8.4

Black Abolitionists

Society in the early 1800’s had a rigid gender hierarchy

Women were expected to stay out of politics and were given few opportunities for public action

Church organizations were one of the few arenas where women could participate

Abolitionist Women

Charlotte Forten and Maria W. Stewart began the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society in 1833

Stewart became the first American women to address male audiences in public

She encouraged men to stand up and actively oppose slavery

Her speech accused men of not doing enough and she was received a great deal of negative backlash for her speech

Abolitionist Women

Most black women were poor and uneducated and did not have the social opportunity to be public advocates against slavery

They acted as practical abolitionists whom risked everything to harbor fugitive slaves and worked to purchase freedom for themselves and many others

Abolitionist Women

In Baltimore a group of African American abolitionists convinced prominent white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to take a more radical stance against slavery

Including denouncing the ideas of colonization in Africa, and gradual emancipation

William Watkins, Jacob Greener and Hezekiah Grice wrote letters advocating emancipation and greatly influenced the direction of the abolitionist movement

Garrison began a famous anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator where he pushed for immediate emancipation without compensation to slaveholders and without expatriation to Africa

The Baltimore Alliance

Two other black abolitionists shaped Garrison’s opinions; David Walker and Nat Turner

David Walker wrote an Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World in 1829 which was widely read and circulated throughout the South

In this writing he attacked racism and attacked slavery, he also suggested slaves use violence to secure their freedom

Walker’s Appeal

In 1831, Nat Turner, a privileged slave from Virginia initiated a large-scale slave uprising

Turner led a group of between 60 and 70 killed 57 whites before the militia put down his rebellion

This was the largest number of white casualties in a slave revolt

Turner and 17 of his associates were hanged for treason, but his revolt inspired many others

Nat Turner

Northern abolitionists of both races became committed to nonviolence after the white reaction to Turner’s rebellion

Turner however gained respect among these abolitionists and was often compared to revolutionary leaders like George Washington

The ideas of preaching peaceful abolition but admiring violence against slavery characterized the anti-slavery movement for years to come

Nat Turner

Assignment1. What role did black women play in the abolition

movement?

2. What was the Baltimore Alliance?

3. Who was William Lloyd Garrison? What were his contributions to the abolition movement?

4. What was David Walker’s Appeal and why was it important?

5. What was the significance of Nat Turner’s revolt?