FEBRUARY 11, 1790

The Pennsylvania Abolition Society, believed to be the first American society dedicated to the cause, petitioned Congress for emancipation of all who were enslaved.

Educator and abolitionist Anthony Benezet started the organization after the creation of a school in Philadelphia for Black Americans. Benjamin Franklin served as president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, which sought to create schools for Black Americans and to help them find jobs.

The society became a model for other abolitionist groups that followed. One of its members, Robert Purvis, a Black abolitionist, helped form the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, using his home and farm to hide those who had escaped slavery before helping them escape to other cities and to Canada by way of the Underground Railroad.

The society still exists, combating racism and seeking to reduce harsh sentencing and the over-representation of Black Americans in prison.

Close window X

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of Mississippi Today’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license. For digital publications:

• Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS).
• Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
• You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
• You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
• Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
• If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.

For print publications:

• You have to credit Mississippi Today. We prefer “Author Name, Mississippi Today” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Mississippi Today” and include our website, mississippitoday.org.
• You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
• You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Kayleigh Skinner for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
• Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
• You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
• You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
• Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
• If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.

If you have any other questions, contact Audience Development Director Lauchlin Fields.

On this day in 1790

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
February 11, 2023

<h1>On this day in 1790</h1> <p class="byline">by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today <br />February 11, 2023</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/OnThisDay-FinalLogo_page-banner-2-1200x151.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1089732" /></figure> <h3 id="h-february-11-1790"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">FEBRUARY 11, 1790</mark></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/S.FrontStPhiladelphiaacrossfromI-95park-featured-1200x1600.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1090133" width="350" height="467" /></figure> <p>The Pennsylvania Abolition Society, believed to be the first American society dedicated to the cause, petitioned Congress for emancipation of all who were enslaved. </p> <p>Educator and abolitionist Anthony Benezet started the organization after the creation of a school in Philadelphia for Black Americans. Benjamin Franklin served as president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, which sought to create schools for Black Americans and to help them find jobs. </p> <p>The society became a model for other abolitionist groups that followed. One of its members, Robert Purvis, a Black abolitionist, helped form the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, using his home and farm to hide those who had escaped slavery before helping them escape to other cities and to Canada by way of the Underground Railroad. </p> <p>The society still exists, combating racism and seeking to reduce harsh sentencing and the over-representation of Black Americans in prison.</p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org/2023/02/11/1790-pennsylvania-abolition-society/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org">Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MT_square-thumb.jpg?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1090176" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

1