What students remember about their 8th grade study of American history is the historical simulations and the roles they played in them that stick in their memories. Other teachers across America have had similar successes implementing role-plays. Of course, these role-plays have an important place in the curriculum; to understand the controversies of antebellum America, students must re-imagine them from all sides. But is there a way to set up a role-play in which all students are on the right side of history? To solve this dilemma, this article discusses a simulation of an Abolitionist Society Convention in which students could role-play a truly diverse cast of characters working together for a common purpose. What the Abolitionist Society Convention allows students to see is that the most complex and nuanced debates in American history are not between those for and against social change, but among those who agree on the goal but disagree on the speed, scope, manner, and mode of change. The authors describe how to stage an Abolitionist Society Convention. (Contains 1 note.)