Committed abolitionist, controversial Quaker minister, tireless pacifist, fiery crusader for women's rights—Lucretia Mott was one of the great reformers in America history. Her sixty years of sermons and speeches reached untold thousands of people. Yet Mott eschewed prepared lectures in favor of an extemporaneous speaking style inspired by the inner light at the core of her Quaker faith. It was left to stenographers, journalists, Friends, and colleagues to record her words for posterity.

Drawing on widely scattered archives, newspaper accounts, and other sources, Lucretia Mott Speaks unearths the essential speeches and remarks from Mott's remarkable career. The editors have chosen selections representing important themes and events in her public life. Extensive annotations provide vibrant context and show Mott's engagement with allies and opponents. The speeches illuminate her passionate belief that her many causes were all intertwined. The result is an authoritative resource, one that enriches our understanding of Mott's views, rhetorical strategies, and still-powerful influence on American society.

|Introduction xi
Editorial Policies xxix
lucretia mott speaks: the essential
speeches and sermons
Twelfth Street Meeting, Philadelphia, 1818 3
Pennsylvania Hall, Philadelphia, May 16 and 17, 1838 3
New England Non-Resistance Society, Chardon Street
Chapel, Boston, September 25–27, 1839 4
Unitarian Chapel, August 9, 1840, Glasgow, Scotland 6
Marlboro Chapel, Boston, September 23, 1841 8
Rose Street Meeting, New York City, September 29, 1841 14
Manhattan Society, Asbury Church, New York
City, September 29, 1841 15
Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C., January 15, 1843 16
Hicksite Meetinghouse, Rochester, New York, July 21, 1844 27
Unitarian Christians Convention, First Unitarian
Church, Philadelphia, October 22, 1846 28
Anti-Sabbath Convention, The Melodeon, Boston, March 24, 1848 30
American Anti-Slavery Society, Broadway Tabernacle,
New York City, May 9, 1848 39
Women's Rights Convention, Wesleyan Chapel, Seneca
Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848 44
Women's Rights Convention, Unitarian Church,
Rochester, New York, August 2, 1848 45
"Sermon to the Medical Students," Cherry Street
Meeting, Philadelphia, February 11, 1849 48
American Anti-Slavery Society, Minerva Rooms,
New York City, May 8, 1849 55
Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, November 4, 1849 56
Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, November 6, 1849 64
"Discourse on Woman," Assembly Buildings,
Philadelphia, December 17, 1849 68
Cherry Street Meeting, Philadelphia, March 31, 1850 81
Women's Rights Convention, Brinley Hall, Worcester,
Massachusetts, October 23–24, 1850 87
Isaac T. Hopper Memorial Service, Broadway
Tabernacle, New York City, May 12, 1852 92
Women's Rights Convention, Horticultural Hall, West
Chester, Pennsylvania, June 2–3, 1852 93
Women's Rights Convention, City Hall, Syracuse,
New York, September 8–10, 1852 95
Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Horticultural Hall, West
Chester, Pennsylvania, October 25–26, 1852 100
Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Assembly Buildings,
Philadelphia, December 15–16, 1852 102
Women's Rights Convention, Broadway Tabernacle,
New York City, September 6–7, 1853 104
Women's Rights Convention, Melodeon Hall,
Cleveland, October 5 and 7, 1853 110
Rose Street Meeting, New York City, November 11, 1855 120
Women's Rights Convention, Broadway Tabernacle,
New York City, November 25–26, 1856 122
Yardleyville,...