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Essenhal Queshon Essen%al Ques%on: How did the words & ac%ons of the aboli%onists affect northerners, southerners, & slaves? Aboli%onism As we have discussed, the 2nd Great Awakening sparked many reform movements Around 1800, an%-slavery ac%vists had aacked human bondage as contrary to republicanism and liberty By the 1830s, white aboli%onists (those wan%ng to abolish slavery) were condemning slavery as a sin They demanded immediate, uncompensated emancipaon of slaves Their uncompromising demands led to fierce poli%cal debates, urban riots, & sec%onal conflict Black Social Thought: UpliR, Equality, Rebellion Beginning in the 1790s, leading African Americans in the North advocated the strategy of social upliR Social upliR encouraged free blacks to “elevate” themselves through educaon, temperance, & hard work They argued that if blacks could become “respectable,” they could become the social equals of whites The Apostles of Social UpliR Black leaders such as James Forten, a Philadelphia sailmaker; Prince Hall, a Boston barber; and James Forten ministers Hosea Easton & Richard Allen promoted social upliR Prince Hall They founded an array of churches, schools, & self-help organizaons Rev. Richard Allen They got help from John Russwurm and Samuel D. Cornish, who published the first African John Russwurm American newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, in New York in 1827 Samuel D. Cornish No Equality Here While blacks earnestly sought equality, most whites were unwilling to accept African Americans as equals Mo%vated by racial contempt, white mobs terrorized black communi%es in Boston, Philadelphia, & other northern ci%es The aacks in Cincinna were so violent and destruc%ve that several hundred African Americans fled to Canada for safety David Walker’s Appeal In response to the aacks, David Walker published a s%rring pamphlet, “An Appeal to the Colored Ci%zens of the World” in 1829 Walker was a free black from North Carolina who moved to Boston, where he sold second- hand clothes & copies of Freedom’s Journal A self-educated author, Walker’s pamphlet protested black “wretchedness in this Republican land of liberty!!!!!” Walker’s Warning Walker ridiculed the religious pretensions of the slaveholders, jus%fied slave rebellion, & warned of a slave revolt if jus%ce were delayed “We must and shall be free… and woe, woe, will it be to you if we have to obtain our freedom by fighng…Your destruc%on is at hand, and will be speedily consummated unless you repent.” Walker’s pamphlet quickly went through 3 prin%ngs, and carried by black merchant seamen, reached free African Americans in the South A Naonal Conven%on & Poli%cs 1830—Walker & other African American ac%vists called a naonal conven%on at Pennsylvania Hall (right) in Philadelphia Few were as radical as Walker, & the delegates refused to endorse a call for a slave revolt, or go back to the tradi%onal upliR for free blacks Instead, the new generaon of ac%vists demanded freedom & racial equality for those of African descent They urged blacks to use every legal means, from pe%%ons to poli%cal protest, to end slavery Then one slave made Walker’s predic%on of violence come true Nat Turner’s Revolt Nat Turner, a slave, staged a bloody revolt in August, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia Turner had taught himself to read as a child, & had hoped for emancipaon, but his new owner made him work in the fields When he was sold again, he was separated from his wife During this %me, Turner had a religious vision in which “the Spirit” told him he should fight against “the Serpent” of slavery It Started With an Eclipse of the Sun Taking a solar eclipse as an omen, Turner & handful of slaves rose in rebellion, killing at least 55 white men, women, & children Turner had hoped hundreds of slaves would rally to his cause, but only 60 turned out The white mili%a quickly turned out in force, dispersing his poorly armed force, & taking revenge One company of cavalry killed 40 blacks in 2 days, & put their heads on poles to warn “all those who should undertake a similar plot” Nat Turner hid in the Virginia countryside for over a month un%l he was found by the mili%a Turner’s Legacy Turner was quickly put on trial and hanged, but s%ll iden%fied his mission as being from God Deeply shaken by the rebellion (& the hos%le words coming from Walker), the Virginia Assembly debated a law providing for gradual emancipaon & colonizaon abroad The measure failed 73-58, ending the possibility that slave owners would voluntarily end slavery Instead, southern states would toughen their slave codes, limit black movement, & prohibit anyone from teaching slaves to read What if 8 votes in the Virginia Assembly had switched sides? Would there have been a Civil War? Nat Turner Worksheet Was Nat Turner a Hero or a Madman? .
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