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Organised campaigning

On 22 May 1787, the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed. Most of the 12 founder members were Quakers, but for reasons of political expediency, two Anglicans, Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson, were chosen to represent the committee.

This alliance was crucial to the committee's success, since it matched complementary resources and skills and gave the members a basis upon which to build support. Quakers were already experienced in campaigning to defend their non-conformist beliefs. They gave the committee access to a printing press and established national and international networks which could be mobilised to distribute information, organise meetings and provide financial contributions. Clarkson and Sharp brought political respectability and contacts, allowing the organisation to reach out to people who would not want to be associated with a 'Quaker organisation'.

The committee's decision to focus on the conservative goal of the abolition of the slave trade, rather than the abolition of slavery itself, allowed the movement to gain the active support of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, who signed petitions like the one above, as well as members of the establishment, like the member of parliament William Wilberforce.

The 1787 committee functioned much like a modern day non-governmental organisation (NGO). It was a single-interest pressure group with a clearly defined goal. It was also a membership organisation, with local groups and a newsletter to inform its members about the campaign's progress. The committee also sent letters to existing donors appealing for funds, just as many NGOs and charities do today.