{"id":5113,"date":"2020-05-11T19:51:10","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T19:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance-copy\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T14:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:17:00","slug":"allens-publication-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Publication History of Allen’s Address"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.4.0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.5.1″ hover_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Address written on October 21, 1828<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charles C. Andrews asked his senior students at the NYAFS #2 to compose an address to the American Convention, and he would choose the \u201cmost appropriate\u201d addresses to send to the Convention, including Allen\u2019s. Five members of the Manumission Society signed their names to verify the authenticity of Allen\u2019s essay, writing: \u201cWe are fully convinced that the said Address is the genuine, unaided production of George R. Allen, a very black boy of pure African descent, who is now between 12 and 13 years old, and was born in this city.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essay read at the American Convention in Baltimore, November 1828<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mahlon Day read Allen\u2019s Address to the Convention. The committee stated that the essay was “a precocity of talent rarely met with in youth of their age\u201d and considered it \u201cstriking evidence of the effects of education on the descendants of the despised Africans.<\/p>\n

Allen was sent a copy of William Cowper\u2019s poems from the delegates at the Convention. In the 1829 Convention, one delegate reported on the successful delivery of this book and other gifts to the NYAFS #2. He reported: “That the books were presented on the 5th of the 5th month (May) last, by one of the committee in company with Edmund Haviland, a member of the Convention. A short address was delivered to the scholars on the occasion, encouraging them to persevere in exhibiting to a prejudiced world, that Africans do possess talents when properly cultivated.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Allen\u2019s Audience Multiplies <\/strong><\/p>\n

Allen\u2019s Address was included in the official minutes of the American Convention in Baltimore. One thousand copies of the minutes were printed and distributed to Anti-Slavery Societies around the nation. Copies of the minutes were also sent to editors of newspapers in the United States \u201cwith the request that they would publish such parts of them in their respective papers, as they may judge useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, the delegates of the American Convention requested that the \u201cspecimens\u201d from the NYAFS #2, including Allen\u2019s essay, \u201cbe exhibited for a time in the rotunda of the capitol at the city of Washington, under the care of members of the Washington Abolition society, as evidence of the intellectual improvement of the African race.\u201d There is no evidence to suggest that this request was fulfilled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essay published on the front page of Freedom\u2019s Journal, March 14, 1829<\/strong><\/p>\n

A comparison of Allen\u2019s address as published in the American Convention minutes and Freedom\u2019s Journal suggested that the newspaper retrieved Allen\u2019s essay from the minutes of the Convention, and deemed that it was \u201cuseful\u201d to publish all five of the NYAFS students\u2019 essays to the Convention. The layout of this page, which featured an introduction by Andrews and a verification of the Manumission Society in its center and the essays of the students in its periphery, memorialized the tenuous questions of agency surrounding these addresses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essay included in Charles C. Andrews\u2019 The History of the New-York African Free Schools<\/em>, 1830<\/strong><\/p>\n

Allen\u2019s essay, among other specimens from students, were included in Andrews\u2019 History<\/em> as evidence for the efficacy of education. Andrews wrote the History<\/em> to give a testimony for the \u201crise, progress, and present state\u201d of the school to establish \u201cthe practicability of imparting the useful branches of education to the descendants of Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.0″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Credits & References” _builder_version=”4.5.1″ hover_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Credits<\/h3>\n

Researched, transcribed, and written by Amy Fehr. Edited by Simone Austin<\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n

Andrews, Charles C. The History of the New-York African Free-Schools<\/em>. New York, 1830.<\/em> Internet Archive. https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/historynewyorka00andrgoog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Allen, George. “George R. Allen’s Essay.” Freedom’s Journal,<\/em> 14 March 1829.<\/p>\n

Minutes of the adjourned session of the twentieth biennial American Convention for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and Improving the Condition of the African Race. <\/em>Philadelphia, 1828. Library of Congress, https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/89895124\/<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Minutes of the Twenty-First Biennial American Convention for the Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and Improving the Condition of the African Race. <\/em>Philadelphia, 1829. Archive, www.archive.org\/details\/ASPC0002428700<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Address written on October 21, 1828 Charles C. Andrews asked his senior students at the NYAFS #2 to compose an address to the American Convention, and he would choose the \u201cmost appropriate\u201d addresses to send to the Convention, including Allen\u2019s. Five members of the Manumission Society signed their names to verify the authenticity of Allen\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":5400,"parent":4628,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5113","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nPublication History of Allen's Address - New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Publication History of Allen's Address - New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Address written on October 21, 1828 Charles C. Andrews asked his senior students at the NYAFS #2 to compose an address to the American Convention, and he would choose the \u201cmost appropriate\u201d addresses to send to the Convention, including Allen\u2019s. Five members of the Manumission Society signed their names to verify the authenticity of Allen\u2019s […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-13T18:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2021\/03\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"Publication History of Allen's Address - New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/39\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-11T19:51:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-13T18:17:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/39\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/39\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/allens-publication-history\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Performance\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Print and Performance\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/performance\\\/print-and-performance\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Publication History of Allen’s Address\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/\",\"name\":\"New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies\",\"description\":\"An exhibit in the collection of the Colored Conventions Project: Bringing 19th-century Black Organizing to Digital Life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\\\/african-free-schools\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Publication History of Allen's Address - New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Publication History of Allen's Address - New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies","og_description":"Address written on October 21, 1828 Charles C. Andrews asked his senior students at the NYAFS #2 to compose an address to the American Convention, and he would choose the \u201cmost appropriate\u201d addresses to send to the Convention, including Allen\u2019s. Five members of the Manumission Society signed their names to verify the authenticity of Allen\u2019s […]","og_url":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/","og_site_name":"New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies","article_modified_time":"2025-04-13T18:17:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2021\/03\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/","url":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/","name":"Publication History of Allen's Address - New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2021\/03\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png","datePublished":"2020-05-11T19:51:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-13T18:17:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2021\/03\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2021\/03\/banner_exhibits_ny-african-free-school.png","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/allens-publication-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Performance","item":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Print and Performance","item":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/performance\/print-and-performance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Publication History of Allen’s Address"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/#website","url":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/","name":"New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies","description":"An exhibit in the collection of the Colored Conventions Project: Bringing 19th-century Black Organizing to Digital Life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5113"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5294,"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5113\/revisions\/5294"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}