Christian 411 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: can consistently uphold and actually engage in and support a 412 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: government based on the sword. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the 413 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: Philadelphia Female Antislavery Society worked to help formerly enslaved people 414 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,640 Speaker 1: transition into freedom. We did an episode on the Civil 415 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 1: War contraband camps two years ago. We talked about the 416 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: Union's gap in their plans when it came to actually 417 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: helping newly freed men and women make new lives. Lucretia's 418 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: group attempted to help fill that gap by raising funds 419 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 1: and helping to provide basic needs like clothing, and also 420 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,360 Speaker 1: offering educational assistance. But as the war came to a close, 421 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,640 Speaker 1: Lucretia's forty year old daughter, Elizabeth, moved back home. This 422 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: was not a joyous occasion. Elizabeth was terminally ill. She 423 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,200 Speaker 1: was somewhat estranged from her husband, and the Mots at 424 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: that point had already lost two grandchildren, including Elizabeth's son Henry, 425 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: just before Elizabeth became ill, and so while Lucretia continued 426 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: to stay informed about current events and keep an eye 427 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: on what was going on with the war, her attentions 428 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 1: were really split between her struggling family and the struggling nation. 429 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 1: After the war, the issues of black suffrage and women's 430 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 1: suffrage became the subject of debate for many abolitionists and 431 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 1: women's rights advocates. While some women's rights advocates, including Elizabeth 432 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:52,120 Speaker 1: Katie Stanton, thought that the two causes should be promoted together, 433 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: my was concerned early on that things were still really precarious. 434 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,399 Speaker 1: She thought that they might need to see one cause 435 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 1: through to the end and and focus on the other. 436 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty six, the American Equal Rights Association formed 437 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: with a goal of quote universal suffrage, and Lucretia Mott 438 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 1: was its first president, and she took that position somewhat tentatively, 439 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,000 Speaker 1: based largely on her loyalty to Elizabeth Katie Stanton, who 440 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: had asked her to take that role, and she ultimately 441 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: found this job really trying and unfulfilling because She spent 442 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 1: most of the time trying to mediate the ongoing arguments 443 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: among the members about where their focus should lie. They 444 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: really were not getting into any actual activism, and when 445 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: Stanton and Susan B. Anthony sought backing from Democrat entrepreneur 446 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: George Francis Train, that became the last straw for Mott 447 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 1: because Train supported women's suffrage, but he was a racist. 448 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: Matt the news of this alliance. A horrified William Lloyd 449 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:52,199 Speaker 1: Garrison wrote to Susan B. Anthony begging her not to 450 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: tie up her cause with Train. He wrote, quote, the 451 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,920 Speaker 1: colored people and their advocates have not a more abusive 452 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: assailant than same Train. He is as destitute of principle 453 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: as he is of sense. He may be of use 454 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,160 Speaker 1: and drawing an audience, but so would a kangaroo, a gorilla, 455 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: or a hippopotamus. William Lloyd Garrison ended this letter by 456 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,440 Speaker 1: telling Anthony he thought she was just infatuated with Train. 457 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: That could be a whole other podcast, and I kind 458 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,960 Speaker 1: of want to do one on Train because he is 459 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 1: sort of gross and horrifying, but also very fascinating. So 460 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 1: Mott's colleagues at this point wanted to prioritize women's suffrage 461 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 1: over black suffrage and engage the help of this white 462 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 1: supremacist to do so, and Mott, as a consequence, officially 463 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: withdrew from her office in their organization in May of 464 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty eight. She also recommended that the entire group 465 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: be disbanded. Leading up to her resignation, there were more 466 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: immediate concerns in Lucrease's life. In January, James, who was 467 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: seventy nine, got pneumonia and died suddenly. While he was 468 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,479 Speaker 1: mourned by the public as a figure of great regard, 469 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 1: Lucretia felt a loan in the world without him. She 470 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:04,360 Speaker 1: refused to sleep in the bedroom that they had shared 471 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: