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James Forten, like many other little-known Black inventors, is not a name normally associated with Black History, or history in general. His invention was a devise that would strengthen boat sails, thus allowing ships to sail from the US to China. Born a free slave in 1766 in Philadelphia, he started his career sewing sails with his father and by the time of his death, he owned the company and had amassed a great fortune, which he used to live a luxurious life as well as to fight for social reform.
His parents were Thomas and Sarah Forten who where free and his grandparents had been former slaves. James was educated at a Quaker School for Black Children. His father died in a boating accident when he was around nine years old, leaving him responsible for the family’s welfare. He worked at the sail making company and attended school until he joined the revolutionary army at age 14.
James Forten served on the Royal Louis, a vessel whose mission was to ambush the British. His job was to be a powder boy in charge of ammunition and gunpowder. Ironically, though he escaped a childhood of slavery, which was common for Blacks in his day, he had a narrow brush with the possibility of slavery after being taken as a prisoner for 7 months during the war. It was customary for white prisoners of war to be held captive while black prisoners were sold as slavery in the West Indies. It was James’ charm and quick that saved him from becoming a slave. He recorded the following words later; "Thus did a game of marbles save me from a life of West Indian servitude." He befriended the son of the prison boat and lived in England for about a year where he was introduced to the abolitionist movement. When he was offered a permanent life of luxury in England, he refused the offer stating, "NO, I'm a prisoner for my country, and I'll never be a traitor to her."
When Forten was returned to the United States, he walked back to Pennsylvania and he went to work for the same sail loft that he had worked for as a child. Mr. Bridges, the owner of The Loft where James worked, was very impressed with him, and named James foreman for the company in 1776. When Mr. Bridges retired in 1798, he loaned Forten enough money to allow him to buy The Loft instead of giving the company to his own sons. James Forten was able to retain his white workforce and clients while adding black employees and winning new clients in spite of speculation that a Black man would not be able to run a successful business in a racist society. It was during this time that Forten invented a way to strengthen the sail of a boat that allowed him to amass his fortune. His business success, however, was only a small part of his accomplishments.
James Forten’s wealth allowed him to become a key figure in several equal rights struggles that were going on at the time. As early as 1793, he was a major opponent of the northern implementation for the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which gave a slave owner the rights to pursue and recover runaway slaves from Northern states to which they had escaped. The common black people had understood what their leaders had not. Despite the good intentions of some members, the ACS had fallen under the influence of its Southern delegates. Its covert aim was to rid the country of the strongest opponents to slavery, the free blacks. With its most troublesome agitators removed, slavery would be free to flourish. As Forten wrote to Cuffe: "They think that the slave holders wants to get rid of them so as to make their property more secure.
The assembled men passed a series of unanimous resolutions. "Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendents feel ourselves entitled to participate in the blessings of her luxuriant soil.... Resolved, that we never will separate ourselves voluntarily from the slave population in this country; they are our brethren by the ties of consanguinity, of suffering, and of wrongs...." A committee of twelve was formed to oppose the ACS, with James Forten as chairman. Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and John Gloucester were members.” (Africans in America, PBS online). In the year 1800, he campaigned for Temperance movement, a movement in which people were persuaded to stop using alcohol. He was also involved with the women’s suffrage movement, fighting for equal rights for women, as well as fighting for equal rights and freedom for black people. He also wrote and published a pamphlet attacking the Pennsylvania legislature for prohibiting the immigration of freed black slaves from other states. In 1817 he joined formed the Convention of Color with Richard Allen. They fought for settlement of black slave in Canada while opposing all plans for sending blacks back to Africa. Forten formed the American Anti Slavery Society in 1833. He also contributed to The Liberator, and anti slavery newspaper run by William Lloyd Garrison. He also opened his home on Lombard Street as a school for Black children.
His activism and good deeds did not stop with himself; the women in his family were also well known for their Abolitionist and antislavery work. With his family was one of the most prominent and wealthy black families in Philidelphia, His wife Charlote Vandine Forten, and his daughters Margaretta, Harriet, and Sarah were quite active in the community and often entertained visiting abolitionists in their homes. “In December 1833, Charlotte and her daughters helped establish the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, the country's first biracial organization of women's abolitionists, which drew all of its black members from the city's elite. Margaretta was one of 14 women who drafted the Society's constitution and was an officer throughout the organization's history. Sarah served on the organization's governing board for two years. Harriet frequently co-chaired the Society's antislavery fairs. The Fortens also represented the Society as delegates to state and national conventions.” (Africans in America, PBS online)
In addition to his committee’s organizations and writings, Forten used his fortune to buy the freedom of many slaves, and to finance William Garrisons ‘The Libertarian’. James Forten also risked his own safety and freedom by using his home as part of the Underground Railroad guiding black slaves to freedom. When he died in 1842, both the black and white community mourned him. He was well known and liked for his war successes, his business successes, and most importantly for his humanitarian efforts.
Sources:
The African American Almanac, 7th ed., Gale, 1997.
http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/jamesforten.html
http://www.columbia.edu/~lt165/forten.html
Snapshots in AMERICAN Black History
Africans in America, PBS online
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