Abolition

Famous People During the Abolitionist Movement

Frederick Douglass

William Lloyd Garrison

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Introduction: Abolition is an act of abolishing or protesting a practice or system. People have always been against slavery, but during the 19th century Americans were more than ever calling for a reform in American ways.

Slavery has been a controversial issue throughout American history. Many citizens depended upon slavery for the prosperity of their cotton farms and industries. Other Americans believed that the use of the African Americans was a direct contradiction to the freedoms that were granted to Americans in the Declaration of Independence. The rights of liberty and equality that the founding fathers wanted for their people should be carried over to all residents within the US. As the need for slaves increased with the boom of the cotton gin, anti-slavery protests broke out.

Anti-slavery abolitionists went public. Abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison spoke out against slavery through protests and through newspapers like The Liberator, the first newspaper to demand an end to slavery. He wanted slaves to be emancipated without any compensation given to their owners. Protests were occurring throughout the country and nine states north of Maryland either emancipated their slaves or made gradual emancipation plans. There were other abolitionists too like Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Fredrick Douglass was the first runaway slave to speak out against slavery and even created his own anti-slavery newspaper called The North Star. Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin where she explained what life was like for the African Americans during slavery. The African Slave Trade also was put to a stop. Many people were not happy with this outbreak of antislavery events because they depended on these slaves for their own well-being. Some people thought that by bringing free slaves back to Africa to colonize would make the blacks happy, but in reality this was like bringing descendents over three generations younger than the original slaves away from their home and to a foreign land.

The American Anti-Slavery Society started in New York and then became a national organization. Two inspiring members were William Lloyd Garrison and Fredrick Douglass. The members of the society were made up of free black slaves and people of different religious groups, especially the Quakers. The society held anti-slavery meetings, distributed propaganda, held lectures, and signed petitions against slavery.

Many people had strong reactions to the abolitionists and held riots as well as destroyed the homes of abolitionists. Some Americans have always been against slavery, but never before have they publicly voiced their opinions to such an extent.

Bibliography

"Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy." //African American Odyssey//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. .

"Anti-Slavery Society." Anti-Slavery Society. Spartacus Educational. Web. March & April 2010. .

"Free-Soil Party." //Travel and History//. N.p., 2001. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. .

Garrison, William Lloyd. "The Liberator, 1831." //The Liberator, 1831//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. .