James Forten was born free on September 2, 1766, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomas and Sarah Forten. He was the grandson of enslaved Africans. He attended a Quaker school for African American children, and at the age of eight, he began working part-time alongside his father as a sailmaker. His father’s death forced Forten to find additional work and, at the age of nine, worked full time to support his family.
At the age of fourteen, Forten volunteered for service in the Revolutionary War. He worked as a powder boy on the Royal Lewis ship. Captured by the British on his second cruise, he escaped slavery by impressing the captain, who ensured Forten was treated the same as white prisoners of war. Forten was freed in a prisoner exchange in 1782 and returned to Philadelphia and to a mother and sister who had both believed him dead.
After returning to Philadelphia, he rejoined Robert Bridges sail loft as an apprentice sailmaker and worked his way up through the ranks. In 1787 Pennsylvania entered the State of the Union, and Forten made his way to Foreman. In 1798 Bridges decided to retire and asked Forten to remain in charge of the loft. Three years later, at the age of thirty-five, Forten purchased the business. For many years Forten experimented with different types of sails and sail tools. By the early 1800s, he had invented one that enabled ships to maneuver more adeptly and maintain higher speeds. Forten’s innovations brought success and financial prosperity and contributed to Forten becoming one of Philadelphia’s premier sailmakers.
In addition to being a successful businessman, Forten was an activist fighting for equal rights for African Americans. In 1800 he organized a petition calling for Congress to emancipate all enslaved Africans. Forten used his wealth to help support the movements he believed in. Forten ran a station for the Underground Railroad out of his Philadelphia home. He used his wealth to fund and open a school for African American children in Philadelphia and financially supported an abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator.
Forten worked closely with other antislavery leaders, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, and was a founding member of the Free African Society and the American Reform Society. In 1817 Forten, Allen, and Jones, along with other leaders, formed the Convention of Color. Forten supported and fought for the settlement of escaped enslaved Africans in Canada but fought against emigration back to Africa. Forten stayed active in his fight against slavery until he passed away on February 24, 1842.
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