the abolition movement. before the early 1830s, slavery was discussed calmly. since slavery was...
TRANSCRIPT
The Abolition Movement
The Abolition Movement
Before the early 1830s, slavery was discussed calmly. Since slavery was banned in the North, most of the early
abolitionists were southerners.
The first abolitionists were Quakers and free blacks. Quakers believed that all people had the same `spark of
divinity,' making slavery immoral.
Quakers were among the first to free their slaves. Some Quakers traveled the
countryside urging slave-owners to free their slaves.
In the 1820s, a large anti-slavery movement emerged, supported by southerners and
represented by organizations such as the American Colonization Society.
While they opposed slavery,
they also believed that blacks and whites could not live together in
harmony. Therefore, while
they urged slaveowners to
free their slaves, they also raised money to pay for
the transportation of free blacks to
West Africa.
The American Colonization Society supported the colonization movement. They set up a country in
Africa (Liberia) where black people wishing to leave America could go (colonize).
The American Colonization Society supported the colonization movement. They set up a country in
Africa (Liberia) where black people wishing to leave America could go (colonize).
By 1860, nearly 11,000 blacks had gone to Liberia in West Africa, and helped found and build that country.
But most blacks refused
colonization, insisting that the
U. S. was their home.
William Lloyd Garrison was one of the most
uncompromising abolitionists of his
day. He was completely unwilling
to compromise on slavery. Slaveowners were evil and should
not receive reimbursement for
slaves freed by legislation. Abolition must be complete,
immediate, and without compensation.
Garrison didn't care what other social or economic
problems might be caused by immediate
emancipation. His words were so extreme and so harsh that he alienated many people who might
otherwise have supported his cause.
In the South, Garrison was despised as one who
encouraged slaves to revolt. Copies of his
antislavery newspaper “The Liberator” were banned, and a $5,000 reward was offered to
anyone who would capture Garrison and
bring him to Georgia to stand trial.
“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I
will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . I will not
equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – and I WILL BE HEARD!”
-- William Lloyd Garrison
Elijah P. Lovejoy was another extreme abolitionist.He wrote articles strongly condemning slavery.
An angry mob broke into his printing office in 1837. They dumped his printing press into the Mississippi
River, burned his office, and murdered him.
A more successful abolitionist was
Theodore Dwight Weld. He tried to
build a large antislavery
movement by appealing to the consciences of
Midwestern farmers and church groups.
Weld published a collection of newspaper articles detailing the horrors of slavery under the title,
“American Slavery As It Is.” Weld especially focused on southern accounts, in order to counter
southern claims that slave abuse almost never occurred.
Weld published a collection of newspaper articles detailing the horrors of slavery under the title,
“American Slavery As It Is.” Weld especially focused on southern accounts, in order to counter
southern claims that slave abuse almost never occurred.
Sarah GrimkeSarah Grimke Angelina GrimkeAngelina Grimke
Weld was married to Angelina Grimke. She and her sister Sarah were from a slaveholding family in
South Carolina, but had been converted to abolition by Quakers. Many conventional Americans were shocked by the idea of two women speaking
out publicly against slavery.
Weld was married to Angelina Grimke. She and her sister Sarah were from a slaveholding family in
South Carolina, but had been converted to abolition by Quakers. Many conventional Americans were shocked by the idea of two women speaking
out publicly against slavery.
Both women spoke out powerfully against
slavery. Many conventional Americans
were shocked by the idea of two women
speaking out in public.
In the North, free blacks
could become involved in the
abolition movement. Some black abolitionists
had once been slaves
themselves, and could tell of slavery's
horrors based on personal experience.
Two leading black abolitionists were Henry Highland Garnett and Frederick Douglass. As rivals
for black abolitionist leadership, they also demonstrated the divisions within the movement.
Highland Garnett was the more militant of the two, and as early as 1843 was calling for slaves to rise up against their owners and make themselves
free.
Garnett believed that any violence done by slaves in the act of freeing themselves was justified on the grounds of self
defense. His stated believe was that it was
better to die free than live as
slaves.
Frederick Douglass was the best orator, in the movement.
He used his talent as a great speaker to
help convince white politicians to end slavery. He had
escaped slavery as a youth, taught
himself to read and write, and published his Autobiography in 1845. He disagreed with Garnett on the role of violence in
abolition, but not on the degradations of
slavery.
He worked tirelessly with white politicians
and social leaders throughout the
1840s and `50s, and beyond the Civil War.
Until his death in 1895, Douglass
spoke out on behalf of black equality, the
rights of working people, and for the right of women to
vote.
Black women such as Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman also played major roles in the antislavery
movement.
Black women such as Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman also played major roles in the antislavery
movement.
Isabella Baumfree had been born a
slave, and changed her name to
Sojourner Truth when she became free. Although she
was illiterate, Truth stood six feet
tall and was a powerful speaker
(made fiery speeches) who
sometimes in her speeches used songs she had
composed to rouse audiences.
Harriet Tubman was a runaway slave from
Maryland. She aided the movement by working as a `conductor' on the Underground Railroad, an informal network of abolitionists who hid
runaway slaves fleeing to Canada.
At the risk of her own freedom and safety, Tubman
returned to slave states nineteen times to guide other blacks to
freedom.