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In what ways do you think abolitionists contradicted on the scheme and goals of their own movement?

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Fredrick Douglass was an important figure in history who changed the lives of many enslaved people. As a slave himself, he was only 16 years old when he was held against his own will. Part of the reason he was admired by many was because he fought against his owner for freedom. He was beaten and tortured for months by his possessor who wouldn't leave him alone. As a few days passed, Douglass was demanded to work in the stables to feed the horses. While he was doing his job, Mr.Covey (his owner) came in to give him another beating, or so he thought he was, but Douglass didn’t stand a chance with him anymore. So as a result, he decided to grab Covey by the neck and fought vigorously for his rights. After that situation, Douglass was never bothered again. One of his many famous and inspirational quotes is, “If there’s no struggle, there’s no progress.”

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Josiah was a slave who kept his promises. Henson was born and raised in Charles County, Maryland and soon later moved to Kentucky. One day he promised he'd complete his missions for his master. So, the master gave him small amounts of money and food to survive on for a while and with that money, he bought a one-horse wagon and headed on his journey to West Virginia. He sold the horse, bought a boat with the money he got from selling the horse, and continued his mission heading down the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. Josiah had to resist the urge to join the colored people gathering around who argued to get them to leave their masters and run away to be free. Josiah always wanted to be free from being a slave, and the idea of running away was not an option. He could go forward with nor considered it. But Josiah knew he wouldn’t break his promise even if he was tempted to. Every cent he had and was able to call his own was kept for a very good purpose. Henson rescued 118 enslaved people, including his own brother, and helped build a 500-person freeman settlement, which was called Dawn, that was known as one of the concluding stops on the Underground Railroad.

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The Abolition Movement was an arranged system in the 1830's - 1870's to discontinue the practice of slavery in the U.S. Most of the early abolitionists were white, religious Americans, but some of the most prominent leaders of the movement were also Black men and women who had escaped from bondage. Some historians assumed ideas set forth during the religious movement, known as the Second Great Awakening, that motivated abolitionists to ascend against slavery. Abolitionism was a huge controversial problem that further divided most of their country. In simplest terms, a group of people combined together to end slavery.

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Toms-Cabin

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What Is an Abolitionist?

An abolitionist, as the name implies, is a person who sought to abolish slavery during the 19th century. More specifically, these individuals sought the immediate and full emancipation of all enslaved people.

Most early abolitionists were white, religious Americans, but some of the most prominent leaders of the movement were also Black men and women who had escaped from bondage.

The abolitionists saw slavery as an abomination and an affliction on the United States, making it their goal to eradicate slave ownership. They sent petitions to Congress, ran for political office and inundated people of the South with anti-slavery literature.

These staunch activists wanted to abolish slavery completely, which differed from the ideas of other groups like the Free Soil Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery into U.S. territories and newly formed states such as Kansas.

Did you know? Female abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott went on to become prominent figures in the women's rights movement.

How Did Abolitionism Start?

Opposition to slavery wasn't a new concept when abolitionism started. Since the inception of the Atlantic slave trade, which began in the 16th century, critics voiced their disapproval of the system.

In an early effort to stop slavery, the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816, proposed the idea of freeing slaves and sending them back to Africa. This solution was thought to be a compromise between antislavery activists and slavery supporters.

By 1860, nearly 12,000 African Americans had returned to Africa.

Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which allowed Missouri to become a slave state, further provoked anti-slave sentiment in the North.

The abolitionist movement began as a more organized, radical and immediate effort to end slavery than earlier campaigns. It officially emerged around 1830.

Historians believe ideas set forth during the religious movement known as the Second Great Awakening inspired abolitionists to rise up against slavery. This Protestant revival encouraged the concept of adopting renewed morals, which centered around the idea that all men are created equal in the eyes of God.

Abolitionism started in states like New York and Massachusetts and quickly spread to other Northern states.

Laws Inflame Tensions

In 1850, Congress passed the controversial Fugitive Slave Act, which required all escaped enslaved people to be returned to their owners and American citizens to cooperate with the captures.

Seven years later, the Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott decision that Black people-free or enslaved-didn't have legal citizenship rights. Owners of enslaved people were also granted the right to take their enslaved workers to Western territories. These legal actions and court decisions sparked outrage among abolitionists.

Famous Abolitionists

Many Americans, including free and formerly enslaved people, worked tirelessly to support the abolitionist movement. Some of the most famous abolitionists included:

William Lloyd Garrison: A very influential early abolitionist, Garrison started a publication called The Liberator, which supported the immediate freeing of all enslaved men and women.

Frederick Douglass: Douglass escaped slavery himself and published a memoir titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. An instrumental figure in the abolitionist movement, he also supported women's suffrage.

Harriet Beecher Stowe: Stowe was an author and abolitionist who was best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Susan B. Anthony: Anthony was an author, speaker and women's rights activist who also supported the abolitionist movement. She is revered for her diligent efforts in fighting for women's rights to vote.

: Brown was a radical abolitionist who organized various raids and uprisings, including an infamous raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

Harriet Tubman: Tubman was a fugitive enslaved person and abolitionist who was known for helping escaped enslaved people reach the North via the Underground Railroad network.

Sojourner Truth: Best known for her speech, "Ain't I a Woman?," Truth was both an abolitionist and a women's rights advocate.

Rift Widens Between North and South

As it gained momentum, the abolitionist movement caused increasing friction between states in the North and the slave-owning South. Critics of abolition argued that it contradicted the U.S. Constitution, which left the option of slavery up to individual states.