and instead moved into a smaller room in the house 472 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,439 Speaker 1: that they had moved to outside of the city. She 473 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: wrote letters to relatives about her very deep sense of loss, 474 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 1: and she stopped going to meetings of the various organizations 475 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,480 Speaker 1: that she continued to be a part of, not returning 476 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: to them for several months. Eventually, though, she did return, 477 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 1: and she became president of the Philadelphia Female Anti Slavery Society, 478 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,440 Speaker 1: which continued even though slavery was legally abolished. They had 479 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,440 Speaker 1: shifted towards focusing on securing the vote for freedmen, and 480 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 1: while the fourteenth Amendment was passed by Congress, the group 481 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,240 Speaker 1: disparaged the lack of specificity in its language. While it 482 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 1: defined citizenship in a broad sense, it didn't specifically grant 483 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,720 Speaker 1: political rights to black citizens, which they called out as 484 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: being a clearly racist move, as it indicated that quote, 485 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: the country and the government belonged to the white man. 486 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: We spoke last year about the opposition that Elizabeth Katie 487 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,159 Speaker 1: Stanton had to the fifteenth Amendment, which stated, quote the 488 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,880 Speaker 1: right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 489 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 1: not be denied or abridged by the United States or 490 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,880 Speaker 1: by any State on account of race, color, or previous 491 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: condition of servitude. It did not grant women the right 492 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 1: to vote, and in reaction, Stanton made some really unfortunate 493 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 1: and frankly racist remarks about it. Mott did not share 494 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,399 Speaker 1: these views, and she had expressed regret that these two 495 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: issues of women's suffrage and black suffrage had ever been 496 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 1: joined together in activist groups. But Lucretia Mott still really 497 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 1: loved both Elizabeth Katie Stanton and Susan B. Anthony despite 498 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 1: their missteps. Uh. They had all been through a lot together, 499 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: and so she was really saddened as she watched the 500 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 1: group she had left, the American Equal Rights Association suffer 501 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,959 Speaker 1: from ongoing in fighting, which eventually led to fractures and 502 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: rival women's suffrage groups forming. We've talked about that whole 503 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: process in other episodes of the show. And the fall 504 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty, ten years after the fifteenth Amendment was passed, 505 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: Lucretia my aged eighty seven, developed pneumonia. She's always a 506 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: very small woman, and she lost weight that she just 507 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 1: didn't have to lose. She grew very frail, and she 508 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 1: died on November eleventh of that year. But as a 509 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,920 Speaker 1: nice coda in three when the Equal Rights Amendment was 510 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 1: first introduced by Alice Paul in Seneca Falls during the 511 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: seventy fifth anniversary of the Women's Rights Convention, Paul called 512 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 1: it the Lucretia Mott Amendment. Once again, we want to 513 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: thank the National Park Service and the Women's Rights National 514 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: Historical Parks specifically for inviting us. It is always in 515 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: the truest sense of the word awesome. It is an 516 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: awesome treat to sit in Wesleyan Chapel and do a 517 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: show where we talk about historical events that happened in 518 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: that very space. Yes, so thank you so much. We 519 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: genuinely have had a great time both times we have 520 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 1: gone out to convention days. It's an awesome weekend of programming. 521 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: So thank you again for including us. And we apologize 522 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: that some of our recording of live shows there are 523 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: elements of it that are not entirely within our control. 524 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: So we always go into it hoping to get a 525 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: usable recording for everyone, but knowing that there is a 526 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: possibility that it will not work out. Yeah, thanks so 527 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 1: much for joining us on this Saturday. Since this episode 528 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 1: is out of the archive, if you heard an email 529 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: address or Facebook U r L or something similar over 530 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: the course of the show, that could be obsolete now. 531 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 1: Our current email address is History Podcast at i heart 532 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:33,120 Speaker 1: radio dot com. 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