Abolition and After

April 15, 1837 – Sarah L. Forten’s Letter to Angelina Grimké

Sarah Forten writes from Philadelphia explaining how abolition awakened her politically and emotionally, revealing both empowerment and the pain of racial prejudice.

Effect of Prejudice on Sarah Forten (1837)

Forten describes how racial prejudice “embittered” her feelings, limited her opportunities, and shaped her daily life.

Critique of Colonization (1837)

Forten calls colonization the “offspring of Prejudice,” arguing it harms Black people and exists to remove them from the nation.

Ladies’ Abolition Convention Preparation (1837)

Forten describes Black women preparing needlework and school projects for the upcoming women’s abolitionist convention.

Ann Robertson – Slave Speculator

Ann Robertson buys sick enslaved people, nurses them back to health, and resells them for profit, showing women as active slave-market agents.

Mathilda Bushy – Woman Slave Trader

Mathilda Bushy works with male traders and helps run slave-sales operations, demonstrating women’s participation in the slave trade economy.

George White’s Mistress – Sells Enslaved People for Spending Money

An unnamed mistress sells enslaved people “whenever she wanted a dress,” using human beings as quick cash.

Mathilda Raymond – Brothel Operator Using Enslaved Women

Mathilda Raymond runs brothels where enslaved women are hired out or exploited sexually for profit.

Mistress Selling Enslaved Woman Who Looked Like the Master

A mistress sells a woman because she resembles the master, showing jealousy-based punishment through sale.

Mistress Selling Enslaved Woman Who Refused Son’s Advances

A mistress sells a woman after she refuses sexual assault by the mistress’s son, punishing the victim rather than the perpetrator.

Mistress Selling “Too White” Enslaved Woman

A woman sells an enslaved woman because she is “too white to keep,” exposing racial anxieties and control over appearance.

Women at Public Slave Auctions

White women inspect enslaved bodies, check teeth, bid publicly, and work with auctioneers in the buying and selling process.

Women Using Courts to Control Enslaved Property

White women sue over disputes, inherit enslaved people, and use legal systems to maintain ownership and profit.

Enslaved People Naming Women as Cruel Enforcers

Formerly enslaved people describe mistresses who beat, punish, emotionally abuse, or sell people suddenly as acts of control.

Women in the Slave Economy

Women like Ann Robertson, Mathilda Bushy, and Mathilda Raymond actively bought, sold, rented, and profited from enslaved people.

Enslaved People as Tools for Personal Power

Mistresses used enslaved people for wealth, revenge, jealousy, and emotional control, including selling women involved in sexual violence.

Women as Agents of Family Separation

Mistresses sold people “far from their kindred,” including children and mothers of newborns, producing trauma and generational fracture.

Women in Sexual Exploitation Systems

Women like Mathilda Raymond ran brothels; mistresses sold women targeted in sexual violence; some bought “childbearing age” girls as investments.

Normalization of Violence Through the Marketplace

White women inspected bodies like livestock, evaluated health and scars, and performed cruelty as part of daily economic activity.

Women and Legal Preservation of Slavery

Women used probate courts, inheritance law, and property claims to maintain slavery and defend ownership.

White Femininity as a Mask for Oppression

Formerly enslaved people recall mistresses as central sources of punishment, violence, and sales, showing that women were not passive or innocent.

Abolition Awakening Black Political Consciousness (Forten)

Forten states that abolition “aroused” her from apathy, helping her gain purpose and political identity.

Abolition Revealing Persistent Racism (Forten)

Forten explains that prejudice still shapes daily life, even among white abolitionists who claim to be allies.

Colonization Exposed as Racist (Forten)

Forten denounces colonization as a plan rooted in prejudice, not benevolence, showing it harms Black advancement.

Exclusion from Education and Churches (Forten)

Forten describes Black people being placed in corners of churches and barred from lectures and learning.

Daily Impact of Prejudice in Free States (Forten)

Black people avoid public places to escape humiliation, revealing the constant emotional cost of racism.

Abolition Encouraging Black Women’s Organizing (Forten)

Forten describes women preparing work for the convention, showing growing political involvement among Black women.

Interracial Cooperation and Its Limits (Forten)

Forten notes that some white abolitionists want to treat Black people as equals, but many cannot “bear it,” revealing shallow allyship.