Douglass's Response To The Abolitionist Movement
Beginning in the 1600s, African slaves were shipped to America in order to contribute their labor to the production of lucrative commodities. Originally, slave labor was utilized on tobacco plantations; however, the depletion of this land, the invention of the cotton gin, and the mechanization of the textile industry led to a demand for cotton. In the south, slaves were exploited on these cotton fields, as they were a cheap and plentiful worksource. Plantation owners completely relied on slave labor and felt that it was essential to their economic success. As this shift to the cotton plantations occurred in the South, a very different change was occurring in the North. Abundant natural resources led to the industrialization and the growth of
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large cities. This development attracted European immigrants, who came to replace slave labor completely in most Northern states. Following the American Revolution, many northern citizens linked the maltreatment of black slaves to their own persecution by the British and began to call for slavery’s abolition. Ultimately, these opposing conditions created a divide between northern and southern states, leading various colonies to secede from the Union and form the Confederacy. A period of war ensued, which ended with the Union reforming and the ratification of an amendment to abolish slavery. Despite the conscious raising actions of African Americans and white allies, the conditions of slavery worsened throughout the first half of the 19th century. As a result of these sectional decisions, former slaves won little more than citizenship from the Thirteenth Amendment.
Southern slaves were faced with appalling conditions. As legal property of their owners, slaves had no rights and were treated as less than human. Handled as chattel, they worked in extreme heat for long hours, were given food without much nutritional value, and lived in dirty, cramped shacks, leading to the rapid spread of various diseases. They were taken away from their families, not knowing their fate or if they would ever see their loved ones again. Sojourner Truth, a former slave who became an abolitionist, discussed the grief she faced as she saw her 13 children get sold into slavery. In addition, because white plantation owners believed their labor sources were inferior, slaves were beaten and physically harmed as punishment. Southerners had no desire to end slavery, as they felt it was justified due to the color of slaves’ skin. They felt it was a beneficial practice because slaves were taught how to work hard and become civilized. Slave owners viewed their slaves as a way to make money, so they exhausted them as much as physically possible. Without these unpaid workers, slave owners believed the Southern economy would fail and their crops would not be cultivated. Southern slave owners became attached to the institute of slavery, causing white allies to support abolition. Slave owners did not consider the effects that their brutal treatment would have on slaves, or how it might incite rebellion.
Because slaves faced such terrible treatment, they often attempted to rebel in order to receive better conditions. To prevent rebellions, laws dictating when, where, and how slaves could gather were imposed in Southern states. However, with one-third of the region’s population comprised of black slaves, it was impossible to completely obstruct these revolts. On the smaller scale, slaves would break machines or resist orders given by their masters. Nat Turner inspired a much larger rebellion through his religious beliefs and with the idea in mind that the time to rise up had arrived. As a Virginia slave whose master allowed him to learn about reading, writing, and religion, he was educated enough to realize the inhumanity of his situation. In 1831, he and several other men murdered his master. Afterwards, he secured weapons and enlisted the help of other slaves in order to murder about 50 other white people. Many innocent slaves were killed following this rebellion, however, its large scale incited fear among Southerners. There were only a few major rebellions and all of them were unsuccessful, yet the fear they inspired led white Southerners to fight even more to maintain their power. Their actions only further increased the slaves’ hatred for their masters and the system, causing a cycle of maltreatment by whites and attempts to escape confinement by slaves. Slaves had an overarching desire to act out and escape their current situation, whether through a large scale rebellion or a smaller scale disturbance.
While Southerners were opposed to abolishing slavery, the desire to end slavery grew in the North.
