The Canterbury Mob’s Attack on Crandall’s Academy
Prudence Crandall dared to open America’s first Black female academy in Canterbury, Connecticut in 1833. The town fought back with laws, but she won in court.
Still, locals wouldn’t quit. After a failed arson attempt, they struck at midnight on September 9, 1834.
A mob with clubs and iron bars smashed 90 window panes while terrified students hid under glass-covered beds. The next day, Crandall shut her doors for good.
Though it ran just 17 months, her school later shaped major civil rights cases.
The Prudence Crandall House now stands as a powerful reminder of this brave woman who stood firm when others wanted her students gone.
Town Leaders Begged Prudence Crandall To Teach Their Daughters
In 1831, Canterbury’s top families asked Prudence Crandall to open a school for their daughters. The Canterbury Female Boarding School took off quickly, giving girls the same tough classes boys got at good schools.
Crandall set up in a beautiful Georgian house on the town green, next to lawyer Andrew T. Judson’s home.
The school got strong support from local big shots.
Lawyers, businessmen, and church leaders joined the board, helping the school do well from the start.
A Single Request From Sarah Harris Changed Everything
In September 1832, twenty-year-old Sarah Harris knocked on Crandall’s door.
This free Black farmer’s daughter wanted to join as a day student to become a teacher for Black children in Norwich. Harris had finished the only primary school open to Black Americans but needed more education.
After thinking it over, Crandall said yes, creating what was likely America’s first mixed-race classroom.
Around this time, Crandall’s Black housekeeper Maria Davis shared The Liberator newspaper with her, showing her new ideas about ending slavery.
White Parents Freaked Out When A Black Student Joined The Class
Canterbury folks went crazy when they learned Harris had joined. They hated the idea of a Black student learning with their daughters.
White parents threatened to pull their kids out, worried more Black people might move to town or that races might mix through marriage.
A group of important men warned Crandall that her mixed school put white folks at risk.
Crandall made a bold choice: instead of kicking Harris out, she closed her school and planned to reopen it just for Black students.
The School Started Recruiting Black Girls From All Over America
In spring 1833, Crandall went to Boston to meet William Lloyd Garrison and Samuel May for advice. Garrison gave her letters to rich Black families in New York, Providence, and Philadelphia.
On March 2, 1833, an ad showed up in The Liberator saying the school would reopen April 1 for “young ladies and little misses of color.
Tuition cost $25 per quarter, with backing from famous anti-slavery folks like Arthur Tappan and Garrison.
Connecticut Quickly Passed A Law To Stop Black Girls From Learning
Angry townspeople pushed Connecticut lawmakers to shut down Crandall’s school legally. On May 24, 1833, they passed the “Black Law” written by Andrew T. Judson. This law stopped out-of-state Black Americans from going to Connecticut schools without local permission.
It aimed right at Crandall’s school, which had 24 students from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
The community stepped up their bullying too – they put animal poop in the school’s well and refused to sell goods, give medical care, or rides to anyone at the school.
Crandall Spent A Night In Jail For Teaching Black Students
On June 27, 1833, police arrested Crandall for breaking the Black Law. They charged her with teaching “colored persons who were not inhabitants of this state.”
The court set bail at $150, but no one paid it, so Crandall spent the night in county jail in the same cell where murderer Oliver Watkins had stayed. George Benson paid her bail the next day.
News of her jail time spread across the country, with a Vermont newspaper printing “Shame on Connecticut. ” Arthur Tappan gave $10,000 for top lawyers to defend her.
The First Trial Left The Jury Completely Stuck
The first trial began August 23, 1833, at Windham County Court with Judge Joseph Eaton in charge – the same judge who helped write the Black Law.
Crandall’s lawyers argued that Black Americans were citizens in other states, so they deserved the same rights in Connecticut under the Constitution.
Andrew Judson led the prosecution, claiming freed Black Americans weren’t citizens anywhere. After hours of talk, the jury couldn’t agree, so the case moved to a higher court while Crandall kept her school open.
The Judge Ruled Black Americans Weren’t Citizens
The second trial started October 3, 1833, at Connecticut Superior Court. Judge David Daggett, known for his anti-Black views, ran the case.
He told the jury that Black Americans weren’t citizens and had no right to education under the Constitution. The jury found Crandall guilty under the Black Law.
Her lawyers right away appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors.
Through all these court fights, Crandall kept teaching her students despite the hate from people around town.
The Supreme Court Let Her Off On A Technicality
On July 26, 1834, the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors threw out the case. They found that prosecutors messed up the paperwork by not proving they followed proper steps.
The court avoided the big question about Black citizenship. This legal win meant Crandall could keep her school open, but it made the townspeople even angrier.
In January 1834, some locals tried to burn down the school, but Frederick Olney spotted the fire early and helped put it out before it spread.
Ninety Windows Smashed In The Middle Of The Night
Near midnight on September 9, 1834, a mob with heavy clubs and iron bars surrounded the school. The attackers lined up at the five main windows and, at a signal, smashed the glass all at once.
They broke ninety window panes while two female students slept inside. Glass covered their beds, but amazingly, neither girl got hurt.
This attack came after 17 months of threats, harassment, and violence from the community who couldn’t stand the idea of Black girls getting an education in their town.
The Mob Finally Got What They Wanted
On September 10, 1834, Crandall permanently closed her school. She feared for the safety of her students, her family, and herself after the violent attack.
Samuel May later wrote that he felt “ashamed of Canterbury, ashamed of Connecticut, ashamed of my country, ashamed of my color.”
Though the school lasted only 17 months, it sparked major changes in the abolitionist movement. The legal arguments from Crandall’s case later showed up in two landmark Supreme Court cases: Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857 and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
Visiting Prudence Crandall House, Connecticut
The Prudence Crandall House at 1 South Canterbury Road in Canterbury tells the story of America’s first boarding school for Black girls, destroyed by an angry mob in 1834.
You can only visit through timed guided tours on Fridays, Mondays, and weekends with tickets costing $10 for adults. Tours are limited to 15 people, so buy advance tickets through Eventbrite.
The 15 exhibit banners have audio in English and Spanish.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
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