Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall – May 17, 1838

This print shows flames engulfing the newly opened abolitionist meeting place. A brazen arson attack, this assault served to alter public perception of abolitionists. No longer just "agitators," they were also victims denied the right to free speech. Look carefully at the print to see how the firefighters have trained their hose on a neighboring structure instead of Pennsylvania Hall. Click on the image to see the full-size drawing in the Library of Congress digital collection.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Title: Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall. On the Night of the 17th May, 1838.
Date: May 17, 1838
Object Information: Photo, print, drawing
Repository: Bowen, John T., Printer, and J. C Wild. Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall. On the Night of the 17th May. United States of America Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1838. Philadelphia: J.T. Bowen, -05. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670168/.

Description:
Opened on May 14, 1838 on 6th Street near Race Street, Pennsylvania Hall stood for a mere few days till a white anti-abolition mob burned it down on the evening of May 17. The building housed the offices of the eastern district of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, a free produce store (selling goods produced by non-slave labor), an antislavery reading room, the antislavery Pennsylvania Freeman newspaper, several meeting rooms, two large lecture rooms, and a large hall known as the “Grand Saloon.” Threats of violence loomed from the building's dedication and escalated into an assault as a mob threw bricks through the windows while a group of abolitionists - men and women, Black and white, of all social classes, met inside. Later, a mob broke down the doors and set fires inside the structure. Although no one was convicted, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held the county responsible for damages, and the Pennsylvania Hall Association received $27,942.27.