Although there were various groups who had different beliefs in regards to when and how slavery should end, they were closely related in their end goal. The abolitionist movement was a social and political push for the emancipation of all slaves. It was advocated by both former slaves and white Americans. Frederick Douglass, a former slave, was an extremely influential spokesperson for abolition, as he related his experiences to the urgent need for slavery to end. In his “What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July” speech, Douglas describes how asking African Americans to celebrate the white man’s freedom on the Fourth of July is ironic because they are denied freedom and equal rights. By relating the revolutionaries’ fight for freedom against the British to the abolitionists’ fight for equality, he pushes forward his stance on equal rights of black individuals and equal treatment under the law. Sojourner Truth advocated for women’s rights as well as African American rights. In her “Ain't I A Woman?” speech, Truth explains “that man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages” yet “nobody ever helps [her] into carriages”. Her speech denounced racism and motivated others to join the fight against slavery. Even more, it highlighted the different treatment of white women and slave
women.
The slave treatment in the South caught the attention of abolitionists in the North. William Lloyd Garrison, a white publisher, began a newspaper called The Liberator, which was supported by freed slaves involved in the abolitionist movement. His paper inspired the formation of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which denounced slavery as a sin that must be abolished. This society was supported by many African American communities and led to the influx of antislavery literature and petitions, which motivated northerners to vote individuals to Congress with these abolitionist views. Angelina Emily Grimke was another abolitionist who was originally from South Carolina but move to the North because of her beliefs regarding slavery. In her “Appeal to Christian Women of the South,” she enumerated all of the cruelty and behaviors of Southern slave owners. Also, she explained that slavery was not compatible with America’s Republican government or Christianity. Slavery practices in the South and abolitionists in the North started to fuel disagreements.
The growing tensions between the North and the South over slavery were exacerbated by the expansion of the United States into the West. Issues arose as to whether the new states would allow or prohibit slavery. In 1819, Missouri requested to enter the Union as a slave state, which threatened to upset the balance between slave states and free states in the US. In order to avoid problems, Congress compromised by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Additionally, this Missouri Compromise drew an imaginary line across the Louisiana Territory to create a border between free and slave areas. In Thomas Jefferson’s letter to John Holmes, he expressed that the Missouri Compromise was only a temporary fix that would lead to “the knell of the Union.” Not only was the line separating the country geographically, it was also a “moral and political” separation. Despite Jefferson’s beliefs that slavery was a threat to the union, the Missouri Compromise expanded slavery into the West. This geographical separation ultimately led to the division of the Union, as conflicts seemed impossible to resolve.
The Civil War lasted a long four years, as both the North and the South had various advantages. The Union had a much larger population and was much more industrialized, while the Confederates had a strong military and a desire to preserve their traditions. Lincoln purposefully framed the war as a desire to preserve the Union as opposed to a fight for abolition. His main goal was to reunify the North and South to end the Civil War and hostilities between the states. However, in 1862, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the rebellious states in order to recruit them to the Union army. It deprived the Southern states of its labor forces and greatly helped the Union to win the war.
The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery, as it only applied to the 11 Confederate states that were at war with the Union. Although the proclamation declared that “all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free,” once the war ended, it had no legal bearing and was not enough to maintain the freedom of slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was a step in the right direction for abolition, as it showed the government leaning toward the end of slavery. After the Civil War ended, a constitutional amendment was needed in order to fully abolish slavery in the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed in the Senate in 1864 and the House of Representatives in 1865. By amending the constitution, slavery was banned in every state that was part of the Union. Former slaves were able to reunite with their families, look for paying jobs, and get involved in their communities. The emancipation of Southern slaves also led to the nullification of the Three-Fifths Compromise, as slaves were now considered free people. This led slave states to have greater political power by increasing their share of seats in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. However, Southern culture remained extremely racist, and many individuals were angered by the amendment and tried to oppose it through various actions.
