THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

North. In 1837, the delegates of the Anti-Slavery Convention of Women appointed a
committee to send a message of gratitude to British women for their support. With the
abolition of slavery in 1833 and apprenticeship in 1838, the relationship between British
and American abolitionists transformed from one of mutual cooperation to one of
support. Many American abolitionists hoped the British example would bring success to
the American abolitionist movement. It is not surprising then that the first world’s anti-
slavery convention held great promise for American abstainers who hoped to achieve an
international free-produce movement that would strike at the root of American slavery. 1
In the months leading up to the convention, American anti-slavery societies
selected delegates to represent their interests at the meeting. Several of the delegates
chosen by the American Free Produce Association (AFPA), including James and Lucretia
Mott, Sarah Pugh, William Bassett, and Abraham Pennock, were elected to represent
other anti-slavery associations. Lucretia Mott represented the American Anti-Slavery
Society, the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society (PASS), and the Philadelphia Female-
Anti-Slavery Society (PFASS). The Motts also traveled with a minute from the
Association of Friends for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Sarah Pugh represented
the PASS and the PFASS in addition to the AFPA. Bassett and Pennock did not attend
the convention, most likely replaced by Henry Grew. In addition to Mott and Pugh, other
1 Midgley, Women against Slavery, 127-132; Anti-Slavery Convention of Women, Proceedings . .
. 1837, 6. According to Midgley, “A transatlantic sisterhood of radical nonconformist reformers”
developed in the 1830s and 1840s. “In contrast,[British] women who sided with the Tappanites had much
more limited contacts with American abolitionists, who concentrated on corresponding with the male
leadership of the BFASS.” Midgley, Women against Slavery, 132. For an example of the correspondence
exchanged between British and American abolitionists see Clare Taylor, ed., British and American
Abolitionists: An Episode in Transatlantic Understanding (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1974).
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