Regional economic interests led to social and political differences that seemed insurmountable
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4-6.2: Explain the contributions of abolitionists to the mounting tensions between the North and
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It is essential for students to know:
It is essential for students to know the meaning and have an understanding of the term
abolitionist. They also need to know that the abolitionist movement developed because of the
leadership of many individual Americans. The contributions of the abolitionists eventually
contributed to the secession of the South from the Union. This led to the Civil War that
ultimately led to the abolition of slavery. [The names below are arranged in order of their
appearance in the abolitionist movement. The order of the names also demonstrates how the
movement intensified as the argument between free and slave states intensified.]
William Lloyd Garrison was the publisher of an abolitionist newspaper known as The Liberator.
Garrison used the newspaper to tell everyone that slavery was wrong and should be abolished
immediately. He and others formed the American Anti-slavery Society, which published books
and papers advocating the emancipation of all slaves. Garrison’s newspaper was banned in the
South.
Sojourner Truth was the first African American woman to gain recognition as an anti-slavery
speaker. She was born a slave in New York but was freed through gradual emancipation. She had
a powerful speaking style and drew large audiences when she lectured about slavery and
women’s rights.
Fredrick Douglas taught himself to read and write while he was a slave. He escaped slavery and
became an eloquent spokesman for the abolitionist movement. Douglas published an antislavery
newspaper, known as The North Star, used his home as a “station” on the Underground
Railroad, and wrote his autobiography telling the conditions of slavery. Douglas then had to flee
from the country to England because of the fugitive slave law once his autobiography was
published and his identity and whereabouts revealed. Sympathetic readers “bought” his freedom
so he could return to the United States without being caught and returned by slave catchers. Once
the Civil War began, Douglass encouraged President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves and
worked to recruit Northern African Americans for the Union Army. After the war, he continued
to fight for the rights of African Americans and women.
Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who became one of the most successful “conductors” of
the Underground Railroad. [The Underground Railroad was not a real railroad but a chain of
homes where escaped slaves could ask for help, find shelter for the night, or catch a ride to the
next stop.] Tubman was known as the “Moses” of her people because she led more than 300
slaves out of the South (mainly in Maryland, but also some in South Carolina) to freedom. True
freedom was found only in Canada because the fugitive slave Law required the return of slaves
(as property) from anywhere in the United States. Tubman also served as a spy for the Union
Army during the Civil War.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe’s book became a
best seller and revealed to many the cruelty of slavery. Stowe wrote the book in response to the
more rigorous fugitive slave law that was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. President
Lincoln’s humorous comment, “So you’re the little lady that stared this great big war” when
introduced to Stowe accurately reflects the impact of her book in both the North and South. The
book, magazine serial and play were all banned because of their unflattering portrayal of the
South. Many Northerners were moved toward the abolitionist cause but unfairly judged
Southerners by the book’s stereotypes.
John Brown was an abolitionist who migrated to Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act declared
that the territory would decide by popular sovereignty to become either slave or free soil
(territory). In Kansas, Brown and his sons instigated the violence that gave the territory the name
“Bleeding Kansas.” John Brown’s most infamous role, however, was his leadership in a raid on
the United States arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in Virginia. He hoped to capture guns and lead a slave
revolt that would spread across the country. John Brown’s raid was unsuccessful. He and his
followers were captured by federal troops under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. As a
result of his actions, he was tried and found guilty of treason. Brown was hanged. He was
hailed as a martyr by some vocal Northerner abolitionists, and thus became a source of great fear
to Southerners, who mistook the actions of some Northern abolitionists as the opinion of all
Northerners. Brown’s radical solution to slavery further divided the North and South because
Southerners believed that Northerners were of the same stereotypical radial abolitionist mindset
(committing murder and revolt to end slavery) as Brown.
It is essential for students to know the meaning and have an understanding of the term
abolitionist. They also need to know that the abolitionist movement developed because of the
leadership of many individual Americans. The contributions of the abolitionists eventually
contributed to the secession of the South from the Union. This led to the Civil War that
ultimately led to the abolition of slavery. [The names below are arranged in order of their
appearance in the abolitionist movement. The order of the names also demonstrates how the
movement intensified as the argument between free and slave states intensified.]
William Lloyd Garrison was the publisher of an abolitionist newspaper known as The Liberator.
Garrison used the newspaper to tell everyone that slavery was wrong and should be abolished
immediately. He and others formed the American Anti-slavery Society, which published books
and papers advocating the emancipation of all slaves. Garrison’s newspaper was banned in the
South.
Sojourner Truth was the first African American woman to gain recognition as an anti-slavery
speaker. She was born a slave in New York but was freed through gradual emancipation. She had
a powerful speaking style and drew large audiences when she lectured about slavery and
women’s rights.
Fredrick Douglas taught himself to read and write while he was a slave. He escaped slavery and
became an eloquent spokesman for the abolitionist movement. Douglas published an antislavery
newspaper, known as The North Star, used his home as a “station” on the Underground
Railroad, and wrote his autobiography telling the conditions of slavery. Douglas then had to flee
from the country to England because of the fugitive slave law once his autobiography was
published and his identity and whereabouts revealed. Sympathetic readers “bought” his freedom
so he could return to the United States without being caught and returned by slave catchers. Once
the Civil War began, Douglass encouraged President Lincoln to emancipate the slaves and
worked to recruit Northern African Americans for the Union Army. After the war, he continued
to fight for the rights of African Americans and women.
Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who became one of the most successful “conductors” of
the Underground Railroad. [The Underground Railroad was not a real railroad but a chain of
homes where escaped slaves could ask for help, find shelter for the night, or catch a ride to the
next stop.] Tubman was known as the “Moses” of her people because she led more than 300
slaves out of the South (mainly in Maryland, but also some in South Carolina) to freedom. True
freedom was found only in Canada because the fugitive slave Law required the return of slaves
(as property) from anywhere in the United States. Tubman also served as a spy for the Union
Army during the Civil War.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe’s book became a
best seller and revealed to many the cruelty of slavery. Stowe wrote the book in response to the
more rigorous fugitive slave law that was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. President
Lincoln’s humorous comment, “So you’re the little lady that stared this great big war” when
introduced to Stowe accurately reflects the impact of her book in both the North and South. The
book, magazine serial and play were all banned because of their unflattering portrayal of the
South. Many Northerners were moved toward the abolitionist cause but unfairly judged
Southerners by the book’s stereotypes.
John Brown was an abolitionist who migrated to Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act declared
that the territory would decide by popular sovereignty to become either slave or free soil
(territory). In Kansas, Brown and his sons instigated the violence that gave the territory the name
“Bleeding Kansas.” John Brown’s most infamous role, however, was his leadership in a raid on
the United States arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in Virginia. He hoped to capture guns and lead a slave
revolt that would spread across the country. John Brown’s raid was unsuccessful. He and his
followers were captured by federal troops under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. As a
result of his actions, he was tried and found guilty of treason. Brown was hanged. He was
hailed as a martyr by some vocal Northerner abolitionists, and thus became a source of great fear
to Southerners, who mistook the actions of some Northern abolitionists as the opinion of all
Northerners. Brown’s radical solution to slavery further divided the North and South because
Southerners believed that Northerners were of the same stereotypical radial abolitionist mindset
(committing murder and revolt to end slavery) as Brown.