Who Were the Abolitionists in American History?

Study Notes

An abolitionist is an individual who advocates for the elimination of a practice, such as slavery or capital punishment.
The most significant abolitionists in American history were active in North America from around 1829-1850.

The abolitionist movement aimed to end slavery in America, following the abolition of slavery in Great Britain.
Abolitionists believed that slavery was a weakness and a disgrace to the United States.
They sent petitions to Congress, ran for political offices, and distributed literature to inform people in the South about the evils of slavery.
The movement led to a political uprising, causing the Civil War, which ultimately extended voting rights to Black male Americans.

David Walker: called for the abolition of slavery, denouncing it in a pamphlet in 1829, encouraging slaves to fight for their freedom.
William Lloyd Garrison: founded the abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator" in 1830 and assisted in the formation of the New England Anti-Slavery Society.
Frederick Douglass: a former slave who escaped to become a writer, speaker, and activist, advocating for the abolition of slavery in America.
Henry Highland Garnet: an abolitionist who used a militant approach to end slavery, speaking against it in England and supporting the freedom of movement for Black people.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: a writer who wrote a novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", highlighting the evils of slavery, which angered the South.
Harriet Tubman: an abolitionist who escaped from slavery and assisted others to gain their freedom, also serving in the military and getting married while still enslaved.
Sojourner Truth: an abolitionist who helped Black people escape slavery on the Underground Railroad, urging them to be hardworking and valuable to avoid exploitation.

David Walker: "Let no man of us budge one step, and let slaveholders come to beat us from our country. America is more our country than it is the whites-we have enriched it with our blood and tears."
William Lloyd Garrison: "Be faithful, be vigilant, be untiring in your efforts to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free."
Frederick Douglass: "Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?"
Henry Highland Garnet: "Let every slave throughout the land do this, and the days of slavery are numbered."
Harriet Beecher Stowe: "The longest way must have its close - the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning."
Harriet Tubman: "Slavery is the next thing to hell."
Sojourner Truth: "Ain't I a Woman"

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