The differing conditions and economies of the North and the South led to opposing viewpoints on slavery that worsened before the Civil War. Eventually the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, freeing African Americans and solving the slavery problem. Coupled with the Civil Rights Act of 1965, the 14th Amendment, and the 15th Amendment, a period of reconstruction attempted to establish equality for black Americans. However, the ending of the war did not eradicate racism and the attempt of Southerners to maintain a racial hierarchy. Reconstruction following the Civil War wound up being a failure, as President Johnson gave southern state governments to rebuild themselves. The racism instilled in society from the 1600s continued to prevail long after the ending of the Civil War, ultimately causing the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. This struggle for social justice and equality was due to the continued discrimination against people of color. A major success of the movement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination. This achievement, coupled with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, successfully ended all legalized discrimination in the US.
large cities. This development attracted European immigrants, who came to replace slave labor completely in most Northern states. Following the American Revolution, many northern citizens linked the maltreatment of black slaves to their own persecution by the British and began to call for slavery’s abolition. Ultimately, these opposing conditions created a divide between northern and southern states, leading various colonies to secede from the Union and form the Confederacy. A period of war ensued, which ended with the Union reforming and the ratification of an amendment to abolish slavery. Despite the conscious raising actions of African Americans and white allies, the conditions of slavery worsened throughout the first half of the 19th century. As a result of these sectional decisions, former slaves won little more than citizenship from the Thirteenth Amendment.
Southern slaves were faced with appalling conditions. As legal property of their owners, slaves had no rights and were treated as less than human. Handled as chattel, they worked in extreme heat for long hours, were given food without much nutritional value, and lived in dirty, cramped shacks, leading to the rapid spread of various diseases. They were taken away from their families, not knowing their fate or if they would ever see their loved ones again. Sojourner Truth, a former slave who became an abolitionist, discussed the grief she faced as she saw her 13 children get sold into slavery. In addition, because white plantation owners believed their labor sources were inferior, slaves were beaten and physically harmed as punishment. Southerners had no desire to end slavery, as they felt it was justified due to the color of slaves’ skin. They felt it was a beneficial practice because slaves were taught how to work hard and become civilized. Slave owners viewed their slaves as a way to make money, so they exhausted them as much as physically possible. Without these unpaid workers, slave owners believed the Southern economy would fail and their crops would not be cultivated. Southern slave owners became attached to the institute of slavery, causing white allies to support abolition. Slave owners did not consider the effects that their brutal treatment would have on slaves, or how it might incite rebellion.
Because slaves faced such terrible treatment, they often attempted to rebel in order to receive better conditions. To prevent rebellions, laws dictating when, where, and how slaves could gather were imposed in Southern states. However, with one-third of the region’s population comprised of black slaves, it was impossible to completely obstruct these revolts. On the smaller scale, slaves would break machines or resist orders given by their masters. Nat Turner inspired a much larger rebellion through his religious beliefs and with the idea in mind that the time to rise up had arrived. As a Virginia slave whose master allowed him to learn about reading, writing, and religion, he was educated enough to realize the inhumanity of his situation. In 1831, he and several other men murdered his master. Afterwards, he secured weapons and enlisted the help of other slaves in order to murder about 50 other white people. Many innocent slaves were killed following this rebellion, however, its large scale incited fear among Southerners. There were only a few major rebellions and all of them were unsuccessful, yet the fear they inspired led white Southerners to fight even more to maintain their power. Their actions only further increased the slaves’ hatred for their masters and the system, causing a cycle of maltreatment by whites and attempts to escape confinement by slaves. Slaves had an overarching desire to act out and escape their current situation, whether through a large scale rebellion or a smaller scale disturbance.
While Southerners were opposed to abolishing slavery, the desire to end slavery grew in the North.
Although there were various groups who had different beliefs in regards to when and how slavery should end, they were closely related in their end goal. The abolitionist movement was a social and political push for the emancipation of all slaves. It was advocated by both former slaves and white Americans. Frederick Douglass, a former slave, was an extremely influential spokesperson for abolition, as he related his experiences to the urgent need for slavery to end. In his “What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July” speech, Douglas describes how asking African Americans to celebrate the white man’s freedom on the Fourth of July is ironic because they are denied freedom and equal rights. By relating the revolutionaries’ fight for freedom against the British to the abolitionists’ fight for equality, he pushes forward his stance on equal rights of black individuals and equal treatment under the law. Sojourner Truth advocated for women’s rights as well as African American rights. In her “Ain't I A Woman?” speech, Truth explains “that man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages” yet “nobody ever helps [her] into carriages”. Her speech denounced racism and motivated others to join the fight against slavery. Even more, it highlighted the different treatment of white women and slave
women.
