Abolition Of Slavery In The 1800's

Abolition of Slavery in America in the 1800's

Slavery is act in which a person or persons is sold, traded and forced to work against their will. The slaves are treated as property and not seen or viewed as people with human rights. Slavery was popular in England and the idea followed our settlers over seas and was incorporated into the American life. As time passed, some people began to see the inhumane side of slavery and wanted it to be completely abolished in the United States. Even 100+ years before the Civil War, controversy of slavery was an issue in the young country of America. There were many steps in history leading towards the abolition of slavery in 1865. The first was when slavery was made illegal in the Old Northwest in
Cornish and John B. Russwurm. They founded the first black owned and operated newspaper, known as Freedom's Journal, in America in 1827 in New York City. The company was established during the same year slavery was abolished in the state of New York. They used the paper to respond to racist criticism that was published in other newspapers and press and also to showcase other African-American news. But the most anti-slavery newspaper was The Liberator, published by William Lloyd Garrison of Boston in 1831. Garrison was not shy nor quiet about his feelings on the equality of man and the abomination known as slavery and earned his reputation for being one of the most extreme American abolitionists. In the very first article published he stated:
“On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch – and I will be heard.” -William Lloyd Garrison. (The Liberator: “To the
The abolitionists were dedicated to the immediate emancipation for black slaves. They focused on Biblical scripture and the idea of equality written in the Declaration as their main ideas and support against slavery. By the time the society split in 1840 it had over 150,000 members and more than 2000 chapters. There were many other anti-slavery societies formed in this time, three more coming from Philadelphia known as Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, the Philadelphia Young Men's Anti-Slavery Society, and the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society that was established in 1837. It was difficult for the abolitionists and “Garrisonians” (name followers of William Lloyd Garrison gave themselves) to find places to hold meetings and lectures for anti-slavery speeches, so a group of men created Philadelphia Hall. Philadelphia Hall consisted of a small lecture room, a large auditorium, two committee rooms and four offices. Any and all anti-slavery associations were free to meet there along with other groups for any purpose, such as women's rights, etc. The hall was dedicated on May 14th, 1838 and four short days later it was only ash and smoke. On the night of the 17th, rioters met at the hall and broke down the doors, damaged everything inside and then set the building on