Abolitionism was illegal in the South, and President Andrew Jackson banned the U.S. Postal Service from delivering any publications that supported the movement.

In 1833, a white student at Lane Theological Seminary named Amos Dresser was publicly whipped in Nashville, Tennessee, for possessing abolitionist literature while traveling through the city.

Elijah Lovejoy

In 1837, a pro-slavery mob attacked a warehouse in Alton, Illinois, in an attempt to destroy abolitionist press materials. During the raid, they shot and killed newspaper editor and abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy.

After the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was passed, both pro- and anti-slavery groups inhabited the Kansas Territory. In 1856, a pro-slavery group attacked the town of Lawrence, which was founded by abolitionists from Massachusetts. In retaliation, abolitionist John Brown organized a raid that killed five pro-slavery settlers.

Then, in 1859, Brown led 21 men to capture the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He and his followers were seized by a group of Marines and convicted of treason. Brown was hanged for the crime.

The Civil War and Its Aftermath

President Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery but was cautious about fully supporting the more radical ideas of the abolitionists. As the power struggle between the North and the South reached its peak, the Civil War broke out in 1861.

As the bloody war waged on, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, calling for the freeing of enslaved people in areas of the rebellion. And in 1865, the Constitution was ratified to include the Thirteenth Amendment, which officially abolished all forms of slavery in the United States.

Abolitionist Movement Ends

Though the abolitionist movement seemed to dissolve after the addition of the Thirteenth Amendment, many historians argue that the effort didn't completely cease until the 1870 passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which extended voting rights to Black men. Meanwhile, the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including former enslaved people.

When slavery officially ended, many prominent abolitionists turned their focus to women's rights issues. Historians believe that the experiences and lessons learned during the abolitionist movement paved the way for leaders who were eventually successful in the women's suffrage movements.

Abolitionist ideals and traditions also served as a model for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP), which was formed in 1909.

HISTORY Vault: Black History

Sources

Abolition and the Abolitionists. National Geographic.
Early abolition. Khan Academy.
Abolitionist Sentiment Grows. UShistory.org.

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Abolitionist Movement - Definition & Famous Abolitionists | HISTORY

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The abolitionist movement was the effort to end slavery, led by famous abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and John Brown.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Josiah Henson, (born June 15, 1789, Charles county, Maryland, U.S.-died May 5, 1883, Dresden, Ontario, Canada), American labourer and clergyman who escaped slavery in 1830 and found refuge in Canada, where he became the driving force behind the Dawn Settlement, a model community for former slaves. He was also involved in the Underground Railroad, and he served as a model for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1851-52).

Henson was born on a plantation in Maryland. From an early age, he witnessed the brutality of slavery, notably when his father tried to defend Josiah's mother from an overseer. As punishment, his father endured 100 lashes, had an ear cut off, and was sold to another slaveowner farther south. Henson never saw or heard of his father again. Henson passed through several owners before being bought by Isaac Riley of Montgomery county, Maryland. He subsequently became a trusted overseer, and in 1825 Henson was tasked with transporting slaves to the Kentucky plantation of Riley's brother. Although there were various opportunities to escape, Henson and the slaves arrived in Kentucky later that year. In about 1829 Isaac Riley agreed to grant Henson's freedom in exchange for $450. Henson had already raised most of the money by preaching, but Riley later dramatically increased the fee. Soon after, Henson learned of plans to sell him, separating him from his wife and children. In 1830 the Henson family fled to Canada, receiving shelter and support at safe houses along the Underground Railroad. Once established in Canada, Henson occasionally returned to the United States, where he led other runaway slaves on the long perilous trek to freedom along the Underground Railroad. It was reported that he helped some 200 slaves.

In Canada Henson became a leader among the growing number of fugitive slaves. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the Dawn Settlement in Dresden, Ontario. Its goal was to employ and educate former slaves, and a focal point of the settlement was the British-American Institute, an industrial school. To secure financial backing for the community, Henson made a number of trips to the United States and Great Britain. In 1851 he was granted a personal audience with Queen Victoria.

Henson's autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, was published in 1849; it was subsequently reprinted under a variety of titles. Stowe cited the work among her sources for Uncle Tom's Cabin. In 1983 Henson became the first black person to be featured on a Canadian postage stamp.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Amy Tikkanen.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

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Josiah Henson, American laborer and clergyman who escaped slavery in 1830 and found refuge in Canada, where he became the driving force behind the Dawn Settlement, a model community for former slaves. He was also involved in the Underground Railroad. Learn more about Henson's life and work.

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African Americans presented a real problem that was going on. As time wore off, slavery got worse and worse. Multiple ways included whipping, torture, mutilation, getting separated from there family's and being sold. When slaves would get sold, some "masters" were not as cruel and punished less, or often severely Enslaved African Americans could never forget their status as property, no matter how well their owners treated them. The diets of enslaved people were inadequate or barely adequate to meet the demands of their heavy workload. They lived in crude quarters that left them vulnerable to bad weather and disease. Their clothes and bedding were low quality. Slaves who worked as domestics sometimes fared better, and getting the castoff clothing of their masters or having easier access to food stores.

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In the end, abolitionists began to organize. They formed antislavery societies that drafted petitions calling for an end to slavery and later on sent them to Congress. They gave speeches and held conferences to promote their cause, and did what needed to be done to fight for justice!