In the 1870s, many activists in the United States were frustrated by the decision of President Ulysses S. Grant to take a neutral approach towards the ongoing revolution in Cuba that sought to overthrow slavery in the Spanish territory. Many prominent individuals wanted to see the end of Cuban slavery and the triumph of the insurgents along with official recognition from the United States that the insurgents were legitimate belligerents. Motivated by this desire, the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee, occasionally referred to as the Cuban Anti-Slavery Society, first convened in December 1872 at the Cooper Institute in New York. Samuel R. Scottron led the Committee and organized the event, while the Reverend Henry Highland Garnet served as the Committee's secretary and keynote speaker.