The Early Negro Convention Movement The American Negro Academy, Occasional Papers No. 9

In the years after the War of 1812, the United States began to codify a social order that relegated free Black citizens to an increasingly marginal status. From church disputes in Philadelphia and New York to the formation of the American Colonization Society in 1816, a pattern of resistance and suppression emerged, punctuated by events such as the Missouri Compromise, the 1822 martyrs in South Carolina, and Nat Turner's revolt. Against this backdrop, a determined group of Black leaders stepped forward to defend their community’s rights and articulate a collective vision.

The book follows the birth of the Negro Convention movement, beginning with the pioneering 1817 Philadelphia gathering and moving to the pivotal 1830 convention organized by Hezekiah Grice and allies. It profiles the men and women—James Forten, Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, and others—who drafted petitions, debated emigration, and forged new religious and educational institutions. By tracing these early assemblies, the work reveals how the conventions united moral forces, laying groundwork for the larger struggle that would later reshape the nation.