The Abolitionist Movement
Slavery
• all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself [herself] voluntarily
• Control through violence or threat of violence
• Exploitation for profit
• Loss of free will
Abolition
• Definition: A complete end to slavery
• Abolitionist: some one that works toward a complete end to slavery.
• Emancipation: The immediate freedom from the control of another person.
History
• Quakers fought for an end to slavery from colonial times
• In the Second Great Awakening Christians pushed for change on moral grounds.
• Words of the Declaration of Independence included equality for all.
Spreading the Message
• Newspapers/Books– The Liberator: poetry and literature– The North Star & Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass
• Speaking Tours– Some white activist: Angelina and Sarah Grimke– Freed African Americans: Frederick Douglass,
Sojourner Truth and Charles Remond
• Groups– American Anti-Slavery Society: wanted an end to
slavery immediately
Underground Railroad
• A network of people that arrange transportation and hiding places for African Americans as they try to escape from slavery.
• Spread path information in songs & other cultural tools
• Wore disguises and moved along the trails at night.
• Sometimes they were transported by hiding in boxes or wagons
Songs
• Go to the “Follow the Drinking Gourd Analysis” worksheet.
Quilt Patterns
• Monkey Wrench Drunkard’s Path
• Bow tie Bear Claw Trail
Underground Railroad
• Trail known as the “railroad”
• The hiding places during the day were called “stations”
• The abolitionists who traveled with the fugitives Conductors”…offered there home for protection were known as “station managers”
• Over 40,000 African Americans saved
Harriet Tubman
• Escaped from slavery in 1849
• Went back to the south 19 times to help others escape slavery
• She successfully led her family and 300 other African Americans to safety in the North and Canada.
• At one point the bounty for her capture was $40,000
Opposition
• Government: placed a gag rule on discussing emancipation petitions from 1836-1844.
North v. South
• South:– Slavery Necessary – Treat slaves well– Based on racism
• North:– Most believed slavery was wrong, but…– Freed slaves would not blend in– Take jobs from white men– Begin a war between the North & South– Did not want slavery to expand west