Richard Allen Research Paper

Richard Allen was born February 14, 1760. During this time period more than one million people, representing a population increase of significant proportions, were living in the thirteen colonies along the Atlantic coast. disease, and infant mortality rates in the colonies were much lower than those in England, and life expectancy was considerably higher. Just under a quarter million blacks lived in the colonies, the slave numbers increased, along with the white population, through a combination of immigration, and natural increase. The colonies were part of an Atlantic trading network that linked them with England, Africa, and the West Indies. The pattern of commerce, called the Triangular Trade, involved the exchange of products from colonial farms, plantations, fisheries, and forests with England for manufactured goods and the West Indies for slaves, molasses, and sugar.# Richard Allen was born to a bi-racial mother and a pure African father. Allen, his parents and two other siblings were slaves on the plantation of Benjamin Chew. At approximately seven years of age, Allen and his family was sold to Stokley Sturgis, a wealthy plantation owner near Dover, Delaware. Soon after this , Mrs. Allen had three more children. Later, she and three
of her six children were sold away, Allen, his older brother and a sister remained at the plantation.# Despite being born a slave he managed to buy his freedom at the age of 20.
Shortly afterwards he became a Methodist Preacher and played a key role in forming the African Methodist Episcopal church. Though he started out as a traveling preacher Allen eventually settled at St. George’s church. After a while the number of Black members increased greatly, which resulted in the segregation of the church. As a result Allen and the majority of the black Methodists left St. George’s and organized The Free African Society on April 12, 1787. Allen served as the leader of Bethel church, and in 1816, invited delegates from other African-American churches shortly after which It became the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E. church).
# Bethel church experienced discrimination and prejudice from white Methodist, and in 1815, St. George's managed to auction off Bethel, and Allen was required to buy back his own church for $10,125. Over the course of 15 years Richard Allen helped lead the new denomination , which served as both a spiritual and educational center for the African-American community.# He was also concerned with the rights of African-American citizens; in 1797 other black leaders along with himself sought to repeal the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. Twenty years later, after the American Colonization society had formed in 1817, he took a public stand against colonization. # Allen was married twice, his first wife, Flora, was a helper during the Bishop’s early years of establishing the church from 1787 to 1799. They attended church school and worked together purchasing land, which was eventually donated to the church and rented out to families. Flora Allen died on March 11, 1801. His second wife, Sarah Bass, was a widow. She was born a slave in the Isle of Wright County, Virginia and came to Philadelphia at the age of eight. Sarah Allen lived to be 85 years old. She passed away July 16, 1849. She and Allen bore six children: Richard Jr., James, John, Peter, Sarah and Ann. Richard Allen passed away at his on Saturday, March 26, 1831. #