'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás visited North America from April 11 to
December 5, 1912. His eight-month sojourn took Him to some 38 localities in 15
states and the province of Quebec, Canada. Because His North American trip
followed on an earlier European visit, when `Abdu'l-Bahá arrived in New York He
had a developed daily routine.
It appears that He gave approximately 351 talks during His trip (of which 139
were published in The
Promulgation of Universal Peace), an average of 1.5 per day.
Extrapolation from known attendance figures and some statistical assumptions
allow one to arrive at a rough figure of 86,000 people who attended them.
Particularly noteworthy are the talks He gave in thirty-one liberal and
moderate white Protestant churches, fourteen Theosophical and other
metaphysical gatherings, five universities, three synagogues, one African
American church, the Lake Mohonk Peace Conference, Hull House, and the fourth
annual NAACP conference.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's talks can be divided roughly into two types: those to the public
and those primarily to Bahá'í audiences. A "generic" public talk
gradually developed throughout His journey that emphasized up to ten principles
of the Bahá'í Faith. Talks to Bahá'ís, on the other hand—especially the last
talk to them in each locality—usually emphasized two things: the Covenant and
obedience to `Abdu'l-Bahá as the Center of the Covenant on the one hand, and
teaching the Faith on the other. The former emphasis presaged some provisions
of the Will and Testament, while the latter anticipated aspects of the Tablets
of the Divine Plan.
(Robert Stockman, Lights of Irfan, volume 13, 2012, ‘Irfán Colloquia)
(Robert Stockman, Lights of Irfan, volume 13, 2012, ‘Irfán Colloquia)
