{"id":7028,"date":"2025-05-14T05:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T05:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/?page_id=7028"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:21:10","slug":"after-the-convention","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/1853-convention\/after-the-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"After the Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Illinois Black activists faced new challenges after the convention. They had to present the convention\u2019s proceedings to white and Black audiences, confront dissent within their own ranks, and try to implement the ideas and proposals they had set forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago-based papers like the Western Citizen <\/em>and Chicago Tribune <\/em>covered the convention.<\/em> But editorialists did not always share delegates\u2019 commitment to advancing Black interests. The Chicago Tribune, <\/em>for example, called the group\u2019s firm anti-colonization stance a \u201cfatal error\u201d and regretted that the delegates did not see colonization in a \u201cmore favorable light.\u201d[1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tribune <\/em>did print the convention\u2019s forthright \u201cAddress to the People of the State of Illinois.\u201d There, the convention argued that Black Illinoisans were \u201cAmericans by birth\u201d and that they deserved full access to the promises of \u201clife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.\u201d What did they want from their white neighbors? \u201cWe ask only for even handed Justice,<\/em>\u201d the delegates wrote. They asked white Illinoisans to \u201cinstruct your Legislators\u201d to repeal the black laws, and they called on \u201cthe Press\u2026<\/em> to use its great power and influence in behalf of the oppressed and downtrodden of Illinois\u2026 and of the country in general.\u201d[2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin Delany, the Pittsburgh-based physician and activist, was frustrated by the convention\u2019s decision<\/a> to denounce not only white-led colonization, but also Black-led emigration out of the United States. In a letter published in Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper, <\/em>Delany complained about the convention\u2019s curt rejection of his emigration efforts.[3] Delany was not alone in his desire to continue the discussion. The question of emigration remained alive in Illinois and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"A\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Press of Chicago\u201d<\/strong>
The Western Citizen<\/em>, a Chicago-based abolitionist paper, criticized other Chicago newspapers for not devoting enough attention to the convention.\u00a0(Source: \u201cThe Press of Chicago and Mr. Douglass\u2019 Meetings,\u201d Western Citizen, <\/em>Oct. 18, 1853. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Martin Delany, pre-1885
<\/strong>Martin Delany continued to push African Americans to consider emigration, despite the Chicago convention\u2019s denunciations. (Source: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and West Virginia University Libraries<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Yet many delegates left the convention excited for what they could accomplish in Illinois. Weeks later, John Jones informed Frederick Douglass that \u201cactivity among the colored men and women of Illinois\u201d was changing the state\u2019s politics from \u201ccenter to circumference.\u201d That fall, Black Chicagoans also celebrated the consecration of the new Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church. Passage of the repressive \u201cSlave Law\u201d<\/a> in February had spurred fundraising for the new building, which was described as \u201clarge and commodious.\u201d[4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois activists planned to advance the work of the National Council of Colored Men, an organization that emerged from the summer 1853 Rochester convention. At the Chicago convention, delegates had decided to create an Illinois State Council that would serve as a subsidiary of the National Council, endowing the State Council with power to \u201cto issue calls for State Conventions annually.\u201d John Jones later told Frederick Douglass that he hoped the State Council, galvanized by the \u201cwhirlpool of the great Anti-Slavery flood,\u201d would effectively oppose the unjust \u201cblack laws and Fugitive Slave Laws.\u201d[5]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the State Council met for two days in January 1854 to plan their work and create a constitution for the organization. Attendees supported lobbying the state government for the Black men\u2019s right to vote. Continuing the work of the October convention, the State Council created four committees: education, agriculture, mechanics, and statistics.[6]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it came time to write a constitution, Henry O. Wagoner<\/a> advocated a version that permitted women to vote. Byrd Parker<\/a> strongly opposed it. According to Richard H. Cain<\/a>, who was also present, Parker felt \u201cthe question of Women\u2019s Rights was new and novel,\u201d and he did not want the organization \u201cto be the first to set such an example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wagoner insisted that \u201cthere were many existing wrongs in the world, which had the precedent of two thousand years; and he thought they were none the less wrong on that account.\u201d He wanted \u201cto extend all the God-given rights to the whole human family.\u201d Unfortunately, we do not know what the State Council decided to do about women\u2019s rights; an example of its constitution has not survived.[7]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wagoner and Women\u2019s Rights<\/strong>
Henry O. Wagoner<\/a> wanted the State Council to permit women to vote in its proceedings. (Source: Henry O. Wagoner, 1880-1890. History Colorado. Object ID: 89.451.3862; CHS Scan # 10054364.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

