Description:This document identifies the original members of the Birmingham Anti Slavery Society and provides an ‘opening statement’ of their aims and objectives. It is noticeable here that in 1826 the society subscribed to the view that ‘gradually terminating' slavery would be the best way forward- a method that would improve the conditions of slaves without drastically upsetting the economic links between the slave trade trade and Birmingham's industrial growth.
Over time, however, the approach and tactics of the campaign group would change.
They moved from this moderate stance to an increasingly more radical point of view. Partly through the strong influence of the a closely linked local women’s antislavery society and partly through Joseph Sturge’s strident views on the subject, the Birmingham Anti-Slavery Society would take up the cause of ‘immediate emancipation’ for the colonies.
For example, an entry in the minutes book on July 27th 1832 now suggests that the continued existence of the slave trade was in direct contradiction to England’s status as a Christian nation, and called for its ‘immediate’ extinction:
"…the system of Colonial slavery is altogether inconsistent with Christianity- that it cannot exist but in defiance of all justice, humanity and religion- that its continuation is a great national crime- this meeting considers it to be the duty of all Christians to use their utmost efforts to effect its immediate extinction as the only means of freeing themselves from a participation of the guilt which it involves & of removing so foul a stain on the character of a Christian nation"
Birmingham City Archives- Sources for Research.
The archives department holds two minute books of the Birmingham Antislavery Society. Both contain a wealth of important information on local, national and international campaigns that could be investigated in many different ways. They identify the members who attended meetings; how frequently they met; financial dealings of the society; its aims, ambitions and political anxieties. We find Joseph Sturge’s visit to the West Indies in 1837 is noted in the first book and his visit to America in 1841 is reported in the second. Note that after 1839, the society became known as the Birmingham branch of the British and Foreign Antislavery Society.
References.
MS IIR62/ 152006 The Birmingham Anti Slavery Society Minutes Book, 1826-1837.
MS IIR62/158748 The Birmingham Anti Slavery Society Minutes Book, 1837-1859.