Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee facts for kids
After slavery ended in the United States, many African Americans wanted to help end slavery in other places, especially in Cuba. They were disappointed when U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant decided to stay neutral during Cuba's fight for freedom, known as the Ten Years' War. This war was fought to end slavery in the Spanish territory of Cuba.
African American men knew that Cubans living in New York had formed groups to support their revolution. So, in 1872, they created their own group to help end slavery in Cuba. They also wanted the United States to officially recognize the Cuban rebels as a real fighting force. This group was called the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee. Its first meeting was in December 1872 at the Cooper Institute in New York City. Samuel R. Scottron led the Committee, and Reverend Henry Highland Garnet was its secretary and main speaker.
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What Was the Ten Years' War?
In 1868, many people in Cuba wanted to end slavery and were unhappy with Spain's rule. This led to a civil war called the Ten Years' War, which lasted from 1868 to 1878. Cuban rebels fought against Spanish forces. They wanted Cuba to be independent and for slavery to end there.
The United States had just finished its own Civil War and ended slavery. So, many thought the U.S. might help the Cuban rebels. Many Cuban leaders, people who had left Cuba, and anti-slavery activists came to New York and Florida. They wanted the U.S. to get involved in the conflict.
Why Didn't the U.S. Intervene?
President Ulysses S. Grant and his team were divided on whether to help Cuba. Some, like Secretary of War John Rawlins, wanted to intervene. Others, like Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, were against it. They felt it was too soon after the American Civil War to get involved in another conflict. They also worried about how it would affect U.S. relationships with other countries.
President Grant felt sympathetic to the Cuban cause. He offered to help Spain and the Cuban rebels talk things out. His conditions included Cuba becoming independent and slavery ending there. But beyond this offer, the United States did not get involved in the war.
How Did the Committee Start?
Many former slaves escaped from Cuba and came to the United States. Seeing this, Henry Highland Garnet and others decided to form the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee. Garnet and his friends quickly supported the Cuban movement. They liked that the Cuban independence movement included people of different races. They hoped this could be a model for racial equality in the United States.
The first meeting was held at the Cooper Institute in Manhattan. Soon after, another meeting took place in Boston. Most people at the first meeting were African American men, along with some Cuban exiles. Reporters, local politicians, and leaders also attended, which helped make the event widely known.
Garnet gave a powerful speech at the Institute's Great Hall. The meeting led to the creation of the Committee. Its main goal was to collect signatures across the country to support ending slavery in Cuba. Future meetings were planned in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.. The Committee also worked to educate people about the cause.
What Was the Committee's Goal?
The Committee was formed to gather support for a campaign. They wanted the United States to officially recognize and help the Cuban rebels. The founding members believed the war in Cuba was a fight against slavery and old-style colonialism. They felt it would affect the entire hemisphere.
They also saw the Cuban rebel forces, which included people of different races, as a good example. They hoped it would inspire cooperation and equality between races in the United States.
Why Was This Important to African Americans?
A big reason for the Committee members was their belief that helping end slavery abroad would bring more racial equality at home. Even though African Americans were recently freed from slavery, they still faced unfair treatment, exclusion, and segregation. They often felt their victories were not complete.
They believed that winning more civil liberty battles in other countries would set a strong example for how people should be treated in the United States. African Americans also felt it was their country's duty to fight for freedom abroad. This idea came from the principles in the Emancipation Proclamation.
Reverend Garnet, in particular, believed that slavery was not truly defeated until it was gone everywhere. He felt that the work of African American activists was not done until slavery was removed from all of the Americas. For him, the Cuban revolution was a continuation of the fight against slavery that had just succeeded in the United States.
Who Were the Important Members?
Samuel Raymond Scottron was a founder and leader of the Committee. Born around 1843, Scottron was a well-known African American in New York City. He is famous for inventing the curtain rod. He worked for civil rights his whole life until he passed away on October 14, 1908.
Henry Highland Garnet was the Committee's secretary and a founding member. He was born into slavery on December 23, 1815. After his family gained freedom, he grew up in New York City. Garnet graduated from the Oneida Institute in 1840 and became a Presbyterian minister. He died on February 12, 1882, while serving as the U.S. Minister to Liberia. His life was dedicated to fighting racial inequality in the U.S. and other countries.