By March of 1854, at least one Illinoisan felt that both the State Council and the National Council were moving too slowly. Writing under the pseudonym \u201cBRICK,\u201d a correspondent to Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper<\/em> suggested that \u201cthe people of our State\u2014and I fear of the West generally\u2014are becoming greatly dissatisfied with the tardy operations\u201d of those organizations.[8]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building institutions and creating a movement was difficult. James D. Bonner<\/a> and John Jones<\/a> remained engaged at both the state and national levels. At a meeting in New York in May 1855, the National Council endorsed the creation of an industrial training school for Black children, spurred by the belief that training in the skilled trades was necessary for racial uplift. Bonner and Jones were members of the six-person committee appointed to develop the industrial school.[9]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within Illinois, working across the state\u2019s large distances proved challenging. Cook County-based William Johnson, secretary of the School Fund Association, reported difficulties coordinating with the association\u2019s lead agent, who was based in southern Illinois. By 1856, it was also evident that efforts to raise funds for private schools were not working very well; the need for public education had only become more clear.[10]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state\u2019s Black residents continued to fight against the black laws and for full citizenship. At a statewide convention in 1856 they formed a \u201cRepeal Association\u201d to coordinate petitions to the legislature across the entire state.[11]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, on February 7, 1865, after continued pressure by Black Illinoisans and their white allies, the state legislature repealed the infamous black laws. The Civil War was coming to an end. Thousands of Black men had fought to destroy slavery and preserve the Union, including Illinois-based activists H. Ford Douglas<\/a> and Joseph Barquet<\/a>. Chicago Black women including Sattira Douglas<\/a> and Mary Richardson Jones<\/a> had supported emancipation and the war effort by organizing to raise funds and collect donations for freedpeople and for Black soldiers and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Chicagoans had intensified their push for repeal at the beginning of the legislative session. Supported by funds raised in the Black community, John Jones<\/a> carried to Springfield a petition bearing 11,000 signatures. According to one report, he \u201ctook his stand at the door [of the capitol] morn, noon, and evening . . . . The petition was presented, lobby-work began,\u201d and finally, after extensive debate, the House and Senate voted for repeal.[12]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black residents of Springfield, Alton, and Chicago greeted repeal of the infamous black laws with public celebrations that included speeches and the ceremonial firing of cannons. Yet work remained, particularly because Black men still did not have the right to vote in Illinois.[13]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forced Illinois and other northern states to permit Black men to vote. The following year, John Jones<\/a> was elected Cook County commissioner, becoming Chicago\u2019s first Black elected official and probably the first in the entire state.[14]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1. \u201cLocal Matters,\u201d Chicago Tribune, <\/em>Oct. 11, 1853; \u201cThe Press of Chicago and Mr. Douglass\u2019 Meetings,\u201d Western Citizen, <\/em>Oct. 18, 1853.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. \u201cAddress of the Colored State Convention to the People of the State Illinois,\u201d Chicago Tribune<\/em>, Oct. 14, 1853. For the convention minutes and address see \u201cProceedings of the First Convention of the Colored Citizens of the State of Illinois, Convened at the City of Chicago, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 6th, 7th and 8th, 1853,\u201d Colored Conventions Project Digital Records<\/em>, accessed Nov. 18, 2021, https:\/\/omeka.coloredconventions.org\/items\/show\/261<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. \u201cIllinois Convention,\u201d Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper<\/em>, Nov. 18, 1853.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. \u201cAfrican Methodist Church,\u201d Chicago Daily Journal, <\/em>Nov. 19, 1853<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. \u201cProceedings of the First Convention of the Colored Citizens of the State of Illinois,\u201d typescript, 60; \u201cChicago,\u201d Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper<\/em>, Nov. 18, 1853. See also Roger D. Bridges, \u201cAntebellum Struggle for Citizenship,\u201d Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society <\/em>108, no. 3-4 (Fall\/Winter 2015): 296-321.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. \u201cLetter from H.O. Wagoner,\u201d Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper<\/em>, April 21, 1854.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. \u201cProceedings of the Illinois State Council\u201d [letter of R. H. Cain], Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper, <\/em>April 7, 1854.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. \u201cCommunicated,\u201d Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper<\/em>, March 31, 1854.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. \u201cIndustrial College,\u201d Frederick Douglass\u2019 Paper<\/em>, May 25, 1855.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. \u201cProceedings of the State Convention of Colored Citizens of the State of Illinois, held in the city of Alton, Nov. 13th, 14th and 15th, 1856,\u201d Colored Conventions Project Digital Records<\/em>, accessed Nov. 17, 2021, https:\/\/omeka.coloredconventions.org\/items\/show\/262<\/a>, 12-13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. \u201cProceedings of the State Convention . . . held in the city of Alton,\u201d 13-14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. \u201cLetter from Chicago,\u201d Christian Recorder, <\/em>Feb. 25, 1865.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. \u201cLetter from Chicago\u201d; \u201cLetter from Springfield, Ills.,\u201d Christian Recorder, <\/em>Feb. 18, 1865; \u201cJubilee Over the Repeal of the Black Laws,\u201d Christian Recorder, <\/em>March 4, 1865.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Charles A. Gliozzo, \u201cJohn Jones: A Study of a Black Chicagoan,\u201d Illinois Historical Journal <\/em>80 (Autumn 1987), 179.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Written by Mikala Stokes and Marquis Taylor. Edited by Kate Masur.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illinois Black activists faced new challenges after the convention. They had to present the convention\u2019s proceedings to white and Black audiences, confront dissent within their own ranks, and try to implement the ideas and proposals they had set forth. Chicago-based papers like the Western Citizen and Chicago Tribune covered the convention. But editorialists did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6829,"parent":7021,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7028","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7028"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7593,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7028\/revisions\/7593"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}