Opposition To Slavery Dbq

There was a growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852. The Southern and Northern states disagreed on many issues with the institution of slavery. Religiously, Northerners thought slavery was morally wrong, while the Southerners believed they were doing the African Americans a favor by enslaving them. Economically, there was a divide between South being based on Agriculture and the North being more industrialized. Politically, the North and the South were divided by the ideas of expanding slavery into the western territories. Abolishment of slavery represented a religious, economic, and political beginning to the Civil War.
Religious opposition to slavery was growing stronger as demonstrated by Northern States such as Pennsylvania who had the gradual emancipation of slaves act in 1780(Doc. A). New York
Garrison was the founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society and believed that slavery was a deadly curse and stain on American ideals (Doc. E). Garrison was also the publisher of the Liberator which publications strongly influenced the anti-slavery movement. Not all abolitionists were from the North. Angelina Grimke, daughter of a southern slaveholder, was a leader in the antislavery movement who sent out an “Appeal to the Christian Women of the South,” asking to let the abuse and torture of slavery be known to other Northerners (Doc. F). Frederick Douglas was a former slave and effective writer whose personal story of slavery and cruelty further made more white Americans opposed to slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the best selling novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was known throughout the entire nation. The book told of the horrors of slavery through the eyes of a slave named Tom (Doc. J). Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the key factors contributing to the Civil War by making political and economic arguments about slavery more