African Free School
Encyclopedia
New York Manumission Society
The New York Manumission Society was an early American organization founded in 1785 to promote the abolition of the slavery of African descendants within the state of New York. The organization was made up entirely of white men, most of whom were wealthy and held influential positions in society...
on November 2, 1787. It was founded to provide education to children of slaves and freemen
Freeman (Colonial)
Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be...
.
History
The school was founded by the New York Manumission SocietyNew York Manumission Society
The New York Manumission Society was an early American organization founded in 1785 to promote the abolition of the slavery of African descendants within the state of New York. The organization was made up entirely of white men, most of whom were wealthy and held influential positions in society...
, an organization that advocated the full abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
of African slavery. The society's members were all white, male, wealthy, and influential.https://www.nyhistory.org/web/afs/ The society was founded by statesman and abolitionist John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
, and included Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
among its members.
The original school was a one-room school house that held about 40 students.https://www.nyhistory.org/web/afs/ By the end of its term as a private institution, it had 7 schools and had educated literally thousands of girls and boys.
The school was founded just nine years after the society helped a state law be passed in 1785 that prohibited the sale of slaves imported into the state. The law also eased restriction on the manumission
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
of Africans already committed to slavery. In 1835, African Free School was integrated into the public school system.
Alumni
The school graduated some significant alumni, most notably Dr. James McCune SmithJames McCune Smith
James McCune Smith was an American physician, apothecary, abolitionist, and author. He is the first African-American to earn a medical degree, and the first to run a pharmacy in the United States. Smith wrote forcefully in refutation of the common misconceptions about race, intelligence, medicine,...
, a vocal abolitionist and the first African American to earn a medical degree. https://www.nyhistory.org/web/afs/bios/ Other important alumni included actor Ira Aldridge
Ira Aldridge
Ira Frederick Aldridge , was an American stage actor who made his career largely on the London stage and in Europe, especially in Shakespearean roles...
; seafarer and abolitionist Henry Highland Garnet
Henry Highland Garnet
Henry Highland Garnet was an African American abolitionist and orator. An advocate of militant abolitionism, Garnet was a prominent member of the abolition movement that led against moral suasion toward more political action. Renowned for his skills as a public speaker, he urged blacks to take...
; minister and early Black nationalist Alexander Crummell
Alexander Crummell
Alexander Crummell was a pioneering African pastor, professor and African nationalist....
https://www.nyhistory.org/web/afs/bios/; and engraver Patrick H. Reason
Patrick H. Reason
Patrick Henry Reason, first named Patrice Rison , was one of the earliest African-American engravers in the United States. He was active as abolitionist . He was a leader in a fraternal order, gaining recognition for Hamilton Lodge No...
https://www.nyhistory.org/web/default.php?section=whats new&page=tour.tab2.
See also
- New York Manumission SocietyNew York Manumission SocietyThe New York Manumission Society was an early American organization founded in 1785 to promote the abolition of the slavery of African descendants within the state of New York. The organization was made up entirely of white men, most of whom were wealthy and held influential positions in society...
- James McCune SmithJames McCune SmithJames McCune Smith was an American physician, apothecary, abolitionist, and author. He is the first African-American to earn a medical degree, and the first to run a pharmacy in the United States. Smith wrote forcefully in refutation of the common misconceptions about race, intelligence, medicine,...
- Peter Williams, Jr.Peter Williams, Jr.Rev. Peter Williams Jr. was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Williams grew up to become active in the Methodist Church. In 1818, with the blessings of prominent white Methodist minister Rev. Thomas Lyell, Williams organized a black congregation in Harlem, St. Philip's African Church. He was...
- Patrick Henry Reason
External links
- Finding Aid for African Free School New-York Historical SocietyNew-York Historical SocietyThe New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...