W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2005 Treasonous Patriots: The Secret Committee of Six and Violent Abolitionism Kristen Kimberly Epps College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Epps, Kristen Kimberly, "Treasonous Patriots: The Secret Committee of Six and Violent Abolitionism" (2005). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626494. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-93h1-pg52 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. TREASONOUS PATRIOTS The Secret Committee of Six and Violent Abolitionism A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Kristen Kimberly Epps 2005 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Kristen KimberljpEpps Approved by the Committee, May 2005 A Dr. Carol Sheriff, Chair Dr. Melvin El Dr. Kris Lane ii To my family and friends for all of their love and support 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments v List of Figures vi Abstract vii Introduction 2 Chapter I. The Changing Face of Abolitionism 11 Who Were the Abolitionists? 12 Beginnings of Abolitionism 13 Immediatism and the Rise of Abolitionist Societies 15 Radicals in the Making 22 Contexts for Violence: Fugitive Slaves and Bleeding Kansas 31 Chapter II.