Opposition to

Slavery
1800 – 1833

Let Your Motto

be Resistance
Unit 2 (1833 – 1850)
Resistance to Slavery Divides the
Nation
Revolts

• Denmark Vesey: former slave, encouraged his

fellow African Americans to fight for their
freedom.
• Lived in Charleston, South Carolina
purchased his freedom in 1800
• Inspired by the Haitian revolts, Vesey
organized a revolt of nearly 9,000
• Word got out and 139 were arrested
• Vesey and 34 others were hung.
 Slave Revolts
• Gabriel Prosser: blacksmith who traveled
freely organized a slave revolt in August
of 1800.
• Storm the Arsenal in Richmond,
Virginia
• Get weapons and take over the city
→ the entire state.
• The revolt was delayed because of rain
and two slaves exposed the plot and
authorities arrested and killed the
conspirators.
• New laws were created to restrict the
movement of slaves.
Opposition to Slavery
1800 - 1833
• The early 19th century witnessed the
beginnings of a committed antislavery
movement in the United States.
• Abolitionists, both black and white, fight
against the continuance of slavery. This
struggle will ultimately disunite the USA.
 A Country in Turmoil
• Political Parties React to Slavery
• Democratic Party
• Represented the interests of the South’s slaveholding white
male elite.
• Favored states’ rights that protected slavery from
interference by the national government.
• Supported the expansion of slavery into new territory.
• Whig Party
• Did not directly seek to end slavery. However, in the North,
the party’s focus on Christian morality and opposition to
territorial expansion attracted opponents of slavery.
• Some northern Whig politicians defended the human rights
of African Americans (as well as American Indians).
• Black men, who could vote, voted for Whig candidates.
 • A Religious Revival, known
as the 2nd Great
Awakening, gripped the
nation from the late 18th
century into the 1830s.
• This spurred reform
movements to improve
American society,
including….
• The Antislavery
(Abolition)
Movement
Revival -> Reform
 Abolitionism Begins in
America
• The Antislavery Movement was really two movements…
• Antislavery in the North
• Consisted of outspoken black and white
abolitionists
• The Quakers, a religious group, played a key role
in starting abolition organizations
• Antislavery in the South
• Consisted of slaves with the help of free blacks
and a few sympathetic whites
• Helped spread the antislavery movement but
had to operate more in secret
 Abolitionism Begins in
America
• Radical Attempts to Abolish Slaveries
• Efforts to launch slave revolts in the South
caused many proslavery whites to further
their commitment to continuing slavery.
• Nat Turner, a leader among slaves in VA,
deeply religious, felt was chosen by God to
lead his people to freedom; led a violent
slave revolt which left southern whites fearful
and again strengthened their position to
maintain slavery. He was later captured and
killed.
• Effects-More strict laws against blacks were
created.
 The Amistad Mutiny

• Captives abroad Spanish ship Amistad

revolted against crew in 1831
• Led by Joseph Cinque, the Africans
demanded to be returned to Africa
• The Ship was captured by the U.S.
• The U.S. Supreme Court, determined
that the captured Africans had a right to
defend themselves, and were granted
to return to Africa.
 First attempt in 1815; Paul Cuffe took 38
Americans to the British Colony of Sierra Leone

American Colonization Society in 1816

Colonization-
the Petitioned congress to get land in Africa; established U.S. colony
resettlement of Liberia; 1.200 Black Americans were there in 1830; 10,000
of black were eventually sent there.
people in
Africa Opinion among African Americans was split over the issue
of colonization.
Some believed blacks would never achieve equal status in the US,
so they should return to Africa. Others saw themselves as
Americans, and had no desire to return to Africa, a land they saw
as foreign.
Black Abolitionists
• Black women joined black men in opposition to
slavery.
• Those from wealthier families formed anti-slavery
societies and focused on educating black children.
• Those from poorer families (the majority) risked
everything to help fugitive slaves and also saved
their earnings to purchase freedom for themselves
or their loved ones.
• David Walker, born free in NC, aggressively attacked
slavery and white racism in his writing Appeal.
• His writing style would influence key white
abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.
Let Your Motto be
Resistance (1833 – 1850)
• In response to changes in
American culture, unrest
among slaves, and conflict
between the North and
South, the biracial northern
antislavery movement
became more divided but
also more powerful.
 A Rising Tide of
Racism and Violence
• Cause = The Abolition movement
gained momentum
• Effect = Anti-black riots increased
• Philadelphia experienced the
worst race riots of this period.
 The Response of the
Antislavery Movement

• William Lloyd Garrison

establishes the American Anti-
Slavery Society (AASS) in 1833.
• Dedicated to emancipation
and equal rights for African-
Americans. (Not Violent but
Uncompromising)
• Becomes the most important
abolitionist organization of its
time.
 The Response of the
Antislavery Movement
• Black men, black women, and white
female abolitionists formed
organizations to work alongside the
AASS.
• Also, local, state and national black
conventions created opportunities for
black abolitionists to speak out.
Black Community Institutions
• Free Black Communities contributed to the
spread of the abolition movement
• Black Churches played a key role in the
anti-slavery movement.
• The majority of black abolitionist
leaders were ministers.
• Black Newspapers were an important voice
for Abolition
• Examples: Frederick Douglass’s North
Star
The Changing
Abolitionist Movement
• In the 1830s…
• The AASS pursued a strategy
based on moral grounds,
challenging Americans to listen to
their Christian conscience.
• In the 1840s…
• The AASS split up in the face of
limited success, slave unrest, and
disagreement over the role of
women in the AASS.
 The Changing
Abolitionist Movement
• New Abolition organizations formed.
• Ex: The Liberty Party: 1st antislavery political
party
• Slave Revolts encouraged militancy among northern
abolitionists.
• Runaway slaves from the South traveled the
‘Underground Railroad’ to escape slavery.
• Networks of free blacks and some whites who
provided help to the fugitives in their escape.
• Many hoped to make it all the way to Canada.
• Harriet Tubman was one of the best known
conductors; helping 75,000 reach there
freedom
• Levi Coffin: man from Newport, Indiana helped
more than 2,000 slaves escape to freedom
 • 3 Key Concepts

1. During the 1840s more and more

black abolitionists became willing to
consider force to end slavery.

Resistance and 2. Gradually Black and White

Abolitionists Grew Apart
Nationalism
3. Black leaders debated Integration vs.
Nationalism
1. Should blacks integrate with
whites or seek to form their own
nation?