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Demanding an End to Slavery Abolitionists were bold in their statementsand reactions to their beliefs were just as fierce. David Walker, a free AfricanAmerican in Boston, printed a pamphlet in 1829 urging slaves to revolt.Copies of the pamphlet appeared in the South. This angered slaveholders.Shortly afterward, Walker died; some believed he had been poisoned.

Some Northern whites also fought slavery. In1831, William Lloyd Garrison began publishing anabolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, in Boston. Ofhis antislavery stand, he wrote, “I will not retreata single inch—AND I WILL BE HEARD.” Manyhated his views. In 1835, a mob in Boston grabbedGarrison and dragged him toward a park to hanghim. He was rescued by the mayor.

Two famous abolitionists were Southernerswho grew up on a plantation. Sisters Sarah andAngelina Grimké believed that slavery was morallywrong. They moved to the North and spoke outagainst slavery, even though women at the timewere not supposed to lecture in public. TheodoreWeld, Angelina’s husband, led a campaign to sendantislavery petitions to Congress. Proslavery con-gressmen passed a gag rule to prevent the readingof petitions in Congress.

President John Quincy Adams ignored the gagrule and read the petitions. He also introducedan amendment to abolish slavery. Proslavery con-gressmen tried to stop him. Such efforts, however,weakened the proslavery cause by showing them tobe opponents of free speech. Adams also defendeda group of enslaved Africans who had rebelled onthe slave ship Amistad. He successfully argued theircase before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1841, andthe Africans returned home immediately.

Eyewitness to Slavery Two powerful abolition-ist speakers, Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass and Sojourner TruthSojourner Truth,spoke from their own experiences of having beenenslaved. Douglass had a long career as a lecturerfor the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.

People who opposed abolition spread rumorsthat the brilliant speaker could never have beena slave. To prove them wrong, in 1845 Douglasspublished an autobiography that vividly narratedhis slave experiences. Afterward, he feared recap-ture by his owner, so he left America for a two-yearspeaking tour of Great Britain and Ireland. WhenDouglass returned, he bought his freedom.

Frederick Douglass 1818–1895

When lecturing on abolition, Douglass—anescaped slave—was often introduced as “a pieceof property.” Douglass was a popular and eloquentspeaker who had few equals on the lecture circuit.Abolitionists welcomed his graphic descriptionsof slave life as a way to publicize the injustice ofslavery. As his popularity grew, Douglass began tointroduce the topic of racial discrimination in theNorth. In addition to lecturing, Douglass publishedhis autobiography and an abolitionist newspaper,The North Star. He said that in the North, people“are far wealthier than any plantation owner—theyare rich with freedom.”

CRITICAL THINKING1. Draw Conclusions How might Douglass’s life

experiences have made him a persuasive speaker?

2. Make Inferences What did Douglass mean byNortherners being “rich with freedom”?

History Makers

For more on Frederick Douglass, goto the Research & Writing Center@ ClassZone.com

ONLINEBIOGRAPHY

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DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION

More About . . .

Abolition and Early State Constitutions

In 1777, Vermont’s constitution banned slavery, but it was the only state constitution to explicitly do so. Other states passed laws for gradual emancipation, including Pennsylvania (1780), Connecticut (1784), Rhode Island (1784), New York (1799), and New Jersey (1804). In Massachusetts, most historians credit a 1783 court case, Commonwealth v. Jennison(also known as the Quock Walker case), with ending slavery there, although no official document from this case directly banned slavery.

Unit 5 Resource Book• Primary and Secondary Sources,

pp. 164–165

Go online to explore more of the heated debate at ClassZone.com

RESEARCH & WRITING CENTER

History Makers

Frederick Douglass

Find links to biographies of Frederick Douglass at the Research and Writing Center @ ClassZone.com. Born Frederick Bailey, Douglass was the son of a black mother and a white father. When he was eight, his owner sent him to be a servant for the Hugh Auld family. Mrs. Auld defied state law and taught young Frederick to read. At the age of 16, Douglass returned to the plantation as a field hand. He endured so many whippings, he later wrote, “I was seldom free from a sore back.”

In 1838, Douglass escaped by hopping a train with a borrowed pass. To avoid recapture, he changed his last name. Many years later, he returned to the Auld plantation to call on the owner. The elderly Auld apologized for his actions as a slave owner but also tried to defend them.

