Abolitionists:Chapter 12, Section 1

Reactions to social injustice can lead to reform movements. Many reformers turned their attention

to eliminating slavery.

Road to Civil War

Early Efforts to End Slavery• Main Idea: By the early 1800s, a growing number of

Americans had begun to demand an immediate end to slavery in the South.

• William Lloyd Garrison:– Fought strongly for the right of African Americans to be

free. Shared outrage at notion that people could be bought and sold as objects... “Is this a man or a thing?!” (referring to Frederick Douglass)

• Spirit of reform of early 1800s led to– Improvements in education– Expanding the arts– Abolitionists working to end slavery

More Early Efforts…• Prior to American Revolution…

– Constitutional Convention of 1787• Tried to reach compromise on slavery

• Let each state decide

– By early 1800s Northern states had ended slavery

• Religious revival and reform of mid-1800s renewed antislavery movement– Many came to believe slavery was wrong, but not

everyone agreed and conflict continued to build

– Benjamin Lundy, newspaper founder, spread message• “I heard the wall of the captive. I felt his pang of distress, and

the iron entered my soul.”

American Colonization Society• Formed 1816

– First large scale antislavery effort made up of group of white Virginians

– Aimed at resettling A.Americans in Africa/Caribbean– Attempted to free slaves by purchasing them and

sending them abroad to start new lived– Raised money from private donors, Congress, state

legislatures to purchase colony in Africa• Liberia – “place of freedom”

• 1847 Liberia became independent country– American emigration to Liberia continued until Civil War– 12,000-20,000 settled in Liberia from 1822-65

American Colonization Society cont.

• ACS did not halt or stop growth of slavery– Number of slaves still increased– Could only resettle a small number of slaves

• Many African Americans considered US their home– Didn’t want to leave toanother country– Born here, lived herefor generations– Wanted to be free inTHEIR country

1. Why did delegates at the Constitutional Convention agree to let states decide whether to allow slavery in the first place?

2. What are some reasons that enslaved African Americans might NOT want to emigrate to Liberia if given the opportunity?

3. How did the American Colonization Society fight slavery?

The New Abolitionists• Main Idea: The issue of slaverybecame the most pressing socialissue for reformers, beginning inthe 1830s.

• The Movement Changes...– Reformers realized that a gradual

approach fails, that slavery still

increased because of cotton boom in

the Deep South

– But by 1830 movement took on new life, becoming the most pressing social issue

William Lloyd Garrison• One of the first white abolitionists; stimulated growth of

antislavery movement

• 1829, left Massachusetts for Baltimore– Went to work for country’s leading antislavery newspaper

• 1831, returned to Boston– Found (abolitionist) newspaper The Liberator

– “I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD”

– Called for the “immediate and complete emancipation” of enslaved people

• 1832, started the New England Antislavery Society– By 1838, grew to more than 1,000 chapters or local branches

The Grimke Sisters• Sarah and Angelina

– Two of the 1st women to publicly speak against slavery– Born in wealthy SC slaveholding family before moving

north to Philadelphia• Lectured/wrote against slavery• “As a Southerner, I feel that it is my duty to stand up…against

slavery. I have seen it! I have seen it!”

– Persuaded their mother to give them their inheritance, in the form of slaves (not money/land) and freed them

– Together – with Angelina’s husband – wrote publication American Slavery As It Is, sold over 100,000 copies in first year

African American Abolitionists• Abolition of slavery was an especially important

goal to the FREE African Americans of the North– Many lived in poverty in cities

– Excluded from most jobs

– Often attacked by white mobs

– STILL proud of their freedom and wanted to help those still enslaved

• Organized and directed American Antislavery Society, subscribing many to The Liberator

• 1827, Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm started country’s first African American newspaper, Freedom’s Journal

• David Walker, born free, wrote against slavery– “America is more our country than it is the whites’–we

have enriched it with our blood and tears”

• 1830 free African American leaders met in first convention in Philadelphia– Met to “devise ways and means for the bettering of our

condition”

– Wanted to start first African American college

– Encouraged emigration to Canada

Samuel Cornish

John Russwurm

David Walker

Frederick Douglass• Most widely known African Americanabolitionist for Escaping slavery (1838) &teaching himself to read and write• As a runaway, could have been captured/returned to slavery• Joined the Massachusetts Antislavery Society

– Traveling/speaking all over US, London, West Indies• For 16 years he edited antislavery newspaper North Star• Returned to US insisting slaves must receive freedom AND

full equality• 1847, finally bought freedom from slaveholder whom he

had fled

Sojourner Truth• AKA Isabella “Belle” Baumfree

– Escaped in 1826 and gained official freedom in 1827

– Recovered a son who had been sold as a slave

– Settled family in New York City,

supporting them by doing various

domestic work

– Dedicated life to abolition and

women’s rights movements

• Chose new name “because from

this day I will walk in the light

of truth”

1. What content in the book American Slavery As It Is made it so influential?

2. In what ways was life similar for enslaved African Americans in the South and free African Americans in the North?

3. Why would African Americans who escaped slavery risk being recaptured by speaking and writing against it?

4. Why did Frederick Douglass return to the United States?

The Underground Railroad

• Main Idea: Abolitionists established a network of routes and risked their lives to help African Americans escape slavery.

• Outrage in Boston– Runaway slave, Anthony Burns,

caught and returned to slavery– Abolitionists attempted to

rescue Burns and buy his freedom, but failed

The Fugitive Slave Act• (1850) Required all citizens to help catch runaways.

Could be fined/imprisoned for aiding fugitives– Southerners believed it would force Northerners to

recognize their rights

– Instead, enforcement angered Northerners, convincing more people of the evils of slavery

• Slaveholders upped efforts to catch runaway slaves– Tried to capture runaways who had lived free for years

– Seized free African Americans who weren’t even runaways and forced them into slavery

Resistance to the Law

• Northerners refused to cooperate with new law– Underground Railroad helped runaways make their way

to freedom

• Antislavery groups tried to rescue those being pursued or captured, others contributed funds to buy freedom

• Northern juries refused to convict those accused of breaking the Fugitive Slave Law

Harriet Tubman• Slave in Maryland, worked in

plantation fields until she was 30 before

making a break for freedom using

Underground Railroad

• Aware of the risk, she made 19 trips

back to the South during the 1850s helping other slaves (300!) escape to the North

• Known as the “Moses of her people” successfully leading slaves to freedom

1. Explain how African Americans and Southern slave owners might view the Underground Railroad differently.

2. Why do many of the routes on the Underground Railroad lead to Canada?

3. What was the Underground Railroad?4. Describe the American Colonization Society’s solution to

slavery.5. How did William Lloyd Garrison help the abolitionist

movement?6. What role did Harriet Tubman play in the antislavery

movement?