Kaye Wise Whitehead on Philadelphia's Gradual Abolition

Philadelphia: The Great Experiment (The Storm)
Freeing slaves is not a one-step process. When Philadelphia
decided to enforce abolition, it meant providing for a group of
individuals of all ages, most of whom were homeless and
illiterate. What does a city do with this notion of freedom?
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The Pennsylvania Gradual Emancipation Act was enacted before the Constitution of the United States was adopted, but it was not the beginning of the American anti-slavery movement. The movement is rooted in the Quaker and Methodist anti-slavery sentiment of the Delmarva Peninsula. About 1767 Friends of the Third Haven Meting in Easton Maryland decided that all Friends in the meeting who held slaves would free those slaves. Third Haven was the Yearly Meeting; soon all meetings in Maryland adopted the same stance. Methodist began anti-slavery proselytizing on the Delmarva as well. Anti-slavery sentiment grew stronger, Pennsylvania adopted its emancipation act in 1780. In 1790, with the first U.S. census, the free black population of Kent County, DE exceeded the enslaved population. By 1810, 72% of the black population of Delaware was free. though the state did not adopt emancipation. By 1810 Maryland had the largest free black population of any state. Richard Allen bought his freedom after a Methodist preacher convinced Richard's owner of the immorality of slavery. Richard was enslaved in Kent County, DE. After he bought his freedom, he relocated to Philadelphia. The Methodist church welcomed black members. Black Americans did not join the Quaker faith in large numbers. Richard Allen and two other black Methodists attended the legendary Christmas Conference in Baltimore in 1783, which was the organizing meeting for the Methodist Episcopal church in America (now called United Methodist). Kent County DE stands out because two very effective abolitionists lived there for a period of time, Quaker Warner Mifflin and Methodist Freeborn Garrettson, although they were situated at opposite ends on the county. +++