The slave treatment in the South caught the attention of abolitionists in the North. William Lloyd Garrison, a white publisher, began a newspaper called The Liberator, which was supported by freed slaves involved in the abolitionist movement. His paper inspired the formation of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which denounced slavery as a sin that must be abolished. This society was supported by many African American communities and led to the influx of antislavery literature and petitions, which motivated northerners to vote individuals to Congress with these abolitionist views. Angelina Emily Grimke was another abolitionist who was originally from South Carolina but move to the North because of her beliefs regarding slavery. In her “Appeal to Christian Women of the South,” she enumerated all of the cruelty and behaviors of Southern slave owners. Also, she explained that slavery was not compatible with America’s Republican government or Christianity. Slavery practices in the South and abolitionists in the North started to fuel disagreements.
The growing tensions between the North and the South over slavery were exacerbated by the expansion of the United States into the West. Issues arose as to whether the new states would allow or prohibit slavery. In 1819, Missouri requested to enter the Union as a slave state, which threatened to upset the balance between slave states and free states in the US. In order to avoid problems, Congress compromised by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Additionally, this Missouri Compromise drew an imaginary line across the Louisiana Territory to create a border between free and slave areas. In Thomas Jefferson’s letter to John Holmes, he expressed that the Missouri Compromise was only a temporary fix that would lead to “the knell of the Union.” Not only was the line separating the country geographically, it was also a “moral and political” separation. Despite Jefferson’s beliefs that slavery was a threat to the union, the Missouri Compromise expanded slavery into the West. This geographical separation ultimately led to the division of the Union, as conflicts seemed impossible to resolve.
The Civil War lasted a long four years, as both the North and the South had various advantages. The Union had a much larger population and was much more industrialized, while the Confederates had a strong military and a desire to preserve their traditions. Lincoln purposefully framed the war as a desire to preserve the Union as opposed to a fight for abolition. His main goal was to reunify the North and South to end the Civil War and hostilities between the states. However, in 1862, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the rebellious states in order to recruit them to the Union army. It deprived the Southern states of its labor forces and greatly helped the Union to win the war.
The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery, as it only applied to the 11 Confederate states that were at war with the Union. Although the proclamation declared that “all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free,” once the war ended, it had no legal bearing and was not enough to maintain the freedom of slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was a step in the right direction for abolition, as it showed the government leaning toward the end of slavery. After the Civil War ended, a constitutional amendment was needed in order to fully abolish slavery in the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed in the Senate in 1864 and the House of Representatives in 1865. By amending the constitution, slavery was banned in every state that was part of the Union. Former slaves were able to reunite with their families, look for paying jobs, and get involved in their communities. The emancipation of Southern slaves also led to the nullification of the Three-Fifths Compromise, as slaves were now considered free people. This led slave states to have greater political power by increasing their share of seats in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. However, Southern culture remained extremely racist, and many individuals were angered by the amendment and tried to oppose it through various actions.
The differing conditions and economies of the North and the South led to opposing viewpoints on slavery that worsened before the Civil War. Eventually the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, freeing African Americans and solving the slavery problem. Coupled with the Civil Rights Act of 1965, the 14th Amendment, and the 15th Amendment, a period of reconstruction attempted to establish equality for black Americans. However, the ending of the war did not eradicate racism and the attempt of Southerners to maintain a racial hierarchy. Reconstruction following the Civil War wound up being a failure, as President Johnson gave southern state governments to rebuild themselves. The racism instilled in society from the 1600s continued to prevail long after the ending of the Civil War, ultimately causing the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. This struggle for social justice and equality was due to the continued discrimination against people of color. A major success of the movement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination. This achievement, coupled with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, successfully ended all legalized discrimination in the US.