Fugitive Slave Law Convention


The Fugitive Slave Law Convention was held in Cazenovia, New York, August 21-22, 1850. Organized to oppose passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 by the United States Congress, participants included Frederick Douglass, the Edmonson sisters, Gerrit Smith, Samuel Joseph May, and Theodore Dwight Weld, among others. The convention opened at the First Congregational Church of Cazenovia, then moved to "the orchard of Grace Wilson's School, located on Sullivan Street," to accommodate the estimated 2000 to 3000 participants. It was chaired by Douglass.