Chapter 9: Working for Reform

Chapter 9: Working for Reform Section 3: The Crusade for Abolition Pages: 297-302

The Crusade for Abolition • EARLY OPPONENTS OF SLAVERY: • Many Americans who were involved in reform efforts such as the Second Great Awakening and temperance movement believed that the institution of slavery should be abolished in the United States • During the colonial period, the Quakers were among the first Americans to speak out against slavery as a violation of religious principles • Many abolitionists aruged that slavery contradicted the fundamental argument of the Declaration of Independence – that all men are created equal

The Crusade for Abolition • EARLY OPPONENTS OF SLAVERY: • Colonization: (297-298) • Most northern states had abolished slavery by the early 1800s. • Some northerners supported a plan by the, American Colonization Society to send freed African Americans to Africa to found new settlements. In 1822 the society established Monrovia, the capital city of a settlement later called Liberia, on the west coast of Africa • Some white southerners supported colonization as a way to rid the South of free African Americans, whom they feared would incite slave rebellions

The Crusade for Abolition • EARLY OPPONENTS OF SLAVERY: • Colonization: (297-298) • Most northern supporters of colonization genuinely wanted to end slaver. Most people in both groups, however, shared the prejudice that African Americans were inferior to whites and would never fit into American society

The Crusade for Abolition • EARLY OPPONENTS OF SLAVERY: • African American Reaction: (298) • Many northern free African Americans opposed the American Colonization Society’s plan to banish them for America • At first, only free African Americans chose to resettle in Liberia. • Despite the discrimination that free African Americans faced, few wanted to leave the United States. • By 1830 just some 1,400 African Americans had settled in Liberia • Since it was clear that colonization was not popular, many abolitionists who had once supported the colonization plan began to turn against it

The Crusade for Abolition • EARLY OPPONENTS OF SLAVERY: • African American Reaction: (298) • It was clear that colonization was not popular, many abolitionists who had once supported colonization now were against it • African Americans began organizing among themselves to end slavery • By 1826 they ad formed more than 143 antislavery societies with the mission of freeing “their brothers in chains.” • In 1827 Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm started the first African American newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, to proclaim opposition to slavery

The Crusade for Abolition • ABOLITIONISTS CALL FOR ACTION (298-299) • Over time, activists began shifting their focus from colonization to abolition, working to immediately end slavery. • Two important publications,the Appeal and the Liberator,marked the start of a bold, energetic, and more organized attack on the institution of slavery • In 1829 David Walker, a free African American businessman for Boston published the Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, • He demanded immediate, universal abolition and called on free African Americans and slaves to take action – violent action if necessary – to gain freedom and equality • William Lloyd Garrison, a white New England journalist to action against slavery • William Lloyd Garrison, with financial backing from wealthy African Americans and white abolitionists, launched the Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper • William Lloyd Garrison insisted that slavery was a sin and a crime because it contradicted both the Bible and the Declaration of Independence

The Crusade for Abolition • VOICES OF THE AMERICAN ANIT-SLAVERY SOCIETY (300-301) • In 1833 prominent black and white abolitionists formed the American Anti-Slavery Society – the first national antislavery organization to be devoted to immediate abolition and racial equality • Although the society excluded women from formal membership, many women assumed important roles in the society’s efforts to abolish slavery

The Crusade for Abolition • VOICES OF THE AMERICAN ANIT-SLAVERY SOCIETY (300-301) • Frederick Douglass – a fugitive slave from Maryland • He became the most prominent escaped slave to speak out publicly against slavery. • Douglass used his considerable skills as a writer to fight slavery. His auto-biography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), became a classic critique of the institution of slavery. • Douglass published and anti-slavery newspaper, the North Star • Douglass’s wife, Anna Murray Douglass, also actively supported the abolitionist cause. • The Douglass’s used their home in Rochester, New York, as a depot for the Underground Railroad, she helped runaway slaves flee to Canada and freedom

The Crusade for Abolition • VOICES OF THE AMERICAN ANIT-SLAVERY SOCIETY (300-301) • The Grimke Sisters: • Angelina and Sarah Grimke were two of the most effective antislavery activists; they were from South Carolina • After becoming Quakers, they decided they could no longer live in a society that endorsed slavery • In her 1836 pamphlet, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South, Angelina Grimke, tried to convince other southern women to join her cause • As a result of this essay’s popularity, the Grimkes’ were among the first women to speak on behalf of the American Antislavery Society

The Crusade for Abolition • PROBLEMS FOR ABOLITIONISTS: (301-302) • VIOLENT RESISTENCE: • As the antislavery movement gained strength in the 1830s, violence against abolitionists increased. • An angry mob attacked and nearly killed William Lloyd Garrison in Boston in 1835 • Elijah Lovejoy, an abolitionist editor in Alton, Illinois, was murdered in 1837 as he tried to prevent a mob from destroying his printing press • NORTHERN opposition to abolition arose from fear and prejudice against African Americans. Many Northern wage earners feared competing with free African Americans for jobs. • In addition, northern merchants and mill owners were afraid that abolition would disrupt cotton production

The Crusade for Abolition • PROBLEMS FOR ABOLITIONISTS: (301-302) • The Movement Splinters: (301-302) • Abolitionists also faced divisions within their movement • William Lloyd Garrison, who frequently attacked churches and the government for accepting slavery, drew some criticism as his condemnations became more fierce • Garrison’s stubborn refusal to use less-offensive tactics angered moderate abolitionists, who supported slower change through the ballot box

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Chapter 9: Working for Reform