In the early to mid 19th century, New York City had a large evangelical revivalist population and religion was the center of many people's lives.
This small break from separate spheres pushed women to participate in popular moral reforms.
[1] A preacher named Charles Grandison Finney preached in Evangelical Presbyterian churches and helped gain momentous support for multiple moral reforms including the anti-slavery movement.
The majority of women who joined these moral reform societies had strong religious beliefs and most were related to merchants and evangelical clergymen who provided their economic sustenance.
[3] They planned to structure the group by having one woman from each Protestant Congregational Church in New York City sit on the board of managers.
The first director of the society was Mrs. Reverend Martyn; she was married to a Presbyterian minister who was also involved in the anti-slavery movement.
They felt that slavery was a “moral and domestic evil” and Finney helped to push them towards supporting emancipation and abolition.
[1] In their constitution it shows that they believed slavery was a violation of the laws of God and that emancipation and abolition were the only options to make up for these sins.
They hoped “to promote the religious, moral, and intellectual improvement of the colored population” and they planned to use the Bible and God's wishes to show that one cannot be truly Christian while supporting slavery.
They did not believe slave owners could be true Christians and thought they should not be part of the church until they can admit that slavery is oppression and a sin in the eyes of God.
They were ashamed that they didn't join the anti-slavery reform earlier and wanted to fight for abolition so they could lookback and know they did something to help.
They instead asked women to pray for enslaved peoples freedom, which allowed them to use their religion and womanly sympathy to help without leaving their proper sphere.
[4] They focused on Republican Motherhood and Christian charity, and though they opposed the women's rights movement, they supported abolition.
[1] As a society, they completed a plethora of different abolitionist activities, including writing letters, holding conventions, and circulating petitions.
George Thompson was a famous abolitionist who faced a lot of backlash for the progress he made in the anti-slavery movement.
The groups would have more influence together to raise funds for the American Anti-Slave Society and could convince more southern women to support the movement.
[5] This included needlework and book covers with the slogan, “May the use of our needles prick the conscience of slaveholders.”[1] Along with this they distributed Anti-slavery pamphlets and other publications.
The Ladies New York City Anti-Slavery Society felt as though the parlor talks went very well and they praised the Grimké sisters were so disgusted by their prejudices and the racism within the group that they made sure people of color were represented at the convention later hosted by the Ladies New York City Anti-Slavery Society.
A second resolution was unanimously approved because it presented the anti-slavery movement coinciding with traditional womanhood and it was based on the idea of motherhood, which all women could relate to.