Harriet Tub's Abolition Movement In The United States

On the swelteringly hot summer day of July 4, 1776, our country’s founding fathers officially adopted the Declaration of Independence. Britain’s 13 colonies were finally an independent nation. The Declaration “set forth a vision of a new nation based on ideals (Defining and Debating America’s ideals).” The ideals expressed in the declaration include equality, opportunity and liberty, but our young country was far from the perfect nation Jefferson envisioned. Slavery dominated the southern economy and a woman’s place was in the kitchen or parlor. America slowly progressed towards the ideals written in the declaration through the antebellum reform period, the amendments made to the Constitution, the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. At
The nation was divided. The Southern economy’s growing reliance on slavery sparked an anti-slavery movement in the Northern States. The Abolition movement worked to bring an immediate end to slavery. White men and black men, white women and black women, all came together to advocate for the freedom of all slaves. The abolitionists gave lecture and wrote pamphlets on the horrors of slavery. That there were white abolitionists added to the credibility of the movement because, although slavery was already outlawed in the Northern states, whites were still perceived as more educated than African Americans. The supporters of the abolitionist’s movement were diverse, but nobody did more for the movement than former slaves. Harriet Tubman was a slave for 15 years of her life before she escaped and joined the Underground Railroad. “The Underground Railroad was a network of people, many African American, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves ().” Harriet personally “escorted 300 slaves to freedom ()” through the Underground Railroad. Abolitionist Fredrick Douglass was a young slave when he began to learn how to read. “It was through reading that Douglass’ ideological opposition to slavery began to take shape
Abraham Lincoln, a Northern abolitionist, was elected President over John C. Breckinridge, a Southern Democrat. The abolition of slavery would bring a sudden end to the Southern economy. The first state to respond to the election was South Carolina when they seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Ten other states followed South Carolina’s lead and seceded as well between December 1860 and May 1861. Under the leadership of Jefferson Davis, the 11 states came together to form the Confederate States of America. The country we fought so hard for was falling apart. The Southern States succession, made the Civil War inevitable. President Lincoln knew he had to bring the North and South back together or it would bring sudden death to the only democracy in the world. Lincoln said it was unconstitutional for the south to secede, but his argument fell upon deaf ears. April 12, 1861, the Civil War officially began. The first battle of the Civil War was fought at Fort Sumter, located near Charleston, South Carolina. After two days of battle, “Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort…(civilwar.org) to General Beauregard and the Confederate Army. The fate of the country looked bleak but Lincoln was prepared for the long war ahead. After the capture of New Orleans and a string of victories in various battles, the tide of the war turned in favor of the