Susan T. Smith

Many women, despite the fact that they did not have the right to vote, became actively involved in the abolitionist movement. These experiences would provide these women with the excitement of political debate as well as the frustration of not being able to influence politics through voting. In May 1838, the Anti-Slavery Convention of Women was held in Philadelphia. Held in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the convention was attended by a large number of men and women, both black and white. The combination of women actively participating in a political process and blacks attending the same conference with whites (especially white women) caused considerable protest. Throughout the convention, an angry mob could be heard attempting to disrupt the orators speaking out against slavery. In the end, the mob became so unruly that it...