Committed abolitionist, controversial Quaker minister, tireless pacifist, fiery crusader for women's rights--Lucretia Mott was one of the great reformers in America history. Her sixty years of sermons and speeches reached untold thousands of people. Yet Mott eschewed prepared lectures in favor of an extemporaneous speaking style inspired by the inner light at the core of her Quaker faith. It was left to stenographers, journalists, Friends, and colleagues to record her words for posterity.
Drawing on widely scattered archives, newspaper accounts, and other sources, Lucretia Mott Speaks unearths the essential speeches and remarks from Mott's remarkable career. The editors have chosen selections representing important themes and events in her public life. Extensive annotations provide vibrant context and show Mott's engagement with allies and opponents. The speeches illuminate her passionate belief that her many causes were all intertwined. The result is an authoritative resource, one that enriches our understanding of Mott's views, rhetorical strategies, and still-powerful influence on American society.
Introduction xi Editorial Policies xxix lucretia mott speaks: the essential speeches and sermons Twelfth Street Meeting, Philadelphia, 1818 3 Pennsylvania Hall, Philadelphia, May 16 and 17, 1838 3 New England Non-Resistance Society, Chardon Street Chapel, Boston, September 25–27, 1839 4 Unitarian Chapel, August 9, 1840, Glasgow, Scotland 6 Marlboro Chapel, Boston, September 23, 1841 8 Rose Street Meeting, New York City, September 29, 1841 14 Manhattan Society, Asbury Church, New York City, September 29, 1841 15 Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C., January 15, 1843 16 Hicksite Meetinghouse, Rochester, New York, July 21, 1844 27 Unitarian Christians Convention, First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, October 22, 1846 28 Anti-Sabbath Convention, The Melodeon, Boston, March 24, 1848 30 American Anti-Slavery Society, Broadway Tabernacle, New York City, May 9, 1848 39 Women’s Rights Convention, Wesleyan Chapel, Seneca Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848 44 Women’s Rights Convention, Unitarian Church, Rochester, New York, August 2, 1848 45 “Sermon to the Medical Students,” Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, February 11, 1849 48 American Anti-Slavery Society, Minerva Rooms, New York City, May 8, 1849 55 Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, November 4, 1849 56 Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, November 6, 1849 64 “Discourse on Woman,” Assembly Buildings, Philadelphia, December 17, 1849 68 Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, March 31, 1850 81 Women’s Rights Convention, Brinley Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts, October 23–24, 1850 87 Isaac T. Hopper Memorial Service, Broadway Tabernacle, New York City, May 12, 1852 92 Women’s Rights Convention, Horticultural Hall, West Chester, Pennsylvania, June 2–3, 1852 93 Women’s Rights Convention, City Hall, Syracuse, New York, September 8–10, 1852 95 Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Horticultural Hall, West Chester, Pennsylvania, October 25–26, 1852 100 Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Assembly Buildings, Philadelphia, December 15–16, 1852 102 Women’s Rights Convention, Broadway Tabernacle, New York City, September 6–7, 1853 104 Women’s Rights Convention, Melodeon Hall, Cleveland, October 5 and 7, 1853 110 Rose Street Meeting, New York City, November 11, 1855 120 Women’s Rights Convention, Broadway Tabernacle, New York City, November 25–26, 1856 122 Yardleyville, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1858 127 American Anti-Slavery Society, Assembly Rooms, New York City, May 11, 1859 137 Anti-Slavery Sympathy Meeting, Assembly Buildings, Philadelphia, December 16, 1859 138 Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Town-Hall, Kennett Square, October 25–26, 1860 139 Fifteenth Street Meeting, New York City, June 1, 1862 142 30th Anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Concert Hall, Philadelphia, December 3–4, 1863 144 American Anti-Slavery Society, Church of the Puritans and Cooper Institute, New York City, May 10–11, 1864 148 Women’s Rights Convention, Church of the Puritans, New York City, May 10, 1866 151 Fifteenth Street Meeting, New York City, November 11, 1866 153 Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, November 22–23, 1866 160 American Equal Rights Association, Church of the Puritans, New York City, May 9–10, 1867 163 Free Religious Association, Horticultural Hall, Boston, May 30, 1867 166 Second Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, New York, November 24, 1867 171 Pennsylvania Peace Society, Assembly Buildings, Philadelphia, November 17–18, 1868 178 Race Street Meeting, Philadelphia, March 14, 1869 180 Women’s Suffrage Meeting, Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York, May 14, 1869 189 Pennsylvania Peace Society, Friends’ Meeting House, Abington, Pennsylvania, September 19, 1869 191 Opening of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1869 195 Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, Assembly Buildings, March 24, 1870 196 American Anti-Slavery Society, Apollo Hall, New York City, April 9, 1870 197 Reform League, Steinway Hall, New York City, May 9, 1871 199 Fifteenth Street Meeting, New York City, May 26, 1872 199 Funeral of Mary Ann W. Johnson, Home of Oliver Johnson, New York City, June 10, 1872 201 Free Religious Association, Tremont Temple, Boston, May 30, 1873 203 Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, Race Street, November 4, 1873 205 Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, Concert Hall, Philadelphia, April 14, 1875 207 Free Religious Association, Beethoven Hall, Boston, May 28, 1875 207 Women’s Peace Festival, Institute Hall, Philadelphia, June 2, 1875 209 Women’s Peace Festival, Mercantile Hall, Philadelphia, June 2, 1876 211 30th Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, Unitarian Church, Rochester, New York, July 19, 1878 214 Acknowledgments 217 Index 219
"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
