World Anti-Slavery Convention, 1840

About the World Anti-Slavery Convention

The World Anti-Slavery Convention, held in London in 1840, marked a significant international collaboration in the abolitionist movement. Organized by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society and spearheaded by Joseph Sturge, the convention aimed to unite global abolitionist forces and strategize against slavery worldwide. Delegates discussed conditions of slavery in various regions, the efficacy of free labor, and the role of religious institutions in perpetuating slavery. Despite its goals, the convention is best remembered for its exclusion of female delegates. Women like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton later channeled this marginalization into the early stages of the women's suffrage movement. 

The Anti-Slavery Convention, 1840 by Benjamin Robert Haydon