Although Boston had come to be
associated as the seat of the antislavery movement, many of
the city’s citizens held contrary views. In December 1860, a
group of abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison and
Frederick Douglass, met at Tremont Temple in Boston to
commemorate the anniversary of John Brown’s execution. The
assembled abolitionists considered Brown to be a martyr to
their cause, but other Bostonians were not persuaded. Some of
the latter interrupted and took over the proceedings, passing
resolutions that condemned John Brown’s raid and expelling
the abolitionists from the hall. |