P.B.S. Pinchback was another key leader. He fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. He later became the first African American governor in the United States, serving in Louisiana.
What Political Actions Did They Take?
A week before meeting with the President, Scottron held a meeting in Baltimore. It took place at the Madison Street (Colored) Presbyterian Church. There, he continued collecting signatures for the Committee's petition to Congress. This meeting was also important because many local women attended, showing equality within the movement.
Garnet and other Committee members presented thousands of signatures to President Grant and Congress. These signatures came from meetings in New York and other places. President Grant met with the Committee's group. However, after talking with his cabinet, the Grant administration decided not to take action. This was very disappointing for Garnet and the Committee.
Other members who went to the White House included Scottron, George Downing, and J.M. Langston. It's thought that the petition might have had over 5,000 names, possibly even tens of thousands.
The Committee's petition asked the U.S. Government to recognize the Cuban rebels fighting for independence. At the White House, Henry Turner, a Committee member, made it clear. He said that at least 5,000 people on the petition were ready to join the Cuban rebels. They wanted to help overthrow Spain and end slavery in the region.
The petition given to President Grant started a bigger movement across the country. It gathered signatures estimated to be anywhere from tens of thousands to half a million. Events were held in Sacramento, San Francisco, Virginia City (Nevada), New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C., and more.
The Committee felt that since the Cuban independence movement had been going on for four years, the rebels deserved American recognition and support.
How Did They Connect with Cuban Revolutionaries?
The Committee's leaders often talked with Cuban revolutionaries. They hoped to create a strong plan together. Important Cuban revolutionaries, like José Martí, praised the Committee's leaders. Martí especially admired Garnet.
Another important moment for the movement happened when the famous Cuban revolutionary general José Antonio Maceó met with leaders of the Committee's next organization. This was the American Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. It surely included many important members from the original Committee.
How Did Spain React?
The Spanish government was very worried about U.S. support for the Cuban cause. They sent agents to watch and possibly disrupt the Committee's meetings. These agents also handed out flyers. They warned Americans about what they claimed were the dangers of supporting the Cuban independence movement.
What Was the Committee's Legacy?
Political Impact
The Committee had a lasting impact on political movements of that time. Groups supporting Cuban abolition appeared across the country. This included places like Charleston, Key West, and Washington D.C..
Support for Cuban revolutionaries was shown through official statements. The California State Colored Men's Convention and the National Civil Rights Convention passed resolutions. Individual states also showed their support. The legislatures of Louisiana and Florida passed resolutions. South Carolina Lieutenant Governor A. G. Ranier often showed his support too.
Even after President Ulysses S. Grant rejected their petition, the Committee's leaders kept working. They hoped the next president would support their cause. Public support continued, especially with a large meeting in Philadelphia a year later featuring Garnet. Eventually, the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee's leaders joined the American Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. They wanted to expand their fight against slavery beyond just Cuba.
End of the Ten Years' War
The United States did not send its military to intervene in the Ten Years' War. The Grant administration tried to negotiate a peaceful solution. This solution would have allowed Spain to keep some control but would have ended slavery. These efforts mostly failed.
As the war neared its end, the Grant administration set certain rules for Spain. If Spain met these rules, the U.S. would remain neutral. Spain did not meet these demands. In 1878, the Cuban rebels reluctantly signed the Pact of Zanjon. This agreement effectively ended their fight and gave power back to Spain.
A year later, Cubans started "La Guerra Chiquita" (the Little War), but they lost again. It wasn't until 1895, with the Cuban Revolutionary War, that rebels fought Spain for independence once more. In 1898, the United States finally got involved in the Cuban Revolutionary War. Slavery officially ended in Cuba in 1886.
Spanish-American War
Four groups of African-American soldiers were among the first sent to Cuba when the Spanish-American War began. These soldiers faced serious segregation at home. They saw serving in the war as a great chance for themselves. They could help free slaves in Cuba. They could also show Jim Crow America that they were equal citizens and deserved equal rights at home.
Many Americans were excited to go to war in Cuba. They felt a strong desire to help the Cuban people gain freedom and overthrow Spain. The idea of Cuban freedom and victory for its oppressed people was a popular theme when the war started.
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