“Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist.”
Introduction by Kurt Lash
On December 3, 1860, a group of abolitionists, including Frederick Douglass, gathered at a public meeting hall in Boston, Massachusetts, to discuss “How Can American Slavery be Abolished?” Scheduled to coincide with the one-year anniversary of John Brown’s death (what abolitionists referred to as the “martyrdom” of John Brown), the meeting took place only a month after the election of the Republican Abraham Lincoln. The country was coming apart: South Carolina had declared its intention to secede from the Union and it appeared that other southern states would do the same. Congress began considering emergency measures, including a constitutional amendment protecting slavery, hoping to convince the southern states to remain in the Union. Northern public opinion, already deeply divided over the issue of abolition, became a tinderbox of explosive emotions as each side increasingly advocated the use of force in support of their position.
It was in the midst of this cauldron of public debate that Boston abolitionists decided to hold their event, one ostensibly about ending slavery but also one celebrating the violent abolitionist John Brown. Not surprisingly, the meeting attracted members of the public who were opposed to the abolitionist agenda. In fact, the meeting was overwhelmed by a mob seeking to disrupt the event and prevent Frederick Douglass and the other abolitionists from speaking. Opponents filled the hall, shouted down the abolitionists, and mounted the stage. Abolitionist efforts to retake control of the event led to confrontation and chaos. Police, who had done nothing to protect the meeting, eventually intervened and cleared the hall. No one was (seriously) injured, but the anti-abolitionists achieved their goal: The event was completely disrupted and the scheduled discussion of slavery never took place. Newspapers around the country reported on the near riot, with headlines in the New York Tribune blaring, “Freedom of Speech Violated in Boston . . . Police Powerless.”
A few days later, Frederick Douglass delivered a previously scheduled lecture at Boston’s Music Hall. At the end of his prepared remarks, Douglass added a short statement regarding the fundamental importance of freedom of speech and the responsibility of officials to protect free expression from the mob.