Examine two coins produced by the American Anti-Slavery Society in New York to explore the abolitionist cause and reflect on the following questions: What message do these coins send about the abolition of slavery? What symbols do they use to make their point? Consider using the Compare and Contrast Activity to examine the similarities and differences between the two coins in more detail.

An early and widely recognized image of the abolitionist movement in the 18th century was a kneeling African man. At the time it was common for African men to be depicted in Western art as servants or supplicants, kneeling. This image was meant to call on people’s conscience. The text around the figure signals this by asking: “AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER”. However, this coin also spread the image of a subservient enslaved person at the same time, minimizing the agency of the figure depicted. Abolitionist tokens were a way for those who opposed slavery to signal their support for the cause and spread their message. 

"After its formation in London in 1787, the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade adopted an emblem for the organization.  The approved design depicts an African man in a supplicant pose--on bended knee, genuflecting; his face angled upwards; and his hands clasped together--with chains connecting the shackles on his ankles and wrists.  While unclear from this token due to wear, he is wearing a simple cloth around his waist.  The words ""Am I not a man and a brother"" encircle him as if he himself is calling to the conscience of all.

The pose in profile view and simple cloth garment, perhaps designed by a modeller at the Wedgwood factory, allude to classical art.  The pose also relates to images of religious conversion and pleading, linking emancipation with the bestowing of a blessing and gratitude.

At this time it was common for African men to be depicted in Western art as servants or supplicants, kneeling.   This image, designed to call upon people's conscience, perpetuates the image of the subservient, kneeling slave and minimizes his agency.  In fact, the deeds, resistance, and ongoing efforts of the enslaved and formerly enslaved were critical to the successful end of the slave trade and eventual emancipation.

This image became a well-recognized symbol of the abolitionist movement.  Josiah Wedgwood used the design in jasperware cameos and broadly distributed and marketed this image.  The symbol embellished rings, bracelets, medallions, hair pins, plates, snuff boxes, tea caddies, and tokens such as this.

The reverse shows two clasped hands encircled by the inscription “May slavery & oppression cease throughout the world.”

The largely Quaker-led Society labored to end the international slave trade, which was finally outlawed in 1807.  The Society only aimed to end the slave trade, not slavery itself. The United Kingdom eventually abolished slavery in 1833."

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New-York Historical Society

Am I Not a Man & a Brother

The reverse (back) side of this coin shows two hands holding one another with an inscription around them that reads: “May slavery & oppression cease throughout the world.” 

In 1837 the American Anti-Slavery Society in New York commissioned this copper token. It depicts a kneeling enslaved woman. The text around the outside reads “AM I NOT A WOMAN & A SISTER.” The coin was based on an image of a chained and kneeling enslaved man that had been used in earlier antislavery tokens and the seal for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. This coin substituted a woman for the enslaved man used on that coin. The use of a woman on the coin reflected a growing awareness of the particular horrors women suffered under slavery as the victims of sexual exploitation. The coin’s use of a woman’s image also recognized the prominent role that women were playing in the antislavery movement. 

The American Anti-Slavery Society was founded in 1833 by Black New Yorkers and white abolitionists. The organization called for immediate emancipation of the nation’s two million enslaved people and worked to win over public opinion in northern states. 

In 1837 the American Anti-Slavery Society in New York commissioned a New Jersey firm to issue copper tokens featuring a kneeling slave with the legend "AM I NOT A WOMAN & A SISTER." Based on an earlier design of a chained and kneeling slave used for the seal of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, founded in England in 1787, this version substitutes a woman for the customary enslaved male. The appearance of the female icon in Britain and the United States symbolized not only a growing awareness of the special vicissitudes that women suffered under slavery as victims of sexual exploitation but also recognition of the prominent role that women were playing in the antislavery movement.

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Am I Not a Woman & a Sister

The back of the coin is based on the American cent. The date reads 1838, which is the year this particular coin was cast. In November 1837, the American Anti-Slavery Society had published an advertisement in their weekly newspaper, 

, advertising “Female Slave” tokens. They cost $1 per hundred. Coins like this were sold at antislavery fairs to raise money for the cause. 

Standards for Abolitionism and the Anti-Slavery Movement