The Abolitionist Movement: The Antislavery Movement

The antislavery movement was led by abolitionists of both races and genders who hoped to emancipate all slaves and end racial discrimination in the United States. Such a task required these individuals to work together and employ different methods for spreading their ideas and reaching the people. As many abolitionists became disappointed with the progress of the movement, many began to change their methods and policies, which caused a split in the abolitionist movement.
The writings of both white and black abolitionists highlight the ways in which the press was used in the antislavery movement. The use of the press to spread the views and aims of the abolitionist movement was essential for reaching as many Americans as possible.William
This shift was from Garrisonian abolitionism was characterized by such policies as disunion and racial nonresistance. These policies were supported by such actions as removing themselves from pro-slavery churches and parties, and not participating in their civil duties as long as the constitution supported slavery, and were not welcomed by many abolitionists. In a letter to a member of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, one such abolitionist, William P. Powell, asks “how, I ask, are we to abolish slavery by a resort to new weapons of defence? In reply, our friends say that, ‘no union with slaveholders’ will abolish the evil. Suppose, then, we dissolve the Union-will it abolish slavery?...The great body of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1844, dissolved the Union between themselves, and now have a southern and northern conference. Have they abolished slavery in the Methodist connexion? Is not slavery in the church as rampant as ever? (Source 69 Page 458). Powell did not believe that the methods of the Powell found the Anti-Slavery Society’s policy of “no union with slaveholders”, which included not voting under a pro-slavery constitution, and to refuse to do military and civil duty in any manner under the slavery holding government, to be too difficult to manage and unlikely to show any real results. Garrisonian abolitionists were interested in
For black abolitionists, their cause was a personal one that impacted them directly on a daily basis, therefore the situation was much more urgent for them. In contrast, white abolitionists, were able to expand their focus to other causes such as women’s rights and temperance. Examples of these abolitionists include William Lloyd Garrison and Angelina E. Grimke, who were active in women’s rights, in addition to their roles as leaders of the abolitionists movement. The antislavery movement was only successful because of the combined efforts of black and white abolitionists who fought for equality for all. In addition, the efforts of the antislavery movement made possible the success of other movements such as women’s rights. The methods and policies of the antislavery movement changed as time went on and there were disagreements among abolitionists, however, the end goal of ending slavery, racism and segregation still remained the end