CRITICAL THINKING ANSWERS

1. Draw Conclusions Possible Answer: The abuses Douglass personally suffered provided audiences with convincing evidence of the injustice of slavery.

2. Make Inferences Douglass meant that freedom is much more valuable than any material wealth.

Unit 5 Resource Book• American Literature, pp. 167–170

English Learners

Vocabulary: Cognates

Point out that the verbs defend and rebelin the sentence “Adams also defended a group of Africans who had rebelled . . .” have cognates, or related words, in Spanish. Explain that these English words have the same Latin roots and the same meanings as the Spanish verbs defender and rebelarse.

Pre-AP

Cite Examples of Orators

Frederick Douglass influenced policy in America, largely because of his extraordinary abilities as an orator, or public speaker. Today, policymakers and reformers have access to so many forms of media that public speaking may be less influential. Have students discuss what value public speaking has in today’s society (in trials, sales presentations, campaign debates). Have them cite examples of strong public speakers they have heard.

A New Spirit of Change 467

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Connect Geography HistoryMovement How might weather or time of year affectthe movement along the Underground Railroad?

Harriet Tubman (left) with peopleshe helped to free

Underground Railroad

Sojourner Truth also began life enslaved, in New York State. In 1827, whenshe was about 30, Truth fled her owners and stayed with a Quaker family.She was originally called Isabella but changed her name in 1843 to reflecther life’s work: to sojourn (stay temporarily in a place) and “declare the truthto the people.” A bold and captivating speaker, Truth drew huge crowds.

The Underground Railroad Some brave abolitionists helped slaves escapeto freedom along the Underground RailroadUnderground Railroad. Neither underground nor a rail-road, the Underground Railroad was actually a series of aboveground escaperoutes from throughout the South up to the free North. On these routes,runaway slaves traveled on foot and by wagons, boats, and trains. Theyusually journeyed by night and hid by day in places called stations. Stables,attics, and cellars all served as stations. At his home in Rochester, New York,Frederick Douglass once housed 11 runaways at the same time.

The people who led the runaways to freedom were called conductors. Themost famous was Harriet TubmanHarriet Tubman, who was born into slavery in Maryland.She escaped in 1849 when she learned that her owner was about to sellher. Tubman later described her feelings as she crossed into the free state ofPennsylvania: “I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person nowthat I was free. There was such a glory over everything.”

After her escape, Harriet Tubman made 19 dangerous journeys to freeenslaved persons. She carried medicine to quiet crying babies. Her enemiesoffered $40,000 for her capture, but no one ever caught her. “I never run mytrain off the track and I never lost a passenger,” she proudly declared. Amongthe people she saved were her sister, brother, and parents.

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Inclusion

Model Interpreting a Map Key and Scale

For students who have difficulty analyzing visual information or spatial relationships, point out the colors on the Underground Railroad map that indicate free and slave states. Explain that the arrows show the directions of routes from the slave states to the free states. Call attention to the distances slaves had to travel and physical features that aided them on their journey.

Pre-AP

Infer Hazards of the Underground Railroad

Ask students to speculate on the perils that Underground Railroad participants faced. What hardships might the runaways have endured on the journey? What would their fate have been if they were captured? What were the risks for “conductors” and “station agents”? What conclusions can students draw about the scope and effectiveness of the Underground Railroad effort?

Underground Railroad

Connect Geography History

ANALYZING MAPS Have students study the map to identify geographic features that may have served as routes along the Underground Railroad. (rivers; lakes; Atlantic Ocean)

ANSWER

Movement Possible Answer: Rainy or cold weather would make traveling slower and more uncomfortable, but might also mean fewer men would be out hunting for the escaped slaves and dogs might have more trouble following a trail.

More About . . .

Harriet Tubman

When Harriet Tubman escaped from the plantation in Maryland where she was a field hand, she was unable to persuade her brothers and her husband to come with her. When she reached Pennsylvania, she said in a later account, she was free, but she was also alone—“a stranger in a strange land.”

Eventually Tubman helped guide six of her brothers, her elderly parents, and many other relatives to freedom. Some historians estimate that somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 enslaved Americans escaped through the Underground Railroad.

Unit 5 Resource Book• America’s History Makers,

pp. 157–158