The Spirit of Reform the roots of resistance
American History Spirit of Reform
Slavery becomes a tale of opposites: 2 North/South : In 1800 there were 50,000 slaves in Northern states and nearly 1,000,000 in Southern States. 3 American Colonization Society : One way to end slavery was to send Africans back to Africa. President James Monroe in 1822 helped set up the nation of Liberia4 for freed slaves to return to.
HOWEVER… many slaves in 1822 were descended of parents, grand parents and even great grandparents born in America, so few wanted to leave the U.S. 5! Spirit of Reform
By the 1830s, many focused their reform ideas on the treatment of blacks in slavery: 1 Quakers : this religious group believed all people were equal in the eyes of God (regardless of skin color). Quakers believe it a sin for one human to own another human. Spirit of Reform
The birth of Abolitionism 6 Goal of Abolitionists : wanted to completely end slavery 7 Frederick Douglass : was born into slavery, escaped and then became a prominent writer and speaker in New England. He published his own newspaper, the North Star. William Lloyd Garrison: a white publisher of the anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator. Spirit of Reform
Negative reaction to Abolitionism 8 Northern : factory owners and bankers were dependent upon cotton from the South (picked by slaves). Workers feared that ending slavery would mean blacks would move in and take their jobs at a lower pay. 9 Southern : white southerners feared abolitionists would encourage slave revolts and escapes. Slave owners became more stubborn to the issue. Even non-slave owners defended the southern economy based on slavery. Spirit of Reform
Grimke sisters speak out! 10 Abolitionists : Many of the women fighting for their freedom also saw the need for freedom from slavery for African-Americans. Spirit of Reform
Sojourner Truth speaks the truth 11 Abolitionists : Sojourner was born a slave but gained her freedom and then spoke out against slavery and for women’s rights. AKRON, Ohio: it is said that at a speech in Akron her most famous words were said: “I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that.” This is sometimes referred to as “Ain’t I a Woman” speech, as she is supposed to have used this line in the speech. Spirit of Reform
Extreme Abolitionism John Brown, a one time Akronite, believed in abolitionism so extremely he fought for it In Kansas during the 1850s, those for and against slavery fought violently to influence which way that territory would go in determining slavery during statehood. Brown was one of those fighting to keep slavery out of Kansas In Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, Brown led a revolt to steal guns from the armory and hand them to slaves to fight for their freedom. He was captured, put on trial and hanged Northerners saw him as a victim Southerners saw him as a crackpot Spirit of Reform The Underground Railroad
It wasn’t underground nor a railroad: a series of overland routes and homes were part of a network of black and white abolitionists helping escaped slaves reach freedom in the North and Canada.
To protect the secrecy of the routes and homes, railroad terms were used such as “conductor” for a guide and “stations” for homes. Spirit of Reform
The Underground Railroad Even in the North, the law wouldn’t help: The Fugitive Slave Law, passed when California was added as a free state, forced northerners to turn over escaped slaves to the authorities.