"Recollections of Old Friends": A Historical Account of Rhode Island African American Community and Anti-Slavery Society Leaders in the Affairs of the Dorr Rebellion

This article by Caleb Troy Horton examines Frederick Douglass’s work with abolitionist allies and Rhode Island Anti-Slavery Society leaders during the Dorr Rebellion—with a particular focus on petitioning the People’s Convention in the autumn of 1841 to allow Black male participation in its referendum and to exclude a white-only clause from the new Rhode Island State Constitution (a.k.a. the People’s Constitution).

Publication date: 4 August 2026