ABSTRACT
James William Charles Pennington's first act as an abolitionist was striking for his own freedom. In addition to holding views similar to their white counterparts on slavery and how it might be abolished, African-American abolitionists were confronted with the matter of race prejudice in the abolition movement. Pennington was also racial improvement organizer as clearly reflected in his work with groups like the National Negro Convention movement, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and the Liberty Party, but he was also a respected orator and writer who travelled widely. Pennington's introduction offered a historical account of how compromises between 1750 and 1850 stemmed from slavery and the Civil War, too. Pennington met Thomas Clarkson and requested him to write a letter to inspire African-Americans in the United States to greater abolitionist efforts. Clarkson responded by writing a letter expressing thanks that more people in America were turning their attention to the sacred cause of the abolition of slavery.
