Maria Weston Chapman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Weston Chapman
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Chapman, from a 1910 publication
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| Born |
Maria Weston
July 25, 1806 Weymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Died | July 12, 1885 (aged 78) Weymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Spouse(s) |
Henry Grafton Chapman
(m. 1830; |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Anne Bates Weston Warren Weston |
| Relatives | John Jay Chapman (grandson) Eleanor Chapman (granddaughter) |
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Maria Weston Chapman (born July 25, 1806 – died July 12, 1885) was an American abolitionist. This means she worked to end slavery. She was chosen to be part of the main committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1839. From 1839 to 1842, she also edited an anti-slavery newspaper called The Non-Resistant.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Maria Weston was born in 1806 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Her parents were Captain Warren Richard Weston and Anne Bates Weston. She had seven younger brothers and sisters. Even though her family was not rich, they had important connections through her uncle.
Maria spent several years living with her family in England. There, she received a very good education. When she returned to Boston in 1828, she became the principal of a new high school for girls. This school was known for its modern ideas. Two years later, she left teaching to get married.
Fighting Against Slavery
Maria and her husband, Henry, were both "Garrisonian" abolitionists. This means they strongly believed that slavery should end right away. They thought this change should happen through "moral suasion." This means convincing people that slavery was wrong, rather than using force.
They did not believe that churches, political parties, or the government should be used to end slavery. However, they did support actions like "come-outerism." This meant refusing to associate with people who owned slaves. Maria was very firm in her beliefs. She felt that if you were completely right, you didn't need anyone's pity or support.
Her Work Against Slavery
Maria Chapman joined the anti-slavery cause through her husband's family. She quickly became a strong supporter. She faced angry crowds, people making fun of her, and public attacks on her character. Her sisters, Caroline and Anne, also worked against slavery. But Maria was known as the most outspoken and active one.
The sisters helped each other with family duties. This allowed them to take on important public roles. The Chapmans became key members of the "Boston Clique." This group included wealthy and important supporters of William Lloyd Garrison.
In 1835, Maria took charge of the Boston Anti-Slavery Bazaar. This event was started a year earlier by Lydia Maria Child and Louisa Loring. It was a big event to raise money for the anti-slavery movement. Maria managed this fair until 1858.
She then decided to replace the bazaar with the Anti-Slavery Subscription Anniversary. Maria thought the fair was old-fashioned. She believed the Anniversary, which was an exclusive party with music, food, and speeches, would raise more money. She and other abolitionists became very good at asking for donations.
Between 1835 and 1865, Chapman served on important committees. These included the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (MASS) and the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). She was active in campaigns to collect signatures for petitions in the 1830s. She also wrote reports for the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS). She published pamphlets to make more people aware of the issue.
For almost 20 years, from 1839 to 1858, Maria edited The Liberty Bell. This was an annual book sold at the Boston Bazaar to raise funds. Famous writers like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning contributed to it. They were not paid for their work.
She also edited The Liberator when Garrison was away. She was on the editorial team for the National Anti-Slavery Standard. This was the official newspaper of the AASS. Chapman was also a member of the Non-Resistance Society, which published The Non-Resistant.
Maria Chapman was a talented writer herself. She published Right and Wrong in Massachusetts in 1839. In 1855, she published How Can I Help to Abolish Slavery?. She also had her poems and essays printed in anti-slavery newspapers.
In 1840, there were disagreements within the anti-slavery movement. The Garrisonians split from those who wanted to use politics to end slavery. Maria, sometimes called "Captain Chapman" by her opponents, was very clever. She took control of the BFASS again. After this, the BFASS mainly focused on organizing the Boston bazaar to raise money for the cause.
The church she attended, Federal Street Church (Boston), is part of the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
Travels and Changing Views
During her 30 years in the anti-slavery movement, Maria Chapman spent a lot of time outside the United States. She lived in Haiti from 1841 to 1842. Later, she lived in Paris from 1848 to 1855. Even when she was away, she was still very important to the Boston movement.
While abroad, she worked hard to get support and donations for the Boston fairs. She got help from important people in Britain and Europe. These included Lady Byron, Harriet Martineau, and Victor Hugo.
When she came back to the U.S. in 1855, the issue of slavery was a huge national debate. Events like "Bleeding Kansas" and the rise of the Republican Party made it a central topic. Around this time, Maria started to change some of her views.
She began to support the Republican Party. Later, she supported the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's idea in 1862 for a gradual end to slavery. This was different from many Garrisonians, who did not support using violence. Maria was very firm in her new beliefs, just as she had been in her old ones.
Personal Life
In 1830, Maria married Henry Grafton Chapman (1804–1842). Henry was also an abolitionist, and his parents were strong supporters of the cause. He was a wealthy merchant from Boston. Maria and Henry had a happy marriage. They had four children together. One of their children died when they were very young.
Henry died in 1842 from tuberculosis.
- One of their children was Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (1833–1883). He married Eleanor Kingsland Jay. Her grandfather was William Jay, and her great-grandfather was John Jay, who was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
In 1863, Maria Chapman mostly stopped her public work. For the next two decades, until her death in Weymouth on July 12, 1885, she enjoyed seeing the success of the anti-slavery cause. She also felt proud of her own part in that victory.
Works
- Songs of the Free and Hymns of Christian Freedom (1836)
- Right and Wrong in Boston (1836)
- Right and Wrong in Massachusetts (1839)
- Memorials of Harriet Martineau (1877)
See also
In Spanish: Maria Weston Chapman para niños
- Edward Strutt Abdy
