The Second Great Awakening and the

Abolitionist Movement!

The Second !Great Awakening!•  During the early 1800s, the

U.S. experienced a religious revival movement called the Second Great Awakening !

•  This movement began in rural areas but spread to cities by the 1820s and involved spiritual revival and the call for social reform !

•  Women played a significant role in this revivalism with many women volunteering at protestant churches !

The Second !Great Awakening!•  During the Second Great

Awakening many Christians began to speak out forcefully against slavery, which they considered to be a sin !

•  Many northerners opposed slavery on moral grounds, but others simply wanted to stop the spread of slavery in order to gain political advantage !

•  For both reasons, northern anti-slavery sentiment grew stronger in the 1820s and 30s and the abolition movement gained many supporters !

William Lloyd Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society!•  William Lloyd Garrison was a

white abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer!

•  He founded the abolitionist newspaper, the Liberator

•  He also founded the American Anti-Slavery Society !

•  Contrary to the belief of most anti-slavery Northerners, he believed that, in time, all blacks would be equal in every way to the country's white citizens!

“I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD.” !

– From the first issue of the Liberator!

Frederick Douglass and his gift as an orator!•  Frederick Douglass

was a prominent African American abolitionist, author and orator!

•  After escaping slavery he spent his life using his gift as public speaker to raise awareness about the issue of slavery and promote abolitionism !