Abolitionism of Slavery

Definitions
● Abolitionism is the policy of the ending of
something, particularly slavery.

● An abolitionist is a person who supports

abolition.

● Emancipation is the freeing of a slaves. You

“emancipate” a single slave.
 Early
Abolitionism
Colonial Days
1. Religious (Quakers) -- slave as
creature of God
2. Philosophical -- all men created
equal (Declaration of
Independence)
 Early Emancipation
• Massachusetts (1780s)
• Northwest Ordinance (1787) (Old North West)
• End of International Slave Trade (Constitution)
 Gradualism
Definition: Ending slavery over a span of time
Seen as Moderate/reasonable
Means: 1. Gradual Emancipation Laws (New York and
Pennsylvania)
2. Colonization (Henry Clay)
3. Free soil (Missouri Compromise)
Results: Growth of free blacks, North/South divide
 Immediate Action

1. Self-emancipation by slaves themselves / Fugitive

Slaves (Sojourner Truth)
2. 1830s: growth of “abolitionist” movement --
freedom NOW
3. Motivations: religious beliefs, free labor
principles, philosophical support of equality
(Transcendentalism)
4. Seen As Radical
 Abolitionists
1. Slave Narratives (Frederick
Douglass)
2. Media (William Garrison)
3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Book by
Harriet Beecher Stowe)
1850s
1. Mexican War and Growth of Free Soil
Movement
2. Free Soil -- Territory should be slavery-
free
3. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (Set back
for abolitionists)
4. Kansas - Nebraska Act
5. Creation of Republican Party
Violence
1. Slave Rebellions
2. Resistance to Fugitive Slave Law
3. Bloody Kansas
4. John Brown / Harpers Ferry

Compare: Non-Violent Resistance

(Underground Railroad)
 Civil War
1. Dred Scott
2. Election 0f 1860
3. Secession of Southern States
4. Emancipation Proclamation
5. Thirteenth Amendment