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(Source: Wikipedia.com)
The New-York Manumission Society was an American organization founded in 1785 by U.S. Founding Father John Jay, among others, to promote the gradual abolition of slavery and manumission of slaves of African descent 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. Throughout its history, which ended in 1849,[] the society battled against the slave trade, and for the eventual emancipation of all the slaves in the state. It founded the African Free School for the poor and orphaned children of slaves and free people of color.
(Source: www.nyhistory.org)
Founding Members: George Clinton, Alexander Hamilton, William Shotwell, Lawrence Embree, Willet Seaman, John Keese, John Jay, John Murray, Melancton Smith, James Duane, James Cogswell
Historians have sometimes been critical of the Manumission Society's often ambivalent stance towards the very New Yorkers they pledged to help. For instance, many members of the society were slaveholders when they joined the society, and some continued to be slaveholders throughout their tenure. The Society rejected Alexander Hamilton's suggested resolution that anyone who wanted to be a member had to manumit their slaves. The Society fought on behalf of the freedom, and eventual rights, of black New Yorkers, but often disapproved of how black New Yorkers chose to celebrate these victories. For instance, black New Yorkers claimed their right to the streets of New York by holding a lavish parade to celebrate the abolition of the slave trade in 1808. In 1809, the Manumission Society was concerned that "the method of celebrating the abolition of the Slave trade was improper" and worried that such demonstrations would "cause [detrimental] reflections to be made on this Society" demanded that such parades be discontinued. Black New Yorkers replied that they would do no such thing.
