Lucretia Mott Speaks

Lucretia Mott (1793–1880) was a prominent reformer who agitated against slavery and co-organized the 1848 Seneca Falls convention. Christopher Densmore is the curator of the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College and the author of Red Jacket: Iroquois Diplomat and Orator. Carol Faulkner is a professor of history at Syracuse University and the author of Lucretia Mott's Heresy: Abolition and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-Century America. Nancy Hewitt is Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University. Her books include Women's Activism and Social Change: Rochester, New York, 1822-1872. Beverly Wilson Palmer is a research associate at Pomona College and the editor or coeditor of numerous documentary editions, including Selected Letters of Lucretia Coffin Mott.

• Introduction xiEditorial Policies xxixlucretia mott speaks: the essentialspeeches and sermonsTwelfth Street Meeting, Philadelphia, 1818 3Pennsylvania Hall, Philadelphia, May 16 and 17, 1838 3New England Non-Resistance Society, Chardon StreetChapel, Boston, September 25–27, 1839 4Unitarian Chapel, August 9, 1840, Glasgow, Scotland 6Marlboro Chapel, Boston, September 23, 1841 8Rose Street Meeting, New York City, September 29, 1841 14Manhattan Society, Asbury Church, New YorkCity, September 29, 1841 15Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C., January 15, 1843 16Hicksite Meetinghouse, Rochester, New York, July 21, 1844 27Unitarian Christians Convention, First UnitarianChurch, Philadelphia, October 22, 1846 28Anti-Sabbath Convention, The Melodeon, Boston, March 24, 1848 30American Anti-Slavery Society, Broadway Tabernacle,New York City, May 9, 1848 39Women’s Rights Convention, Wesleyan Chapel, SenecaFalls, New York, July 19–20, 1848 44Women’s Rights Convention, Unitarian Church,Rochester, New York, August 2, 1848 45“Sermon to the Medical Students,” Cherry StreetMeeting, Philadelphia, February 11, 1849 48American Anti-Slavery Society, Minerva Rooms,New York City, May 8, 1849 55Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, November 4, 1849 56Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, November 6, 1849 64“Discourse on Woman,” Assembly Buildings,Philadelphia, December 17, 1849 68Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, March 31, 1850 81Women’s Rights Convention, Brinley Hall, Worcester,Massachusetts, October 23–24, 1850 87Isaac T. Hopper Memorial Service, BroadwayTabernacle, New York City, May 12, 1852 92Women’s Rights Convention, Horticultural Hall, WestChester, Pennsylvania, June 2–3, 1852 93Women’s Rights Convention, City Hall, Syracuse,New York, September 8–10, 1852 95Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Horticultural Hall, WestChester, Pennsylvania, October 25–26, 1852 100Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Assembly Buildings,Philadelphia, December 15–16, 1852 102Women’s Rights Convention, Broadway Tabernacle,New York City, September 6–7, 1853 104Women’s Rights Convention, Melodeon Hall,Cleveland, October 5 and 7, 1853 110Rose Street Meeting, New York City, November 11, 1855 120Women’s Rights Convention, Broadway Tabernacle,New York City, November 25–26, 1856 122Yardleyville, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1858 127American Anti-Slavery Society, Assembly Rooms,New York City, May 11, 1859 137Anti-Slavery Sympathy Meeting, Assembly Buildings,Philadelphia, December 16, 1859 138Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Town-Hall,Kennett Square, October 25–26, 1860 139Fifteenth Street Meeting, New York City, June 1, 1862 14230th Anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society,Concert Hall, Philadelphia, December 3–4, 1863 144American Anti-Slavery Society, Church of the Puritans andCooper Institute, New York City, May 10–11, 1864 148Women’s Rights Convention, Church of the Puritans,New York City, May 10, 1866 151Fifteenth Street Meeting, New York City, November 11, 1866 153Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Franklin Institute,Philadelphia, November 22–23, 1866 160American Equal Rights Association, Church of thePuritans, New York City, May 9–10, 1867 163Free Religious Association, HorticulturalHall, Boston, May 30, 1867 166Second Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, NewYork, November 24, 1867 171Pennsylvania Peace Society, Assembly Buildings,Philadelphia, November 17–18, 1868 178Race Street Meeting, Philadelphia, March 14, 1869 180Women’s Suffrage Meeting, Academy of Music,Brooklyn, New York, May 14, 1869 189Pennsylvania Peace Society, Friends’ Meeting House,Abington, Pennsylvania, September 19, 1869 191Opening of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore,Pennsylvania, November 10, 1869 195Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, AssemblyBuildings, March 24, 1870 196American Anti-Slavery Society, Apollo Hall,New York City, April 9, 1870 197Reform League, Steinway Hall, New York City, May 9, 1871 199Fifteenth Street Meeting, New York City, May 26, 1872 199Funeral of Mary Ann W. Johnson, Home of OliverJohnson, New York City, June 10, 1872 201Free Religious Association, Tremont Temple,Boston, May 30, 1873 203Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, Race Street,November 4, 1873 205Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery,Concert Hall, Philadelphia, April 14, 1875 207Free Religious Association, Beethoven Hall, Boston,May 28, 1875 207Women’s Peace Festival, Institute Hall, Philadelphia,June 2, 1875 209Women’s Peace Festival, Mercantile Hall,Philadelphia, June 2, 1876 21130th Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, UnitarianChurch, Rochester, New York, July 19, 1878 214Acknowledgments 217Index 219

"Many of the most evocative and informative entries in this collection are not ones Mott polished and edited for publication, but accounts of her words paraphrased or hurriedly recorded by reporters and scribes. Newspaper reports, in particular, contain vivid descriptions of her demeanour and manner of speaking, and the effect that she had on others in the room. Her impact was enormous." --Journal of Ecclesiastical History "Eye-opening and invigorating. The editors have, quite sensibly, employed a light editorial hand, preferring to let Mott's speeches take center stage, and to let Mott herself stand in the spotlight. This is a wonderful collection."--Anne Boylan, author of Women's Rights in the United States: A History in Documents "For those who want to delve deeply into the thinking of Lucretia Mott, this book offers an excellent look into her interrelated causes. . . . This collection shows how she managed to mention so many of her favorite topics in her talks."--Friends Journal "This book lays excellent groundwork for much-needed scholarship.... General readers will be pleasantly surprised to find a lively, spirited, radical, complex woman who defies common stereotypes." --Quaker Studies "This superb and authoritative collection of speeches and sermons of radical activist and renowned orator Lucretia Mott conveys the breadth and depth of Mott’s visionary leadership in abolition, women's rights, religious and political reform, and education and peace."--Ellen Ross, author of The Grief of God: Images of the Suffering Jesus in Late Medieval England "Highly recommended."--Choice